A Head of Steam
by The Home Guard
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Digital Album
Choose this option for immediate download of The Home Guard's debut album, A Head of Steam, in your choice of format (320k mp3, FLAC etc.). Printable PDFs of the artwork are also included.Buy Now ₤3.99 GBP or more
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A Head of Steam CD + immediate download
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The Orator
04:06
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Friend or Foe?
02:16
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Poor Man's England
04:09
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Josephine
03:51
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Champagne Socialist
02:25
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Rendezvous
03:54
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Walking Against the Wind
03:05
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Everyman
03:10
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about
If you've heard only one song from A Head of Steam, the chances are it's Champagne Socialist. It was this bass-driven rocker that received national BBC radio airplay and was featured on the coverdisc of a UK music magazine, starting it all for The Home Guard. In time, The City That Never Wakes was also picked up by the BBC, while renowned British broadcaster Alex Zane showcased Walking Against the Wind on his programme.
That three different tracks on an independent band's debut release should receive such mainstream attention is surely a testimony to the music. For the most part the songs are short, catchy and to the point, never dwelling too long on a particular section, and carefully arranged to introduce new ideas as frequently as possible.
Musically, A Head of Steam has drawn many comparisons with Sparks (especially Kimono My House), George Harrison and The Kinks. It seems that a large number of Home Guard fans are also devotees of Queen, who - along with Elvis Costello, David Bowie, Jethro Tull, Blur, Van Der Graaf Generator and Madness - were major influences.
This list goes a long way to explaining the underlying trademark quirkiness of A Head of Steam, plus that intangible 'something' in the overall feel that seems to catch the listener's attention. In the words of musician, blogger and part-time reviewer Varialus: "You could have just as much luck looking for a needle in a haystack than to find a better-produced album out there on the market."
That three different tracks on an independent band's debut release should receive such mainstream attention is surely a testimony to the music. For the most part the songs are short, catchy and to the point, never dwelling too long on a particular section, and carefully arranged to introduce new ideas as frequently as possible.
Musically, A Head of Steam has drawn many comparisons with Sparks (especially Kimono My House), George Harrison and The Kinks. It seems that a large number of Home Guard fans are also devotees of Queen, who - along with Elvis Costello, David Bowie, Jethro Tull, Blur, Van Der Graaf Generator and Madness - were major influences.
This list goes a long way to explaining the underlying trademark quirkiness of A Head of Steam, plus that intangible 'something' in the overall feel that seems to catch the listener's attention. In the words of musician, blogger and part-time reviewer Varialus: "You could have just as much luck looking for a needle in a haystack than to find a better-produced album out there on the market."
credits
released 07 November 2007
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all rights reserved
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discography
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Sep 2009 -
Nov 2007
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- Track Name: The Orator
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Come embrace our manifesto:
Rock and Roll's supremacy is the fundamental aim,
A revolution we will see!
Manufactured pop idols are everything that we oppose -
We are the elite and we will not admit defeat against our foes!
Bow down to your superiors,
Stand up to the inferior genres!
Stronger, purer, here's your fuhrer.
Get this in your head:
Rock and Roll can't be killed,
Rock and Roll is the undead.
Think of all that Rock and Roll has done for you,
Now think about what you can do for your Rock and Roll,
Make your support devout!
On this world we'll leave a mark, on manufactured pop a scar.
Every generation must experience a war and this is ours.
Bow down to your superiors,
Stand up to the inferior genres!
Stronger, purer, here's your fuhrer.
Get this in your head:
Rock and Roll can't be killed,
Rock and Roll is the undead.
Come join our crusade, enrol then aid us in our intrigue.
Rock and Roll won't wait, initiate the corporate blitzkrieg now!
Stand up, become victorious,
Bow down, it's foolish to ignore us.
Stronger, purer, here's your fuhrer.
You heard what I said:
Rock and Roll can't be killed,
Rock and Roll is the undead.
(c)2007 The Home Guard. All rights reserved. - Track Name: Friend or Foe?
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Well, you bend over backwards and help me to brighten my day,
And you'll always assure me, despite going out of your way.
Well, do you bear some hidden agenda?
For I need to know:
Be ye friend or foe?
Well, you lavish attention, but still your intention's unclear.
When I believe I've abandoned you, out of the blue you'll appear.
Well, have you some ulterior motive?
For I need to know:
Be ye friend or foe?
You're well within my comfort zone,
Why don't you leave?
You'll find I need some time alone,
Some room to breathe.
And do you screen some sinister scheme from me?
For I need to know:
Be ye friend or foe?
The game is up.
(c)2007 The Home Guard. All rights reserved. - Track Name: The City That Never Wakes
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Keep near things you hold so dear.
