Homecoming

On the gritty, underappreciated Lung Bread for Daddy, Du Blondes Beth Jeans Houghton dove into the messiness of heartache and mental health issues; on Homecoming, she looks at them from the other side. Just as her previous albums grungy textures heightened its angst, the slick shine she uses here adds layers of resonance. Homecoming is pop on Houghtons terms: She puts a candy coating over her anxiety and frustration, and uses the massive, glittery choruses of songs like Smoking Me Out as armor. Adding a healthy dose of humor and camp to her troubles is very much on-brand for Du Blonde, and one of the most appealing things about the album, whether shes quoting Sunset Boulevards Norma Desmond over the Pixies-like crunch of Pull the Plug or indulging in some witty self-awareness that recalls Celebrity Skin-era Hole on I Cant Help You There, a collaboration with the colorfully named Farting Suffragettes. Though Houghton invites more people into her creative process than she has in some time, she holds her own with her rock star friends on Homecoming. She recruits Ezra Furman for Im Glad We Broke Up, a fizzy hybrid of glam rock and girl group pop that celebrates couples that are better as friends, and reveals that the albums heart is in her brain chemistry on Medicated, a sweetly aching collaboration with Shirley Manson that sings the praises of meds as part of saving her life. More importantly, theres a growing feeling of inner strength in Houghtons songwriting that equals the artistic confidence shes always had, whether its the strutting riffs and stacks of harmonies on Take One for the Team or Undertakers toughness. Though this may be Du Blondes most musically cohesive work yet, Houghton delivers a few surprising twists toward the end; Take Me Away could be a torchy standard if not for its foul-mouthed honesty. While Homecoming is missing some of the eccentricity and intimacy that made Lung Bread for Daddy so powerful, its frankness and playfulness proves Du Blonde can give her music a pop makeover without losing what makes it real. ~ Heather Phares