Review Summary: Suspended in a dream blue haze...
There are times when you listen to music and get instantly transported to another, better place and time. From the outset, Supersonic Home transported me back to memories of 2013 Spring, lying in the grass and being happy and not giving a damn. That's probably because of how blissful, carefree and peaceful the band's sound is on this record.
The album opens with the track 'Dream Blue Haze', which sounds like two album intro tracks stapled together out of indecision. This isn't necessarily a complaint though; the two halves are both great, with the first half sounding like uptempo indie pop and the second being a straight riff with a sweet hum mirroring the guitar. The band then kicks into single 'Heavenly', a strange joy to listen to considering it blends emo, indie pop and a tinge of pop punk. The main hook on this track oozes blissful optimism, both musically and lyrically ("Slow down, and see the green/ There's much more here to see than you think").
By the track 'My Marble Home', Adventures shows off some simply beautiful vocal lines and demonstrates their persistently strong songwriting. The chorus on this track features gorgeous soaring harmonies, which again bring back that imagery of Springtime and happiness. However, this is unfortunately soured by the bridge, which features some of the weakest vocal work in the album. While some say the deliberately messy delivery here is organic or charming, it really feels like they overdid it here - it sounds artificially organic and loses its charm. Despite this, they use organic delivery well in the track 'Longhair', in that it matches the be-true-to-yourself song meaning perfectly.
The closing track (and title track) is another stroke of songwriting brilliance, not only in its balance of energy and serenity, but also in the way it finishes the album with flair and a sense of resolution without feeling cheesy or insincere. Broadly, it represents the content of the album quite well; the individual parts are by no means innovative, but the combination of stellar songwriting and (mostly) great performances makes this album a great debut full-length effort for the band.
