Album Review: Life You Choose by Home Conflict (by Omar Ramlugon)

Home Conflict are an up and coming band from Zagreb, Croatia, whose classic three piece line up recalls bands like Face to Face and early Green Day. ‘Life You Choose’ serves as their debut release. The line up consists of Marin Lugović on guitar and vocals, Tihomir Kerežia on bass guitar and second vocals and Filip Kramarić behind the drum kit.

Opening with ‘Never Let You Down’’s ferocious drum roll, the early comparison to Face to Face is perhaps an ideal point of reference, as the band’s tight, hard-driving sound is heavily reminiscent of the California quartet’s Don’t Turn Away to Big Choice era. ‘World On My Knees’ begins with an ominous recollections of famous young musicians and their untimely end, with a sense of fear and desperation conveyed by lyrics like “I care for what you see / I care for what I'll end up to be”. ‘Pact With The Devil’ takes a bold left turn, with mournful violins and arpeggiated guitar figures stepping in to offset the previous powerchord muscle for a moment, before the snarling riffs kick back in. The dense, powerful chorus here recalls Billy Talent’s slower material – which is intended as a compliment. ‘Society’ and ‘I Have A Feeling’ are great slices of ’90s Cali punk revival, with their aggressive finger-pointing delivered with the requisite snotty fury.

It’s without question that Home Conflict have spent a lot of time making sure that they are as tight as possible before going into record and it really shows; the ripping guitar solo in ‘Purgatory’ blows back your hair and, on the whole, there’s a sense that this is a real labour of love. There are small flourishes here and there in the songs that reward a careful listen and the vocal harmonies recall the melodic precision of Bad Religion. It does have to be said that this kind of punk rock sound has been well worn over the years, but that’s not the band’s fault that it is so hard to break new ground. Life You Choose is played with passion and conviction and, with songs like ‘Bill Of Exchange’ and ‘I Wonder’ in their repertoire, Home Conflict are on the right path and have delivered a confident and thoroughly enjoyable debut. Keep an eye out for them in the future!

Stream and download Life You Choose here: https://homeconflict.bandcamp.com/releases

Like Home Conflict here: https://www.facebook.com/HomeConflict/

This review was written by Omar Ramlugon.