Customer Reviews

When It All Comes Down

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

At first listen, I didn't know what to think of "when it all comes down". It was just so freakin different. The pop-culture references of "act your age" were gone, the furious pop-punk of "kings of pop" was gone, and the production was crappy at best. I gave it a couple more listens tho and it grew on me alot. There IS more of an emo-punk vibe here than on the other two (compare the lyrics on "I win, you lose" to those of "she's anti" (act your age) and you'll see what I mean), but it's still basically pop-punk. I'd put this as my third favorite HG album, right above "that's business" (back when they were ska...i dont like ska). Overall, the album is catchy, the lyrics are cliche and the melodies are sweet...in pop-punk, that formula can get you a long way. I'd still recommend "act your age" (which is of the same caliber as "enema of the state" by blink 182) or "Kings of pop" (it's drive-thru produced, need i say more?) over this one...

The best part about this ep is the production. It is produced very raw without any frills. You can tell this from the first hook on the album.

Seeing that this is the best part, now we'll move on to the music. Home Grown departs from their humorous, sometimes meaningful, pop-punk to move to a more "emo" sound. They still manage to be increadibly catchy and poppy, although one could say they've matured. With this maturation comes the good and the bad. These 6 songs are about relationships, especially those gone sour. This fails as much as it succeeds. While "Keep Your Distance" and "I Was Right About This" are quite good, both lyrically and musically, songs such as "Cross Your Heart" and "What Would Love Do Now" are cliche. While you want to connect like you do on Distance and Right About This, the lyrics are too god awful to take seriously.

Seeing that this ep is cheap and that half the songs are good, very good, it is a worthy purchase. Just don't expect consistance.

When I went throught the tracks the first time, I thought "Man, this is just Kings of Pop part II, but more cliche." The second track starts off with the lines "Cross my heart and hope to die / stick every needle in these eyes..." That is SO corny. Yet I couldn't hate the song because it was so darned catchy.

I'll admit it. This EP grew on me plenty. It's nowhere near the masterpiece of Act Your Age, but I don't think they'll every put out something so awesome again. It's impossible.

Act Your Age also had the best production. Everything on this EP sounds like the mics were too far away from the instruments, especially the vocals. As with Kings of Pop, J. Trash's voice left behind it's signature punky sound and now mimic's Adam's super-high voice. The old duo was perfect; this is less fun.

I have to give this three stars, though it pains me. So come on guys, please, go back to acting your age...

Track 6 is simply the BEST HomeGrown song ever. And tracks 2 and 3 are better than practically every song on "Kings of Pop". I've been a fan of theres for a long time (since 1997 or so) and I own every cd and ep they have put out, but I was pretty dissapointed in Kings of Pop. "When It All Comes Down" has restored my faith. Can you dig it?

"the EP was recorded on their own in a home studio with a budget that was 2% of the cost of KOP. It doesn't sound too bad for an EP. The next full length will definitely be a lot better." taken from a HG message board.