VERDICTS HOMETOWN SINGLE REVIEW
- Kirsty Shepherd
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
West Sydney Altcore band Verdicts is back with their third single release, and feature track from the upcoming self-titled album release, "Hometown" featuring the weight of
silence. VERDICTS have previously unleashed their debut single "blame!" (2024) and "Fakin' It" (2025). "Hometown is a song we wrote about never forgetting where you come from (with a cheeky little western Sydney Easter egg) We also have this song as a reminder (get to the top, please catch us when we drop) a reference to our fans to never give up on us."
Help me fit in, I don't think I can manage, You know I run it down, You know I run it down, Keep your head up in the clouds, Your coming down, You know that, It's my time, I won't stop, Just know that, Its coming. There is an undeniably heavily depressive tone from the very beginning of this track; from the vocal texture to the introductory music. Reading the brief for this song I was thinking that I was coming into an upbeat and cheerfully nostalgic song but I was wrong. This is not at all to say that it is a bad song because that couldn't be further from
the truth, but I was caught off guard.
It's like Thinking that You know me, As if It's all the same as Do re mi, Far so La ti do, How deep was the hole, That we trapped our selves in, Better then ever now, Severed the teather now. The combination of vocals work well together; The ethereal vocal run (almost r'n'b style) clean stylings of Lochlan and J-Figure's fast paced and heavy hitting hardcore style flow together effortlessly, adding dimension, depth and contrast, pulling you forward through
the levels of emotions that the lyrics take you to; even afford my favourite, BLEGH!
I don't forget where i'm from, Or the lessons of the past, It's a real short list, Of the people that i trust, Gave you 21 chances, Is that not enough, Now here is 48 reasons, I don't give a f*ck, Its the streets that raised, Nothing can phase me, Nothing can change me, I am who i am, F*ck the world, For making me feel crazy, To live and die, In the west is what i want. musically you begin, with the calming sounds of
birds, piano and guitar before it quickly becomes more energetic with a subtle heavier feeling to the tone to the music (almost as if the environment is becoming too much but there is a light in the idea of moving away,) before shifting again to a something more chaotic that gives you the idea of losing control and feeling lost in the world, that maybe the change wasn't for the best after all. The song amps up once more as a limit is hit
within the subject and everything drops low and heavy, feeling oppressive. For the final time the music chances to the music of the beginning of the track with additional synth and cheerful laughter, giving the idea of reminiscing about the past and longing for that time again. Take me back to my Hometown, Take me back, I don't wanna
Lose myself again, And I don't know Where it went wrong, And in the endI don't think It will ever be over, Get me back to my Hometown. overall, the music, lyrics and vocals do an incredible job at telling the story of hometown, and for a third ever single release I was completely floored. I cannot wait for the album release to see what else Verdicts has under their belt.
For fans of: Linkin Park, I Prevail, Falling in reverse and bring me the horizon
9.5/10
