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Inspired by the early 2000’s heyday of\u00a0Victory, Drive-Thru and Vagrant Records pop punk and hardcore, London’s Home Advantage<\/strong> have been building a dedicated following since forming in early 2012. Since then they’ve gone to play shows with The Wonder Years, The Swellers and Living With Lions.<\/p>\n Later this month, the five piece release their debut EP, ‘Cadet,’<\/em> six songs of mature, hardcore-influenced pop punk that makes good use of the band members life experiences; they’re are over 25 years old. Tracks like ‘Short-Termism’<\/em> and ‘Youth Theatre’<\/em> are full of raw adrenaline and emotion whilst ‘Ropeswing’<\/em> is introspective and ‘Barriers’<\/em> deals with topics such as\u00a0racism and xenophobia.<\/span>\u00a0Certainly a departure from your typical pop punk clich\u00e9s.\u00a0<\/p>\n Guitarist Alex Mills recently took tome time out to talk to Already Heard<\/strong> to discuss ‘Cadet,’ the usefulness of life experience in a band, their forthcoming shows with Greyscale and Nathan Detroit, and more.<\/p>\n Already Heard: Can you introduce yourself and tell us your role in Home Advantage?<\/strong> AH: We’ve known about Home Advantage for quite awhile now but for new listeners, what can they expect to hear when they listen to you guys?<\/strong> It\u2019s just somewhere between pop-punk and post-hardcore really. We have bits that are super catchy and pop and then pretty heavy moments, so if you\u2019re into both Funeral for a Friend and Saves The Day hopefully you\u2019ll dig!<\/em><\/p>\n AH: How did the band come together? I understand some of you have played in bands before.<\/strong> AH: From hearing ‘Cadet’<\/em> your sound is reminiscent of early to mid-2000’s Pop Punk. Was this something you had set out to do from the start?<\/strong> AH: I know you’re older than typical pop-punk bands. Does having that extra life experience influence the bands song writing in anyway?<\/strong> AH: Since forming you’ve supported bands such as The Wonder Years, The Swellers, Living With Lions and MEST. Have these shows help shaped the bands sound?<\/strong> AH: What do you hope people take away from hearing ‘Cadet’<\/em>?<\/strong> AH: One song from the EP, ‘Short-Termism’<\/em> has already appeared online. How has the response been?<\/strong> AH: I understand you’ve got shows lined up with Greyscale and Nathan Detroit. What can gig-goers expect from these shows?<\/strong> AH: Is there anything else you’d like the Already Heard readers to know about Home Advantage?<\/strong> AH: Finally why should Already Heard readers check out Home Advantage and ‘Cadet’<\/em>?<\/strong> \u2018Cadet\u2019<\/em>\u00a0EP by\u00a0Home Advantage<\/strong>\u00a0is released on 15th July on\u00a0Disconnect Disconnect Records<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Home Advantage<\/strong>\u00a0links:\u00a0Facebook<\/a>|Twitter<\/a>|Bandcamp<\/a><\/p>\n
Alex: My name is Alex Mills and I play guitar in Home Advantage.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n
Alex: My friend said that when he listens to us he imagines he\u2019s on the beach sipping a corona with lime, or in a park on a summer\u2019s day throwing a Frisbee or eating ice cream – something like that, and I like that description!<\/em><\/p>\n
Alex: We\u2019ve all played in bands before but just local bands, except our drummer Alex\u2019s old skate-punk 32 Frames Per Second who did a few national tours.\u00a0 But we began when my and Mike\u2019s (bass) old melodic hardcore band broke up.\u00a0 We decided we wanted to try something less heavy and basically recruited everyone in from there.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a particularly interesting story, just jammed in the practise studio harnessing our sound and then played our first show in March 2012.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Alex: The only initial\u00a0intention\u00a0really was to ensure we played in a much lower tuning than most pop punk bands. It gives our hardcore influences more prominence but you can also get a much bigger, more anthemic sound than standard tuning in my opinion \u2026 but everything else just happened naturally. I\u2019d say we\u2019d prefer to be compared to bands from that era than today, simply because we\u2019re actually from that generation.\u00a0 When you get a 29 year old or whatever who has lost touch with pop-punk say he\/she reminds you of bands they loved growing up, it\u2019s pretty rewarding – like you\u2019re re-introducing people to pop punk! So I think perhaps subconsciously we leaned towards that direction, but there was no agenda from the beginning as such.<\/em><\/p>\n
Alex: I think it does, just because we can draw on a wider range or sources for inspiration.\u00a0 I think also once you\u2019ve been in a couple of bands before, even if they were just small ones, you learn a bit more about finding the best way to write songs as part of a collective and how to ensure different personalities shine through.\u00a0 Lyrically it definitely has a massive influence, as a lot of the songs focus on yearning for that lack of responsibility that you lose once you hit your mid to late-20s.\u00a0 It definitely allows you to touch on matters that you simply don\u2019t have as much knowledge about when you\u2019re only 22 or whatever.<\/em><\/p>\n
Alex: To be honest, they haven\u2019t done much in terms of shaping how we sound.\u00a0 We play with such a wide range of bands, and we\u2019re really lucky to be able to do so, but it doesn\u2019t affect the songs we write. \u00a0It\u2019s just about getting the opportunity to share a stage with bands we love, whose fans will hopefully enjoy us as well.\u00a0 The biggest benefit they\u2019ve given us if anything is experience in playing different types of venues \u2013 going from 50-80 capacity venues to 300 capacity venues where you have a bigger stage to fill and that sort of thing.<\/em><\/p>\n
Alex: I just hope that people \u2018get\u2019 what we\u2019re trying to do, even if it isn\u2019t their cup of tea musically. We are a DIY punk rock band at heart, but one that wants to play massive sounding pop songs.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
Alex: It\u2019s been so great, exactly what we hoped for.\u00a0 It\u2019s got people really excited for the full record, and it\u2019s a great starting point for these people because it\u2019s probably the most straightforward pop-punk sounding song on the record rather than getting too heavy or poppy.<\/em><\/p>\n
Alex: At the time of this interview Grayscale have only played one show!\u00a0 But it\u2019s a REALLY interesting thing they\u2019ve got going on – a proper artistic concept with accompanying graphic novels and the songs following a storyline (like Coheed and Cambria\u2026if they sounded like Tigers Jaw). I can\u2019t wait to see them develop.\u00a0 Nathan Detroit will just bring their great skate-inspired pop punk to proceedings and ultimately gig-goers should expect friends handing out, having fun and a great showcase of another side to the British music scene that doesn\u2019t get quite as much exposure as other areas.\u00a0 I\u2019m hoping there\u2019ll be a few conga lines as well \u2013 conga lines are the new human pyramids. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
Alex: We\u2019re playing WTFest V on the 30th\u00a0August down in Southampton with Off With Their Heads, Bangers and more, which will be amazing!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
Alex: Because Jason Derulo\u2019s third album won\u2019t be out until September and you\u2019ll need something to listen to until then.<\/em><\/p>\n