Sitting in a space that touches the generic fringes of all the sounds that have been a constant in my life – post-punk, alt-rock, shoegaze, – you know, all the cool stuff that makes us all feel smarter than the more mainstream rockers, ‘Coming Home’ cuts a gorgeous yet grand, groovesome, and, in its way, graceful swath through the rock ‘n’ roll landscape. But then, this new one from The Real Anthem is smarter than most songs in that realm.
How you categorize ‘Coming Home’, if you are still into such things, depends on what aspect catches your ear first. It kicks off by laying down an alt-rock guitar array that serves as a canvas on which they paint everything from shoegaze density and dreamscape vocal harmonies, lace through indie-jangling six-string intricacies and powerhouse, precise, unfussy drums, add warm and rich textures, and even display a pop-awareness not usually found at this end of the musical spectrum.
And as the sounds ebb and flow to create clever dynamic flows, distant and deft digital soundscapes add even more atmosphere and exotica to the spaces between this already sonically emotive song.
‘Coming Home’ is the soundtrack to finding peace, getting to that place, physical or otherwise, where you can just be yourself, looking inward rather than responding to outside stimuli, and who doesn’t need that in their life?
My first taste of this Arizona trio, but on the strength of this superb single, it sure won’t be my last.
