Tag Archives: New Jersey

Album Review- Homebase – Close To Something

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Five young men, casually dressed and sitting against a brick wall. Two of them hold stringed instruments.

The new EP from New York / New Jersey alt-punk upstarts Homebase comes after the release of their prior singles “Bold” (2025) and “Nuff Said” (2026) which was the first song I had heard from them.  I reviewed that one here in January of this year.  Both of those tracks are part of this EP and they are joined by three other solid tunes that have a lot of energy and style.  

“Close To Something” leads off with a bit of an off-mike rhythm solo before dropping into a hammering groove with the drums and bass upfront and on-point.  The arrangement stays just a little off the expected path also which I thought was pretty refreshing and interesting.  Joining up with that song on the cool and different path is “Start Over” which is a two-part experience.  The first forty-five seconds are full of loud, distorted guitars and heavy rhythm.  It then drops out into an atmospheric, slightly hollowed out strumming guitar and plaintive vocal for the second half of the track.  It took a few listens to appreciate the message but it was worth it.  

The previously mentioned “Nuff Said” and “Bold” are next before the EP closes out with “I Feel.”  This track has a fuzzy, overdriven, pulsing beat that makes it quite the sonic experience. It is a non-stop heavy hitter all the way through.  

I definitely enjoyed listening to this EP and especially appreciate the range of style and method that the band brought to these songs.  They are definitely in that modern punk space but carve out some unique grooves and sounds that have me looking forward to their next steps.  

Vote here to nominate this for my best of 2026 list: 

Musicians on this are:  Chris Ochoa (drums), Dave Caruso Josh (bass), Antonio Valentino (vocals), Arturo Cordova (guitar) and Matt Valentin (guitar, vocals) 

You should be able to get this now in your usual places for a listen or a purchase as it just dropped yesterday. 

Please let me know your opinion in the comment section below

Interested in more info on this Artist?

https://homebase.band/home

https://www.instagram.com/itshomebase

Prior review links 

Song Review –  Homebase “Nuff Said”

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Just a few ideas if you have the time:  purchase music when you can as streaming does not pay much even times a thousand, support and get to know your local community, live well and be a good neighbor 🙂 

Song Review –  Homebase “Nuff Said”

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Five young men, casually dressed and standing in front of a music stage, look out toward the viewer.

This group’s first single “Bold” (out in 2025) was an energetic, guitar heavy song right in the middle of the pop punk space and a solid debut.  Even though it has only been a short time since that first release this new track (set to drop on January 23rd) shows some added refinement and growth for this young band and a lot of promise for the future.  

“Nuff Said” opens on some nice, loud guitars that are soon joined by a very heavy rhythm section that booms out in front of this song all the way through.  There is such a lively pace to the music that I was a bit surprised when it finished to realize it was a little over 3:30 in length.  There is also a dual vocal here and they play well off of each other with some clever phrasing in the lyrics.  And standby for the last 45 seconds as it is quite a finish!  A really good song and we can hope for some more from Homebase in 2026 and beyond.  

Musicians on this are: Chris Ochoa (drums), Dave Caruso Josh (bass), Antonio Valentino (vocals), Arturo Cordova (guitar) and Matt Valentin (guitar) 

Pre-save this song here (yes, it helps a lot!) 

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/homebase2/nuff-said/

Please let me know your opinion also in the comment section below 🙂 

Interested in more info on this group?

https://homebase.band/

https://www.instagram.com/itshomebase

Just a few ideas if you have the time:  purchase music when you can as streaming does not pay much even times a thousand, support and get to know your local community, live well and be a good neighbor 🙂 

Song Review- Joker’s Republic – “Welcome Back” off the upcoming album The Hand You’ve Been Dealt

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There young men, two standing and one squatting down, lean against a graffitied wall. They are dressed mostly in black and have a casual, at ease look about them.

As you may already know, the well-deserved hype about this upcoming album has been building for awhile.  It will be out on Punkerton Records October 10th, and was announced back in July via several channels including their label and Earshot Media.  Since then they have released the singles “Break the Cycle,”  “Panic! Panic! Panic!” and “Dead Inside” and were a late addition to the Supernova International Ska Festival.  Those singles were great music and really highlighted the best thing about Joker’s Republic; namely that while they are often categorized as a ska band (and have plenty of chops in that genre) they really are this pretty cool blend of ska, punk and rock & roll.  

This newest release features Billy Smollen (bass) stepping out front to sing a story which is based on a real event, namely an auto accident.   In the Earshot Media press release he describes the song this way:

“‘Welcome Back’ is a meditation on the aftermath of a stressful experience and how we recover and push forward. In this case the inspiration was a car accident that totaled my car while the band was on tour. The accident itself was terrifying, and the only thing that helped me get through the resulting financial and emotional trauma was my friends, family, and the ska and punk communities.” 

This track leads off with a nice guitar riff and then rises up on drums and bass with a rock groove for the first minute or so.  It then kicks out into a ska break with that pattern holding throughout the song.  It is a combination that works well and Joker’s Republic deliver a lot of energy via their playing and the vocals.  This song is another good example of the unique style and range of this band. Combined with the quality of the other singles released to date I expect the full album to be quite a statement. 

Musicians on this (in addition to Smollen are): Austen Grey (guitars, vocals) and Pat Elwood (drums, vocals)

Check it out on your favorite streaming channel (link below) – and let me know your thoughts about it – music makes for good conversation 🙂 

https://ffm.to/jokersrepublic_welcomeback

And if you have the inclination …think about purchasing it if you can as steaming music does not pay well even times a thousand. 

You can also pre-save the album here:

https://ffm.to/jokersrepublic_thehandyouvebeendealt

And support your locals – community is powerful!