October 7, 2021
Written By: Amara Sorosiak
HOMESAFE COME CLEAN WITH THEIR NEW ALBUM "NERVOUS REACTION"
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Chicago’s Homesafe return to the scene once again with their new endeavor “Nervous Reaction.” Released on September 3rd, this is the band’s first full-length album since 2018’s “One,” and the follow up to their 2020 singles “Slide,” “Down,” and “Coming Clean.”
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Clocking in at only 22 minutes long, “Nervous Reaction” is a speedy yet satisfying listen. Anthemic alt-rock permeates this album, kick-started by the title track, which hits the ground running with a poignant drum beat and pick slide. As its title suggests, the song stays on its toes throughout its entire runtime, with a looping guitar riff, and then the lyric “Stop, I can't stop / It's a nervous reaction” occupying the chorus, mirroring repetitive thoughts often brought on by anxiety. The album as a whole is chock-full of Jimmy Eat World-flavored nineties and early 2000’s nostalgia—the release date might as well say 2001 instead of 2021.
The guitar tones, especially on tracks like “Locked Up & Away,” are part of what sell the throwback sound and give the album its immediate identifiability. Alongside the guitars, the drumming on its chorus makes the song erupt, firing on all cylinders. Nestled into the album’s short runtime is the return of a 2020 single: “Coming Clean.” “Coming Clean” serves as a brief cool-down after the opening track, featuring acoustic sections and softer vocals, before transitioning into the blissful “Fade Out.” “Give It Away” can only be described as a bar fight song. Between its grimey, rough intro and power vocals that soar, “Give It Away” is a highlight of the album, and for the band as a whole. “With You” is the album’s musical climax, as it’s an uplifting resolution to the album’s grungy sounds and themes. Rounding out “Nervous Reaction” is its closing track “Old Soul,” a softer, and acoustic at times, song that still keeps up the pace and ends the album with a bang.
The guitar tones, especially on tracks like “Locked Up & Away,” are part of what sell the throwback sound and give the album its immediate identifiability. Alongside the guitars, the drumming on its chorus makes the song erupt, firing on all cylinders. Nestled into the album’s short runtime is the return of a 2020 single: “Coming Clean.” “Coming Clean” serves as a brief cool-down after the opening track, featuring acoustic sections and softer vocals, before transitioning into the blissful “Fade Out.” “Give It Away” can only be described as a bar fight song. Between its grimey, rough intro and power vocals that soar, “Give It Away” is a highlight of the album, and for the band as a whole. “With You” is the album’s musical climax, as it’s an uplifting resolution to the album’s grungy sounds and themes. Rounding out “Nervous Reaction” is its closing track “Old Soul,” a softer, and acoustic at times, song that still keeps up the pace and ends the album with a bang.
Despite its name, the lyrical content of “Nervous Reaction” is about breaking through those external responses to anxiety and nervousness. The title track sets the scene, claiming that the speaker “can’t stop” their nervous reactions. They’re also plagued with uncertainty, portraying opposite truths about themself: “(You will) / (You won’t),” “I can tell you everything / While telling you nothing,” even admitting they’re “indecisive.” The lyrics seem to look up from here, becoming more “serene” as “Coming Clean” puts it. While this song may seem like a calmer cool-down from the previous track, “Coming Clean” is a somewhat concerned analysis of someone, or something’s character, where the speaker ultimately offers to escape with it to “A place we can go far from everyone else.” This track introduces the running motif of finding solace and escape in another person, or concept, that is seen on the rest of the album, such as on “With You.” Rightfully paired with the blissful instrumentals of “Fade Out” are lyrics about the sensation of feeling “so high” in another person’s presence and wanting it to last forever—though the title creates anxiety that this might not be the case, harkening back to the uncertainty of the title track.
Following the pattern of titles opposing their lyrical content, “Locked Up & Away” ironically sees its speaker attempting to break free from the hold their own mind has over them, personifying it and wrestling with it: “Stuck on the inside and looking out towards / Your dеmise and other thoughts that keep me sanе.” In a surprising twist, juxtaposing its preceding songs which have highly interwoven characters, “Old Soul” wrestles with emotional distance from someone its speaker once knew, or thought they knew for sure, but now “You changed your hue so long ago.”
Following the pattern of titles opposing their lyrical content, “Locked Up & Away” ironically sees its speaker attempting to break free from the hold their own mind has over them, personifying it and wrestling with it: “Stuck on the inside and looking out towards / Your dеmise and other thoughts that keep me sanе.” In a surprising twist, juxtaposing its preceding songs which have highly interwoven characters, “Old Soul” wrestles with emotional distance from someone its speaker once knew, or thought they knew for sure, but now “You changed your hue so long ago.”
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While maybe not the conclusion listeners were expecting, “Old Soul” wraps up an album full of twists, internal contradictions, and uncertainty. It is certain, though, that Homesafe were determined to make their mark in rock and alternative in 2021 with “Nervous Reaction.” Give it a spin, share it with a loved one, take it on a road trip—whatever you do, don’t let it fade out from your music radar.
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