A unique project hailing out of Texas, Homeskin provides a unique interesting blend of punk, post hardcore and some light tinges of black metal thanks to the raw production and harsh tortured vocals. While not being easy to pinpoint via sound, the sole member GB does a fantastic job providing dizzying and enjoyable guitar passages and drum parts that almost remind me of certain math-rock bands. None the less the somewhat nostalgic atmosphere of the album brings a sense of bittersweet joy to me as the strange yet familiar song writing really let me feel at home. The album after all is dedicated to a mother cat and her kittens, so that sense of comfort makes sense.
I’m not even sure where to begin with its instrumentation. Its quite literally all over the place in the best way possible. Each instrument plays its part very well and work in a sort of chaotic unison that shouldn’t make sense but somehow does. The quirky yet raw production I think also helps especially when interwoven with the heavier parts. I think the second track, Mirror Image, is a great example of that. The slower and more melodic parts are then destroyed by the wicked blast beats and intense guitar riffs that take it to the next level. I wouldn’t call this a black metal album or band what so ever, but the influence is there. The vocals in particular have this sort of weird tortured dread to it that is very reminiscent of all those raw black metal acts we all know and love. But thankfully the awesome songwriting saves the day here and it doesn’t get hooked into the same old tropes over again.
There’s a real strong sense of individuality that I love about this album. It doesn’t take no for an answer and really experiments with different sounds all through out. Not one track sounds like the other and the extremely solid instrumentation just takes the whole show away. They all have different twists and turns that keep you on your toes and wondering what comes next in a track. Each track is rather long none of them going under the five minute mark so GB is able to fit a lot of diversity in each track and keep things lively and very colorful. And when comparing it to previous releases from Homeskin its easy to say that this is the strongest release in my opinion. Especially when compared to the one album that got this band on my radar in the first place Integument Crystallization, which has a more traditionalist raw black metal approach though opting for more prettier shoegaze moments I feel. Each Day Orbital how ever feels more lively and has a unique sense of character that I think only compares to the heavier math rock bands that I’ve grown to love in the past like Don Caballero, of course with a more raw production style. Either way I very much enjoyed this album and will be looking more into the label that the band is on, Lilang Isla, which has the rest of GB’s projects and other acts that are in relation to Homeskin. Worth a listen for sure.