Blackholestars - Halfway Home

Blackholestars

Halfway Home
self-released; 2020

3.9 out of 5

By J. J. Thayer

Halfway Home is the debut album from Christchurch, New Zealand trio Blackholestars. The group was formed by Richard Grist, who sings and plays guitar on the record. Greg Mannering (bass) and David Deakins (drums) round out the group.

Grist demoed the songs in his home studio and presented them to the band. The band says that the songs “needed to be catchy,” and indeed they are. Right from the first track “Maryanne,” Blackholestars grab us with their pop/rock--maybe a little punk--approach. Three chords (OK, four), straight-ahead, add a shout-along chorus. Everything you need, nothing you don’t, under two-and-a-half minutes, onto the next. Listeners who enjoy XTC, The Clash, Jet, Iggy Pop, etc., will find this fitting right into with their playlists.

The band recorded Halfway Home live in the studio, which is a perfect choice for this genre. The method lets the songs live and breathe, allowing tempos to subtly push and pull as needed. This doesn’t mean that the record is sloppy, or under-produced--quite the opposite. The band can play, and the overdubbed extra parts fill out the sound nicely. There are backing vocals throughout the album (provided by Mannering and Deakins), as well as a bit of cello (played by Lucinda Whitely), piano (Kirsty Brownlie) and keyboards (Ian McAllister).

The music is complemented well by the lyrics. These eight songs address the confusion (and joy) around love and relationships. The lyrics work well individually, or as part of a longer story arc. You can find empathy here for a breakup, for a new relationship or for an “it’s complicated” status update.

Of the faster tracks, I particularly enjoyed “I Surrender” which feels a little like a reprise of the opening track (“Maryanne”). The guitar layers (check out the wah-wah parts on the second verse) and organ wash worked well, as do the keyboard bits during the middle breakdown.

On the slower side, the minor-key “It’s Gonna Be Hard” moves the bit accents around a bit, offering a nice change-of-pace. “Lovers” is especially well-constructed with a pretty vocal melody echoed in the guitar solos. Grist throws in a little bit of guitar heroics, but just a wink and a nod: enough to let us know he’s quite technically capable, but also tasteful enough to keep the fireworks under wraps.

​Halfway Home is a fun, musical album. Work it into your playlists!

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