Sometimes an album will come along that makes you go “What the f@ck?” This is one such album, and it is a divine rapture of brilliance.
Homecoming is a caustic collision of sound, a combination of Garage, Glam, Punk, and the fearless talent of it’s creator,
Du Blonde. This artist has taken the DIY, outsider ethic, and produced, engineered and basically pulled this album together from the guts of her creativity. The sessions took place between Los Angeles, London, and the lady’s hometown of Newcastle. As if to prove a point to herself, and the establishment, that in this 21st century, great music does not need big label investment.
6.5/10
One has to admire the tenacity and near belligerence of the current generation of alternative rock stars.
Such is the frequency with which it occurs, it’s barely even worth acknowledging how many artists are either dropped by their label (major or indie, though primarily the latter) or opt to take a DIY approach for various other reasons.
Immense kudos to those who dare. As you’ll have read, the music industry is in a pretty bad spot at the moment, so it would be hard to deride those who have opted out for a more stable income.
It’s even more impressive to read about an artist who instead steps away from the label voluntarily and then goes on to record, produce and release an album, throwing in an accompanying clothing line for good measure. Step forward Du Blonde.
“We ve always been noisemakers. I mean, even in the studio, you know, we ve got so many things to play with. That s how [
The Fickle Finger of Fate, Crover s first solo album] started with the little weird things and this one kind of has the same stuff, but I made them a little bit different,” Crover says over the phone.
Diehard Phoenix fans may recall hearing Crover s band play many of the songs off
The Fickle Finger of Fate when they opened for Redd Kross at Last Exit Live in December 2018. It seems, though, that revisiting the solo world was a foregone conclusion for the Los Angeles-based drummer.