Track By Track: Hometown Crew - Demo (2015)

1. The Way it Went:

First song on the demo and the second song we ever wrote. The song starts with a build up from the drums supported by a bass line and guitar and goes into a mid-tempo youth crew song with sing a longs and 2 step parts. The lyrics are about a guy whom I (Daan, Vocals) used to believe I could call my friend. He was a person who was born into an incredible privilege that he never seemed to appreciate. Through the years I got to know him he started leeching on all of his friends and just using them for his own damn gain. He became very unpredictable in his behaviour, started drinking excessively and doing other unhealthy things and showing very dangerous/reckless behaviour. He could suddenly become very aggressive and even if you tried to reason with him/help him and carefully call him out on his behaviour he would just blame us for all the things that went wrong.

We did our very best to stay good friends with him and see the good that he had inside him believing that ,even though he was of a much higher social class, that it shouldn't matter where we come from and we could still be friends. But even though he had everything he could dream of he was consumed by greed and self righteousness. In the end we realised we had to cut all ties with him because the relationship was just toxic and even though he deserved it we still felt kind of sorry for him. The person we once knew was all gone and changed and now he is left with nothing.

2. Stronger Than Life

Second song on the demo starts with a very energetic part that repeats in the middle of the song and that is meant to make people want to run and jump. It's then followed by a very punk riff going into a bit more of a groove rhythm on the second part. It ends with a break-down with a sing a long part. The lyrics are about dealing with the fact that the people who are supposed to help or support you in the problems you deal with and the choices you make might just be the ones that talk you down the most. It's about calling people out on their negative reinforcement when people are reaching out for help. Or dealing with the fact that people easily give up on you when you need their help. It's about being hurt by the words ,misunderstanding and impatience of people while realising that you are left alone in trying your hardest to change your situation. It's a situation where Hardcore seems to be the only thing that's able to change your mindset and you find out that these melodies and words being screamed by like minded people seem to be the only thing that made you a better, more patient and more social person who finds his or her drive back to face challenges head on.

3. A Word in Edgeways:

Third song on the demo starts with a bass and guitar line that's inspired by 80's hardcore/Youth crew and goes into a bit more melodic 2 step groove. In the middle of a song there's a faster breakdown and it ends with a breakdown/sing along.

The lyrics of the song are about the realisation that it is useless to get into discussions with a lot of people because most of the people you talk with don't seem to be open minded on different points of view or solid arguments. And even if they claim they are, they always seem to misinterpret your words or they interrupt you acting like they already know everything about what you want to say.

Their truth has already been made up and they will put all their effort into telling you that you are wrong. So you just decide that it's for the better to just keep your mouth shut and listen to all the things people say so you can become wiser by reflecting on what they say while they are stuck in their way of thinking. Especially nowadays you see and hear a lot of frustration and impatience when talking about certain topics. It is quite tempting to get involved in these discussions but it's best to read/listen and learn to shape and challenge your own opinions before you talk about them with people who actually want to hear what you are thinking/saying.