Homework: We Should Not Regress

Edinburgh-based quartet Homework have been lighting up the capital with their jittering ADD art-rock in recent months, bagging a slot at T In The Park and making noise with their sought after debut EP in the process. A critical year awaits.
Feature by Ryan Drever.
Published 08 January 2010

What's in a name? Well, with a name like Homework: not much, it would seem. Fortunately, in stark contrast to the unholy boredom and frustration often doled out by their namesake, this particular Homework – a four-piece resident in Edinburgh, hailing from Dumfries, Inverness and Mull that specialise in arty jams and glitchy electronics – offer up the kind of sonic entertainment you wouldn't want to ignore.

Their debut EP, Sleepless Nights, released earlier this year mixes a number of eclectic influences to produce what the band accurately sum up themselves as "beats, bleeps and melodies". At times, there are echoes of the all-too familiar jagged guitar-rock territory tread by so many bands in recent times, but Homework manage to twist and mangle these sounds (and more) into an atmospheric product of their own creation, spearheaded by raw, and honest vocal spluttering, delivered in a deep Scottish drawl.

The band, comprised of brothers Oli and Richard Kass along with Uni friends Ross Baird and Ally Dennis, formed only last year and in this remarkably short space of time have already made a solid charge into the public consciousness. Managing to score a slot on the prestigious right of passage that is the T Break stage at last year's T in The Park, theirs was a performance that was heralded by the local press and national airplay merchants such as Vic Galloway, and proved an undoubted highlight for the band, as guitarist/vocalist Oli explains: "It was a great experience. We drew a nice crowd albeit quite a sober one at 6pm on the Friday and managed to score a BBC1 interview with Vic and also had our track We Should Not Regress featured on the BBC highlights."

Add to this a further smattering of successful stints around the country, including The Mill and Oxjam festival, not to mention a sold-out EP launch, all rammed in between studies and jobs, within the space of a year, and you've got a fairly respectable run indeed.

In a bid to continue this momentum, the band are currently gearing up for round two in the studio this month, preparing to lay down the foundations for their debut album and pencilling in a July release date. Wasting no time in their progression, Oli remains tight-lipped as to what the recording will offer, though he promises: "The album will be made up of entirely new material and is a step forward from the EP in both production and songwriting. We feel that our sound is now properly developed, so the album will be an indication of how much Homework progressed as a band [in 2009]."

Whether or not this means they're working on an ambitious foray into Scottish art-rock opera, we just don't know, but it would appear a wise bet to keep 'em peeled for Homework in 2010.

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  • Saw these guys at Cab Vol, awesome set, anyone know when they are playing in Edinburgh next??

    Posted by King G | Wednesday January 2010 @ 19:17

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  • Yeh these guys are awesome! There are a few great bands coming out of Napiers music course - I think the band 'Run/Lucky/Free' are on that course too and they were amazing live!

    Posted by Jenny | Saturday January 2010 @ 14:17

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