Little happens here.
But then, I don't care for clubs -
Give me old-fashioned pubs.
Give me some peace of mind,
Where I'm cosy, safe and sound.
I'm here, the city that never wakes;
I wouldn't change it ever.
Some fear the city that never wakes;
I wouldn't change it for the world.
Night falls. The capital, it calls.
You scale the city walls,
And take the train out to these places
With their sea of faces.
You will one day wake
To discover that you've drowned.
I cheer the city that never wakes;
I wouldn't change it ever.
Some jeer the city that never wakes;
I wouldn't change it for the world.
You'll move away
From those you love and everything you are,
Or else you'll stay
And enrich this strip of land that made you.
Keep near things you hold so dear.
Little happens here.
But then, I don't care for clubs -
Give me old-fashioned pubs.
Give me some peace of mind,
Where I'm cosy, safe and sound.
I'm here, the city that never wakes;
I wouldn't change it ever.
Some fear the city that never wakes;
I wouldn't change it for the world.
I cheer the city that never wakes;
I wouldn't change it ever.
Some jeer the city that never wakes;
I wouldn't change it for the world.
(c)2007 The Home Guard. All rights reserved. - Track Name: Poor Man's England
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Poor man's England,
Can't you see that your country is in its infancy?
And could it be spinning out of control?
I fear that people believe in your streets of gold,
But the heart that you hide is black and cold.
Or so I'm told.
Pass the buck on to us now!
All the great empires fell -
We did it before you and we even did it well.
And we'll feel sealed in
When the monarchs have left the building.
You're a poor man's England,
Well you can stay just where you are!
Just a poor man's England,
You'd like to make us another star!
You possess a loud voice even though you've nothing to say,
Take a nation with a "Have a nice day",
You poor man's England.
Poor man's England,
Is it true you believe that the world revolves round you?
Well, how so few smother cries of so many!
Doomed to repeating mistakes from another's past,
Letting nothing go, getting nowhere fast,
And can this last?
Pass the torch back to us now!
All the great empires fell -
We did it before you and we even did it well.
And we'll feel sealed in
When the monarchs have left the building.
You're a poor man's England,
Well you can stay just where you are!
Just a poor man's England,
You'd like to make us another star!
You possess a loud voice even though you've nothing to say,
Take a nation with a "Have a nice day",
You poor man's England.
All the great empires fell -
We did it before you and we even did it well.
And we'll feel sealed in...
You're a poor man's England,
Well you can stay just where you are!
Just a poor man's England,
You'd like to make us another star!
You're a poor man's England,
So get your round in at the bar
Now you poor man's England,
Before you choke from the smoke of your own cigar!
(c)2007 The Home Guard. All rights reserved. - Track Name: Josephine
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As I put my quill to parchment
To record the way I feel,
How I reminisce of our very first kiss
By the walls of the Bastille.
Did you pillow-talk sincerely?
Did you flatter from the heart?
For I never knew that before we met
You'd had it down to a fine art.
You've never failed to hurt me,
I've never known someone so dirty
And yet also pristine -
My Josephine.
All the time, I'd never have thought it was you.
All the time, who'd ever have thought it true?
Just how your Medusa could seduce a man so clean
Was unforeseen -
My Josephine.
In a blur, in a sea of faeces,
There you were - fairest of the species.
So demure, always such a young tease,
There you were.
But an heir you failed to bear me,
How I wished it wasn't so.
Ever in your debt with a hint of regret
Even as I let you go.
And as eagles soar on over
All the lions left to tame,
Ever nearer death, always under my breath
I would whisper out your name.
You've never failed to hurt me,
I've never known someone so dirty
And yet also pristine -
My Josephine.
All the time, I'd never have thought it was you.
All the time, who'd ever have thought it true?
Just how your Medusa could seduce a man so clean
Was unforeseen -
My Josephine.
Now I think of the mess I'm in,
I forgive you for everything.
(c)2007 The Home Guard. All rights reserved. - Track Name: Champagne Socialist
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I see
You are a study in hypocrisy.
For I hear
That you are not as moral as you may appear.
I see red mist -
You're a champagne socialist!
Let's raise a toast
To our host's sham pain.
I taste
The bitter flavour of the whine you laced.
And I smell
The stale aroma of the lie you try and sell.
I see red mist -
You're a champagne socialist!
Let's raise a toast
To our host's sham pain.
To you, integrity
Is such a foreign policy.
But your bleeding heart and manifesto of lies
Won't preserve your disguise.
I touch
Upon the matter you revere so much.
But I sense
A shade will lift and cast a light on your pretence.
I must insist -
You're a champagne socialist!
