Halfwayhome - A Brand New Subdivision

Halfwayhome
A Brand New Subdivision
The Death Scene
Grade: A-/A

There is no way that Halfwayhome are supposed to be this awesome. Where did they come from? What is this label that they are on? Why had we never heard of them before? Seriously, we were absolutely blown away by this record. Dribbling and glistening with gorgeousness, this is a must have for, well, anyone.

Halfwayhome formed in Orange County, CA a couple of years ago and quickly became a local hot number. After releasing their debut record Let’s Start This on OC’s Criterion Records, the band sneaked onto the 2003 Warped Tour for a bit and scored other tours with Story of the Year and Thursday. In fact, Halfwayhome are good friends of Story of the Year and in part have similar sounds. However, Halfwayhome are way more diverse and are willing to attach fuller arrangements and sounds to their songs; and that significantly adds to their brilliance. Now, why haven’t heard of this Brooklyn-based label? The most likely reason is that this is their first release. I honestly can’t think of a label whose first record rocked this hard. There are labels where the first release made music history as being the first, etc., but nothing ever this good.

A Brand New Subdivision begins on “For Tomorrow We Die” with a couple seconds of piano before guitars and full band come in full. Yet, it is not until vocals come in and the guitars go to quick mutings when you swear to shit this is heavenly. Though not sounding like them, Halfwayhome are instantly able to adore the listener with the chills that early Hot Water Music was able to instill. Clearly, “For Tomorrow We Die” is a standout track and should be pushed as a ‘single.’ “Four Months Until the Swarm” follows in a more traditional line, but elicits significant catchiness. Entering with some electronic ambience, “Contract with a Ghost” begins as a diversion before the rest of the band catches up. “Architect of My Demise” tries to push itself ahead by great guitar work, but can’t muster full devotion until the catchy chorus. “Ascension to Clarity” is only ho-hum, but “A Pilot and A Bleeding Heart” catches the listener back up to speed with quick guitars and tight harmonies. Playing on classic emo-core constructions “Open the Sky” is likely to get heads nodding along, but it is the breakdown that helps push the song over the edge. I really wish that bands would stop doing the dirty introduction to songs with no production, before getting into the real song. Halfwayhome does this on “The Truth Can Be A Brutal Business” and it takes away from the song, even if they offer some Coheed piano later on. “On the Passing of Fairy Tale Heroes” finds Halfwayhome illustrating their sound with muting, vocal harmonizing as emphasis and sugary breakdowns. Besides from the intermittent metal-core guitars, “Ignited Eyes and Cyanide” is a bit lazy. Yet, Halfwayhome finish on a strong note with the dazzling “And the Moment Passes By.” “And the Moment Passes By” is probably the catchiest and certainly echoes Taking Back Sunday and even Blankface. But you can’t deny that it is just splendid. This should be the second ‘single.’


Now that we all know a bit more about these boys from Orange County, they should quickly rise to day-dreaming proportions. If they don’t, then it is crime. If people had a notion of how good Halfwayhome was, their record would be flying off the shelves. Hopefully, this review can help a bit. Rock on.