After spending time touring last year with the likes of Shame, Sports Team and Hotel Lux, Home Counties have just released their brilliantly observational EP ‘Redevelopment’. Releasing music during a pandemic must be a weird feeling, but it’s not one the Bristol-based outfit have let affect them; radio support came in quick-and-fast, and after just one release, the band were picked up by Alcopop Records. Just days after their EP was born into the world, Tom sat down for a lengthy zoom call with Will and Barn…

You guys were formerly called ‘Haze’, what led to the name change? And why Home Counties?

Well me, Conor and Dan had played in Haze since we were about 14, and we had a great few years playing around the country and doing a few festivals, but it grew a bit stale and we wanted to do something fresh that departed from our teenage project. We started Home Counties in January this year with new members, Barn and Sam, and wrote a bunch of new songs, as well as a couple reworked later Haze songs. ‘Home Counties’ as a name was more fitting to the lyrical content, about mundane town/village life in Middle England.

Being based in the insanely creative city of Bristol, how does the city and its surroundings influence you guys?

I think living in Bristol had a huge influence on our evolution from Haze to Home Counties, to be honest. There’s so many great bands coming out of this city and we spent most of our time watching new acts at Crofters Rights and The Old England before the music industry went into hibernation.

Living in Bristol was a big influence on making the new project, giving us the confidence to start something a bit different. It was sort of an awakening moving to Bristol in 2016 and seeing all this crazy new music, like Lice and Scalping. The venues are unmatched in other cities, and the sense of community between bands is pretty special. Everyone was very supportive and welcoming of us despite being outsiders of the city.

You’ve just released your debut EP through Alcopop, could you talk us through the recording process?

We recorded the EP over two sessions in Eastbourne and Brighton with Theo Verney. Most of the EP was tracked live, and I think it’s an accurate snapshot of us as a band earlier in the year, when we were playing our first shows and finding our feet. It’s sort of a transitional record in that regard, from our previous project to this one, and sows the seeds of what I think we’re moving towards. We’re incredibly proud of it.

Your lyricism is equally witty and observational, what inspires your song-writing?

Lyrically the EP is largely about everyday life and cultural change in Britain in the last fifty years, though it takes a variety of angles. I think the cover art sort of encapsulates the mood of the EP, being a colourful portrayal of a grey concrete town centre. This collection of songs tries to find something meaningful and playful in typically mundane built-up spaces.

What else were you getting up to whilst recording?

We recorded half of the EP in Eastbourne and we had some pretty weird nights down there. Dan and Conor actually had to sleep in the car the first night as we fell asleep and didn’t let them in.. In Brighton we were better behaved and more focused on the Home Counties project, taking everything a bit more serious and deciding exactly what band we wanted the new band to be.

How do you guys feel about releasing your debut during these real strange times?

It’s certainly been a strange time to launch the project. It started well, touring with Hotel Lux in February, and then COVID just wiped out the rest of our live plans. We were booked on for a UK tour supporting some good friends of ours but it wasn’t to be.

I think we’ve still managed to get the project off the ground. We were lucky to get some great radio support from Huw Stephens and Jack Saunders early on. And then we signed to Alcopop Records shortly after releasing our first single, which has been incredible. Jack and the team are the best.

Most importantly, people seem to be enjoying the EP. It’s only been out a week but people seem to be really into it so I don’t think we can complain too much.

What are you most looking forward about things getting back to normal? Touring, right?

Yeah, 100%. We’re a live band first and foremost so it’s been a tough year without any shows. You can only play so many live streams from your living room. We’ve started plotting tour dates for 2021 so the plan is to get on the road and play as much as possible.

What have you all been listening to through lockdown?

Oh there’s been a bunch of great new music this year, despite the virus. We love Egyptian Blue’s EP - such a strong collection of tunes. I’m really into Bdrmm’s album. Our friends Courting keep putting out great singles - we’ve been swapping demos throughout lockdown and they've got some great stuff on the way. Who else.. Do Nothing, Lazarus Kane, Katy J Pearson, Public Body, The Lounge Society.

Listen to the ‘Redevelopment EP’ here:

This interview was first featured in Yuck Magazine Volume Three, available to buy here.

Redevelopment: A Crazy First Year With Home Counties