The popularity of ADTR has got to have a huge amount to do with those gang vocals and handclaps. There’s nothing quite as immediate or engaging than an emphatic group-chanting session or strategic, punchy handclaps. And indeed these devices work well in a live setting as audiences can shout along to their hearts’ content – case in point being ADTR’s recent and raucous sold out couplet of Barfly and Underworld shows (both completed in the same night, I might add). Well ‘Homesick’ opens with a veritable waterfall of gang vocals and handclaps proving that this band have a handle on how to please their fans.
This record was produced by Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory fame and he’s done a stellar job in realising the band’s potential as ‘Homesick‘ packs more than a punch. ADTR’s trademark gutteral growl vocals mixed in with supreme melody-making kick in to the max on ‘I’m Made Of Wax Larry…‘ However, this band’s take on sing vs scream works so much more efficiently than a whole host of other bands attempting similar things and ADTR never lose their sense of fun with ‘wo-oaahs’ abounding and even little sound effects like ‘polite coughs’ interrupting guitar chugs thrown into the mix.
But the fact remains that ‘Homesick‘ is packed full of chugging, melody-fuelled monster tunes that many an audience will be only to happy to sing their hearts out too. It’s a heady mix of pop-punk, hardcore and straight-up rock. Gilbert was perhaps the perfect producer pick in that sense, considering his current musical leanings and how he started out in the much more HC Shai Hulud. Just when you feel like you’ve had about all the chugs you can take on this album, a song will take a turn as at the end of ‘Mr Highway’s Thinking About The End‘ where the band bring out their softer side and strip it back to simple, gentle vocals.
This is clearly the sound of a young band growing up on the road. ADTR tour a lot and have spent much of the last couple of years on the road. Many of the songs pertain to this bizarre way of living and this makes for a cohesive collection of tracks. This record is the perfect setup to continue the camaraderie of ADTR’s live performances. And it’s a damn good album in itself. Time for a singalong follwed by a beatdown!
Sarah Maynard.