84. EP Review of Questions EP by The Great Homesickness
Originally Published on January 29th, 2025
About the Artist
I was actually thinking the other day, “it’s been a little while since I’ve listened to a good punk band. I know I reviewed The Paradox (well, billed as Eric Dangerfield) last year. I’ve heard some punk music here and there, but this fall was definitely time spent hyper-focused on folk. I do that. We do that. We get fixated on something and it’s hard to leave it. Until it’s time.
Enter The Great Homesickness. Talk about a good band. Two great guitar players, a great bass player, a great drummer and a lead singer that sounds like Rivers Cuomo reincarnated. Maybe even a little bit of Dashboard Confessional thrown in there (before he was Dashboard Confessional, the full band. When he was just Dashboard Confessional, the one guy).
Well, to my surprise, like early D.C, that singer, those guitar players, that bass player, and that drummer; it was the same guy. It is just this cool dude from who knows where, named Brett. Good bands come from all places. Sometimes, they just come from one place. He’s got a feel for every aspect of what he’s doing. He’s certainly got the talent to cover all the bases. And, like Dave Grohl when he alone recorded the debut album of Foo Fighters, it also leaves the door open to do it himself or play shows with a full band down the line.
The Great Homesickness debuted in December of 2022 with their single, Did You Ever, which is actually the first song on the EP we will be later discussing. In May of 2023, they released their first EP, Still and Waiting EP. I particularly like the first song on this EP, Like Ribbons (reprise), which is an ambient, experimental ballad that is performed very well. Overall, Still and Waiting has a darker, more serious tone. In February of 2024, The Great Homesickness had one more single release, Brother. That is, until last month.
About the EP
Questions EP is a two-song EP by The Great Homesickness that released on December 27th, 2024. At approximately 6 minutes, it features Did You Ever, their debut single, and a brand new song, All the Wrong Questions.
About the Music
Instrumentally, Questions EP excels as a punk band at every level. Drums are ornamental, dynamic, and appropriately fill sound space with every fill. The bass serves as a solid anchor, eloquently dividing their responsibilities of supporting rhythm and melody. Extra points for not just playing 8th notes on the root note. The bass part is just as innovative as the guitar parts.
The two guitar parts are layered and panned, giving a very full sound. These sounds are on the complex and more interesting side of punk music.
Vocally, Brett gives a solid punk performance. Funny enough, when his vocals came in during Did You Ever, I thought “I wish he would have layered the vocals,” then a second, layered vocal part came in, providing a dynamic switch and putting an accent on certain places of the vocals. So, I take that criticism back. I LOVE the layered effect in All the Wrong Questions. It is such a full sound, it is very appealing. I love the call and response at the end of Did You Ever.
As far as the production value, if I were a producer coming behind engineering, I legit would not touch a dial. These songs have a real Blue Album feel to them. That album sounds like it was recorded in a garage over a band practice. It’s one of the most appealing things about it. Questions EP hits in the EXACT same way. Are there imperfections? Thankfully, yes there are. Not one hurts a performance in any single way. In fact, the slight occasional pitchiness is so appealing, it would hurt the quality of the song if it were technically “right.” It most definitely wouldn’t be a punk record.
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Typically, I do a lyrical analysis after the musical analysis. For two reasons, I’m intentionally not going to for this review.
One: the vocals are mixed in so well with the instruments, I would really have to dissect each of these songs to chart the lyrics.
Two: I don’t want to dissect these songs. I’m in such a good place experiencing these songs as the artist intended them to be heard. Breaking these songs down would only do me a disservice as a listener experiencing them.
To put it plainly, I like the music so much, I could care less what words are being said. I don’t want to press play and have to miss any of it, for sake of deciphering exactly what words have been articulated. Given the instrumental performance, I’d bet my paycheck the lyrics are good. The lyrics I have been able to make out are awesome. That’s good enough for me. I hope that’s good enough for them.
If not, to the band, I apologize that you’re so good I don’t want to break down your lyrics. If you want lyrical analysis in the future, try sucking for a change. You have failed at being awful. You only have your incredible performance to blame for lack of lyrical analysis. Now go stand in the corner.
I just heard him say “Pyramid Scheme.”
Final Thoughts
If this were the 90’s, I would be watching the music video for All the Wrong Questions on MTV. I’d be daydreaming about the guitar parts and how cool it would be to play a song like that while was sitting in Algebra II, begging the clock to go faster so I could run to my car and blast this CD while I avoided going home.
Don’t get me wrong, this still tracks today. Punk is that rare beauty of a genre that transcends time. 90’s punk plays in 2025. Just ask Green Day. They just released 2 albums while I was writing this review. And they both slay!
The Great Homesickness have released a great EP. They’re teasing a full length album. I really cannot wait for it. I can almost guarantee it will be on repeat.
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