The Big Exercise, the second album by Dutch band The Homesick, and their first for Sub Pop, finds the group keenly second-guessing their core chemistry as a live unit, imbuing their angular post-punk workouts with baroque elements such as piano, acoustic guitar, percussion, and even clarinet.

Opening track Whats In Store was in part inspired by bassist Jaap Van der Veldes unprompted deep dive into the world of national anthems, making his own attempt to conjure a similarly timeless melody. The song seamlessly bleeds into the chivalrous prance of Childrens Day and the fragmented Pawing, righteously encouraging Erik Woudwijks nimble, cerebral drumming to become the bands driving force. The headstrong wanderlust of The Big Exercise is fitting, given The Homesicks exodus as a small-town Dutch band ready to trot the world. Contrary to the quest for belonging, roots, and provenance found on their debut album, Youth Hunt, the bands creative trajectory is now dictated by a sense of otherness and imagination. The sharp contrasts are ever-present; the musics new sonorous depth is underpinned by wry meditations on family ties, alternate realities, and commonplace encounters. As the bands chief lyricists, Elgersma and Van der Velde deliberately keep each other in the dark, allowing the syntax of words and music to entangle in surprising sometimes delightfully absurd ways. I Celebrate My Fantasy, for example, summons a mirage of creeping pianos, sylvan clarinet flourishes and cartoonish sprawls with mock-paranoia, as Elgersma documents a macabre vision he had during a mild case of sleep paralysis.

True to the bands method of holding the more mundane, fleeting moments under a magnifying glass, closing track Male Bonding pulls a wide range of movements out of the top hat: the albums rare heavy burst is promptly mediated by almost medieval-sounding prog rock-flirtations. The Homesick have made a record impregnated with impressions that still fit neatly under the pop umbrella. The album titles nod to Scott Walker – the big exercise is a phrase pulled from a passage in Walkers biography, Deep Shade of Blue – isnt an aberration either: straddling pop sonority and the cacophonous fringes is something well worth aspiring.

Release date: 7th February, 2020

Track listing

What’s In Store
Children’s Day
Pawing
I Celebrate My Fantasy
Leap Year
The Small Exercise
The Big Exercise
Focus On The Beach
Kan
Male Bonding