Let's end the boast
Of our host's sham pain.
(c)2007 The Home Guard. All rights reserved. - Track Name: Rendezvous
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Can I ask you please not to blaspheme or cuss?
For the sake of safety let us stay anonymous.
Follow me and rid the world of something venomous!
But the finer details I'm unwilling to discuss.
Our foe is aristocratic,
And their behaviour's erratic.
It's all so melodramatic -
Don't you agree?
And so I'll see you
At the rendezvous.
We'll come through
At the rendezvous tonight -
Wear white.
I can feel the sway they hold on land and sea,
From the Fens into the opium dens to purgatory.
Follow me and spare the world of this indignity!
They'll receive soon an epitaph, and we a eulogy.
Our adversary's so vicious,
And our intention malicious.
The situation's delicious -
Don't you agree?
And so I'll see you
At the rendezvous.
We'll come through
At the rendezvous tonight -
Wear white.
With this idea I'm instilling
Of how we'll both make a killing.
The whole affair is so thrilling -
Don't you agree?
I'll see you
At the rendezvous.
We'll come through
At the rendezvous tonight.
(c)2007 The Home Guard. All rights reserved. - Track Name: Walking Against the Wind
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Everywhere I go, I'll be walking against the wind.
And everyone I know turned away and whispered and grinned.
I find it strange - a wind of change that never ends.
For when you fear a storm is near, remember me.
Everywhere I turn, I'll be walking against the wind.
And everyone I yearn are the same folk whom I have sinned.
I find it strange - a wind of change that never ends.
For when you fear a storm is near, remember
Rainbows follow the rain.
Pleasure's sweet after pain.
Death will come to us all, so don't dwell upon it.
So watch your own back, think for yourself -
No-one will do it for you.
Now pick your train ticket up off the shelf -
Seek out your fame and fortune!
I find it strange - a wind of change that never ends.
For when you fear a storm is near, remember me.
Everywhere I go, I'll be walking against the wind.
And everyone I know turned away and whispered and grinned.
I find it strange - a wind of change that never ends.
For when you fear a storm is near, remember
Rainbows follow the rain.
Pleasure's sweet after pain.
Death will come to us all, so don't dwell upon it.
One more link in the chain.
No loss, nothing to gain.
Death will come to us all, so don't dwell upon it.
(c)2007 The Home Guard. All rights reserved. - Track Name: Everyman
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I'm an everyman:
You won't hear of glory
Or much of a story
To my name.
One small grain of sand:
No kudos or splendour,
Though nothing to render
Me with shame.
I'm an everyman
With the standard dreams.
But an everyman
Never knows the joy in extremes.
Well trust me to be sincere and with no pretence,
For these days it's rare to find folk with common sense.
I'm an everyman:
A casual observer.
A cog and a server
I remain.
You may call me bland:
I've never been gifted,
I've floated and drifted
For the main.
I'm an everyman,
Fraying at the seams.
But an everyman
Always knows the flaw in his schemes.
Don't judge me from what I do, but on how it's done.
Is forcing yourself on me your idea of fun?
I'm an everyman
With the standard dreams.
But an everyman
Never knows the joy in extremes.
(c)2007 The Home Guard. All rights reserved. - Track Name: I'm the World's Best-Kept Secret
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So, is this a happy ending? Who am I to say?
For now I take my final bow from this world's stage.
And there is no cause for applause - the theatre's desolate.
I have no desire to feud, I lose in all disputes.
And, in my tearing through the layers to find the roots,
I find beneath the surface everything is meaningless.
And when I'm alone, my thoughts are
Sweet, then wicked, then perverse, then back to sweet.
The girl of my dreams, I believe,
Has not been born yet -
Or maybe she's already dead.
I'm the world's best-kept secret.
Laying down the pen and paper, destiny: it calls.
I take a longing look at these surrounding walls,
As pin-ups only serve to remind you of what you miss.
And when I'm alone, my thoughts are
Sweet, then wicked, then perverse, then back to sweet.
The girl of my dreams, I believe,
Has not been born yet -
Or maybe she's already dead.
I'm the world's best-kept secret.
Soon I'll be free, though it's all too easy.
That's when I see: I can take them with me!
Nothing to fear from the outcome!
If I am strong, which I have been all along,
It won't be long until I've proved them all wrong.
Nothing to fear from the outcome!
So, I put their lives into my hand and clench my fist,
As I proceed to tick the names off from my list.
And yet the list grows longer still, until there's no-one left.
And now I'm alone, there's a hole
That all this hatred and all this anger had filled.
The last living soul on the Earth
Has made an angel of every devil he's killed.
(c)2007 The Home Guard. All rights reserved.
