Millencolin

Once again it appears that Millencolin have shifted their musical focus. Abandoning the ska-rock influence that has appeared on their previous releases, Millencolin have picked up a supercharged rock and pop sound, which leads one to wonder if they’ve taken some cues from their Swedish counterparts and rock lords the Hives? Especially since the opening track, "Man or Mouse,” seems to have this certain Hives flare to it. Regardless, Home From Home is unmistakably Millencolin, but their musical growth seems to be somewhat apparent throughout the entire release, and is greatly appreciated. Each track seems to segue quite naturally into the next, building up, rocking out and starting the entire melodic punk journey all over again. Quite evidently, Home From Home stands tall as Millencolin’s strongest release to date and is a testimonial to all that they’ve learned over the past decade. It’s outstanding that every track on Home From Home is a winner and that each song maintains its own distinction from the next. Listening to "Black Eye,” "Montego,” "Punk Rock Rebel” and "Kemp” back-to-back shows exactly how each song is unique and integral to the album’s completeness, rather than being an album composed of its uniformity in song, sound and structure from start to finish. Maybe in another decade Millencolin will surpass this pillar of a release, but no matter what, Home From Home is a grand accomplishment and will stand the test of time.