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I’m sat down on a Tuesday morning with Bromance Records’ newest compilation, ‘Homieland Vol.2’, the label’s second foray in the fictional world of Homieland.

A land without borders, stylistic boundaries or genre restrictions, ‘Homieland Vol.2’ represents the label’s far reaching artistic inclusion policy, and on this outing Bromance are taking a punt on a lot of new talent; 17 of the 24 artists involved are ‘new names’. As you’d expect with a compilation the album isn’t necessarily coherent. The two sides to this, of course, are that while you might not like everything, you’ll undoubtedly find joy in something, which is also hugely dependant upon when you’re listening.

For my taste, at this time of day, the slower, brooding numbers are what float my boat; GENER8ION’s intro, The Blaze’s ‘Virile’, Suicideyear’s ‘Dont Speak’, 8TM’s ‘Airport’. Of course if I was listening on a Friday night I’d probably be more inclined to go for something by Myd or Canblaster (as you’d expect). The bottom line is that there’s a lot of interesting stuff going on in this album, a lot of clever work and, as it’s a compilation, there’s no filler; everyone has brought their A-game. The album is also a testament to the broad scope of Bromance Record’s A+R. It’s not about whether something fits into the confines of a specific genre, it’s about whether it’s good, and that’s refreshing. In my mind the sign of a good record is whether it makes you want to create. This album makes me want to fire up Ableton and get lost in some loops.

4/5 – (a compilation isn’t ever going to get full marks, due to the hit-and-miss nature of the format, but as compilations go, this is as good as it gets.)

p.s If you can get your washing machine’s spin cycle to power up at the same time as the body of ‘Virile’, it makes for a really interesting listening experience. Set your spin at 700rpm and it’ll match up tonally, too!

p.p.s Plus, I love this explanation for the cover art: “Glen is one of our homies, the picture was taken back when he was 6 or something. We’re still wondering if he’s laughing or crying. Since then, he got lost in Homieland.”

Get your copy:
iTunes : apple.co/1Nt1hrG
Spotify : open.spotify.com/user/bromancerec…ur9WUgJXYrWOxxFb

James Brown

is a musician/producer from the north-east of England, now residing in a charmingly frenetic area of north London. He is generally engrossed in music production under his Plainview moniker, and has a soft spot for old-school sci-fi novels with badly drawn covers. You can find him out and about in Dalston and Stoke Newington most weekends, or Djing at his residency for club night French Cafe. Feel free to contact James at james_philip_brown@yahoo.co.uk