The Laurels Homecoming Vinyl

Australia's iconic shoegaze and psych-rockers, The Laurels present their 2022 album, Homecoming. The band's long-awaited third album stays true to the classic Laurels' songwriting and ear-shattering sound but exposes new experimentation within the band. With new members Kat Harley (bass, vocals) and Ben James (drums) joining Luke O'Farrell (guitar/vocals) and Piers Cornelius (guitar/vocals) back in 2019, it's clear that this culmination of The Laurels has an exciting new chemistry. Along with hard-hitting psych rock and shoegaze anthems, the 10 track record melds visceral post punk and dense synth soundscapes to create a dreamlike experience. Across the album, themes surrounding “home” and the feeling of returning full circle influenced the band and like their highly acclaimed releases ‘Mesozoic’ (2011) and ‘Plains’ (2012), the group worked hard on capturing the live arrangements and performances before heading into recording. The Laurels decided to stray away from their usual DIY recording approach and headed into Parliament Studios in Sydney’s inner west suburb of Leichhardt, assigning Lachlan Mitchell as producer. Lachlan became somewhat of a fifth member, throwing an array of composition ideas at the band, while moving into a studio environment allowed the Laurels to interact with unique instrumentation and production approaches that noticeably translates into the album. The Laurels completed 'Homecoming' in early 2020 with a release and tour plan put in place for later that year. Thanks to the global pandemic and a string of ill-timed lockdowns, the fate of the album was continually plunged into uncertainty and the band spent the better half of two years lying in wait. Lucky for their devoted cult-followers, this incredible record eventually saw the light of day.