6 am on a Sunday morning, why on earth am I awake? Well, I’m off to London to see the brilliant Home Front all the way from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, so I can’t really moan about having to travel now, can I? 

I’ve been a fan of Home Front for less than 12 months so to say that they have left an impression on me since hearing last years album of the year “Watch It Die” would be an understatement, it was a album that I never thought I needed in my life, the mix of 80’s New Wave with elements of Punk and Oi just instantly grabbed me and there’s barely been a day since the release date that I haven’t listened to them. 

A few months ago, I saw the advertisement for tour dates, spotted the one UK date in London, and without hesitation booked the ticket, hotel and travel. Yep, that’s how excited I was for this one! Would my expectations be met? Would the trip be worth it?  Well, the answer was a resounding yes! 

I get to the venue and realise this is going to be an intimate affair. The Lexington is a 200-capacity venue in the upstairs of a pub, so this was a warm one to say the least. I meet up with a friend whom I’m meeting for the first time, so unfortunately, after we share a drink and have a chit chat, we miss the support. We make our way into the venue, and it’s a struggle to move; the venue is rammed. We then find a spot and wait patiently for headliners Home Front, this small run of dates is to promote the before mentioned album “Watch It Die” as the band emerges they rip straight into lead single “Light Sleeper” which has the first of many big singalongs of the evening “We’re Born Alone, We Die Alone” the crowd screams back at frontman Graeme McKinnon who is grinning from ear to ear as is the entire audience. His energy is infectious throughout and doesn’t let up for a moment; he owns that stage. Keyboardist and percussionist Clint Frazier is also like a madman, not standing still for one second; it’s hard to take your eyes off the two of them. 

Next up, we have the brutal “Young Offender” This song could easily be the soundtrack to an apocalypse. It’s great to hear these songs live with a bit more ferocity, and the band replicates the studio recordings down to a tee. We get a number of quality tunes from full length debut album ‘Games Of Power’ with ‘Real Eyes’, ‘Born Killer’, and ‘New Face Of Death’ all keeping the pace going nicely. Sandwiched in between, we get my personal favourite, of mine ‘For The Children (Fuck All)’, which produces another mass singalong during the ridiculously catchy chorus, that one keeps the punks happy. 

The middle of the set the band show off their melancholy side with songs The Cure, New Order etc would be proud of ‘Eulogy’, ‘The Vanishing’ ‘Between The Waves’ and all extremely reflecting songs that hit hard emotionally none more than the stunning ‘Overtime’ with the lyrics “Hurts a little less over time” which I’m sure can resonate with everyone in the room.

Graeme then says it’s time for the final song of the set, and the keyboard intro to the band’s anthem ‘Nation’ kicks in and the crowd go wild, “Hear us all screaming at a nation, a nation that doesn’t hear a word we say” which couldn’t be more relevant in the world right now. 

We get asked if we want to hear more, and the crowd answers with a resounding yes. Well, they’ve played the vast majority of the two main albums, so what else is there? Well what better than paying homage to the Godfathers of street punk/Oi the mighty Cock SParrer, one of my favourite bands of all time with not one but two brilliant cover versions both from the legendary Shock Troops album, first there’s a slow drum beat in the guitar kicks in and it’s ’Out on an Island’ which I will admit the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, an emotional moment right there after that there’s time for one more SParrer classic and it’s ’We’re Coming Back’ which gets a ridiculous reaction and the loudest singalong of the evening, what a superb gig this has been. Hopefully, this will spark more UK dates later in the year, and if so, I certainly will be coming back!!! 

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Author: Christian Davies