Home Is Where

Florida band Home Is Where’s I Became Birds is quickly becoming one of the most talked about fifth wave emo albums of the year, and it’s one of the most unique too. Dedicated “to anyone & everyone who has struggled / is struggling with their gender identity,” I Became Birds is only six songs long, but it feels complete, and it covers more musical ground in its brief running time than albums that are four times its length. Each song flows right into the next, as the album moves seamlessly between Neutral Milk Hotel-style chamber folk, Dylan-esque harmonica-fueled folk, TWIABP-y post-rock, raw ‘90s-style screamo, driving Midwest-style emopunk, and more, and it sometimes does two or three of those things at once. Tying everything together is vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Brandon Macdonald, whose unique, emotive voice and conversational yet contemplative lyrics add even more depth to these songs, and make for rewarding repeated listens.

[Andrew Sacher]