Album review: ‘Home’

The music of rock band Blue October gives an in-depth look into lead singer Justin Furstenfeld’s life of substance abuse, divorce, child custody battles, sobriety and recovery. It’s an intense experience that would make even master voyeur Alfred Hitchcock blush.

But with its new album, “Home,” Blue October doesn’t seem so blue anymore.

The album is a significant departure from the band’s characteristically angry sound and grunge rock roots. “Home” reflects Furstenfeld’s newfound maturity and optimism and presents a more mellow sound, different from Blue October’s signature aggressive, post-grunge style.

Produced in the wake of Furstenfeld’s fourth year of sobriety from alcohol and drugs, new and expanding family and increasing sense of optimism, the album emphasizes love and positivity for the future rather than anger and old grudges.

This newfound appreciation for the struggles of the everyman is demonstrated in “I Want It” as Furstenfeld chants “Everybody owns a scar / To show us how we got this far / We are who we are, and we’ll be who we’ll be / Don’t ever think you’ll take away the fight in me.” The song demonstrates an increased willingness to keep fighting for a brighter tomorrow, a lifestyle which Furstenfeld knows all too well.

The album reaches its highest point with the title track, which is the most successful marriage of the band’s newfound optimism and its classic sound.

“Home” starts out as a quiet self-reflection, but slowly grows into a feel-good ballad about reveling in “the little things that make a home.” The powerful vocals punch out the chorus while the drums, guitar and piano build into an emotional finale. The song combines the emotionality of the album with the theatricality of previous songs like “Overweight” and “Into the Ocean” to create a song that is both exuberant yet restrained. It’s a song that just feels like everything is okay.

“Leave It In The Dressing Room (Shake It Up),” “Houston Heights” and, to a lesser extent, “Time Changes Everything,” are the closest Blue October gets to its former hard rock sound that fans have come to expect.

“Leave It In The Dressing Room (Shake It Up)” is a dark approximation of the band’s former anger. “Houston Heights” is a busy, driving and energetic piece of hard rock. Rock ballad “Time Changes Everything” carries an air of despairing hesitance for the future, an excessive run time of almost 8 minutes. The tracks are pushed toward the end of the album, which could have benefitted from a wider distribution of this harsher sound.

The remix of “Heart Go Bang” contains a more synthetic sound and hip-hop influence than the original, which is an upbeat rock ballad. While a little confusing in context of the album, the remix’s electronic feel is a welcome source of variety and not entirely unexpected considering Blue October’s historically eclectic sound.

As encouraging as it is to see some positivity in Furstenfeld’s life, “Home” lacks much of the bold and unabashed personality that makes Blue October so engaging.

While the album contains a few gems like “Home,” “Coal Makes Diamonds” and “Houston Heights,” other songs are rather mediocre and lacking in charisma. The lyrics are artful and moving as always; however, the tunes of songs like “Driver” and “We Know Where You Go” threaten to undercut the more lively numbers.

The album is a bit of an oddball in context of Blue October’s discography. On one hand, Furstenfeld is expressing the optimism and positivity that fans have long wished for him to find. On the other hand, he seems to have mellowed out too much and shifted away from the angst and driving energy that made the band’s music so relatable and addictive in the first place. It’s not a bad thing – it’s just different from what fans are used to.

“Home” is the story of a tortured man who has finally found a second chance at happiness. It’s a moving, poetic album that emphasizes the importance of family and living for the little things, but it unfortunately distances itself too much from the group’s dark and pained legacy.

Email Fernandez at [email protected].