Faster and louder then ever, Home Counties come to us during their upcoming UK tour. We managed to catch them at this year’s Bearded Theory and they wowed us in a big way! Before they come and visit us, we just had to meet ’em…
Hey Home Counties! You’re just about to embark on a mammoth UK tour that will last you right through the autumn, with a stop at our place along the way. Anywhere in particular you’re excited to revisit or anywhere you’ve never gigged before that you’re looking forward to visiting?
Hey! We are buzzing for all of it – we just generally love being on tour, but we’re especially excited to be playing some new venues in cities we love. I’m looking forward to the Rough Trade Bristol show, maybe due to my nostalgia of having seen so many great shows there when I was living in Bristol. We’re also very excited for the Manchester show at Yes, going upstairs to play the Pink Room for the first time. Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff is always a favourite too, with some of our best ever shows being there. I think the emotion surrounding the London show at Scala is more fear than excitement at the moment, it being the biggest headline we’ll have ever done… but I’m sure we’ll love it once we’re on stage.
And even more exciting, your second album Humdrum is out this Friday! Congratulations! So… the difficult second album. Have you guys tried to block out the cliches of the second album? How did you approach making this record (which may have differed from the first)?
Thanks! Compared to the debut, which was recorded over the space of a year every night after work, we wrote and recorded Humdrum over a few months. We were eager to avoid having a massive gap between the first and second albums, having heard the horror stories, so started writing before the last one was released. We went into the studio with producer Al Doyle for two weeks last October, which was the first time we’d gone in and recorded over an intense time period. Al likes to work quickly and instinctively, which I think helped avoid too much overthinking and worrying. We knew what we were trying to achieve, to make something more refined than the debut, but we didn’t get too hung up on things, and had a lot of fun in the process.
Have you had a chance to play any of the tracks off that yet, or will this tour be a bit of a live exclusive?
We’ve been slowly re-learning and incorporating new tracks off the record as we’ve been releasing singles, which has been a great way to test what’s working. We’ve done a load of day festivals in the last couple months playing new songs which have gone down great, but the tour will be when most of the album gets its live debut. We’ve been doing the final bits of prep to the set before the tour and the yet to be released tracks are some of our favourites, so we can’t wait to see how people react. Because of how we work in the studio, working on the songs more like we’re making dance music and not jamming in a practice room, it’s always a bit of a struggle figuring out how to make them work live. But it’s part of the fun, and feels like an extension of the creative process, reinterpreting the songs for the live setting.
You have been compared to a few different bands from quite a few varying genres. This naturally means you have quite a unique sound. Can you all agree on a favourite band or do you all have different influences that are all over the place?
It’s a tricky one! A few years ago I would have said Parquet Courts in a heartbeat (at points we approached cover band territory) but I think our tastes have all diverged a bit as times gone on, which probably explains the variation of genres we draw on. I think Talking Heads would probably have the highest chance of reaching universal agreement, or perhaps Girls Aloud.
Once you’ve finished your tour, what next? Any 2026 plans you can tease for us?
I’m not sure what I’m allowed to say! Straight after the tour we’ve got a little surprise up our sleeves before the end of the year, which I think people will be surprised by. Then in 2026 there’s quite a bit in the pipeline which we’re very excited for, including some places we’ve never played before. A big part of our love of touring is being able to experience new places (even when it’s only service stations, venues and roadside hotels), so 2026 should be a good one for HC.
Of all of the counties the UK has to offer, which is your favourite? I was gonna say “of the home counties”, but I didn’t want to be exclusive.
It’s hard to choose, but it definitely wouldn’t be one of the home counties. I think they get better the further you get from London – Cornwall or Pembrokeshire are two of my favourites.
I’m sure Nottinghamshire would have been third choice! Thanks so much for chatting with us, guys. Can’t wait to see you here on Thursday 27th November. Tickets are still on sale here.
