Close To Home Interview - Momentum

(Photo credit: Logan Delape Photography)

Cincinnati, Ohio band Close To Home recently released their latest studio album Momentum on July 31. The album has gone great lengths in the single week it has been out, reaching the Top 10 Rock Charts on iTunes on its debut day. We did a review on the album which you can view below.

I had the chance to speak with the band about the album and their thoughts on their sophomore label release. Here's what they had to say...

Steve: What about your new album "Momentum" do you really like?

Close To Home: We really like the production on this album. We were fortunate enough to work with someone we have a lot of respect for (Andrew Wade) and value his opinion/input. 

Steve: What does the album say about you as a band?

Close To Home: This album kind of tells the story of our day to day lives as musicians and human beings. We like to be able to share our experiences with people because we want to be able to relate to our fans as much as possible. 

Steve: What reaction did you expect to get on the release?

Close To Home: We hope that people notice how much our music/lyrics have matured over the years. We're not a band preaching positivity and we're not trying to push people to be negative. We try to put everything into perspective and just be real people.  

Steve: What's the biggest difference between "Momentum" and the other music you have put out?

Close To Home: I think we have taken our style of music and finally put together an album that can truly define who Close To Home really is as a band. 

Steve: What song off your new album is your favorite, and why?

Close To Home: I love them all equally because each song was inspired from personal experiences: love, stress, partying, traveling, etc. 

Steve: What makes this album so significant for you guys?

Close To Home: This is our sophomore label release, and that is always a scary thing for bands because that is usually the album that needs to set you apart from other bands. 

Steve: What's a group you really enjoy playing with, and why? 

Close To Home: We really enjoy playing with a lot of bands, but I would have to say that We Came As Romans, In Fear & Faith & For All Those Sleeping because we've toured with those bands before and have all become best friends over the years. They are also the only other bands that can party as hard as we can :)

Steve: What's a band you wish to play with some day that you haven't yet, and why?

JJ Cooper (Guitar/Vocals) - Blink 182

Andrew DeNeef (Lead Vocals) - Jimmy Eat World

Josh Wells (Guitar/Vocals) - Thrice 

Travis Hartman (Drums) - Lady Gaga

Josh Trenkamp (Touring Bass) - Brand New

These are all very big influences to us.

Steve: What's next for you guys?

Close To Home: Canada for a couple weeks right after the SILYMI Tour and then we plan on taking over the world :)

Hope you all enjoyed it. Again, you can check out our review of Momentum here.

- Steve

Of Mice & Men to Join August Burns Red, The Color Morale, and The Overseer on Tour

It was previously announced that the acts of August Burns Red, The Color Morale, and The Overseer would join together for a six week tour. Now added to this bill is Of Mice & Men, making one of the greatest lineups aside from large summer/winter fests.

The tour starts August 31 in Silver Spring, Maryland and ends October 6 in Huntington, New York. You can check out all the dates on any of the bands' Facebook pages.
- August Burns Red
- Of Mice & Men
- The Color Morale
- The Overseer

The Color Morale has also just announced that up until the start of this tour, they will be performing with Close To Home, whom just released their brand new studio Momentum. You can check out our review of the album here.

After Of Mice & Men finishes this tour, they will travel to Europe to play with Memphis May Fire and Secrets through the month of October. You can check those dates out here.

The Overseer will also hit a few more venues in the northeastern United States upon the conclusion of the tour.

- Steve

Close To Home Release "Momentum"

Close To Home just released their brand new full length album today via Artery Records/Razor & Tie, and the "momentum" is picking up. Momentum is the fifth release the band has put out since its birth in 2006 and is everything we could have expected from the group and more. The album has a mixture of feelings from a soothing intro track to hardcore, metal riffs and downright insane vocals, both clean and screaming.

The album starts out with a short intro track called "Make It Count" containing a melodic piano, momentum picking up slightly halfway through the song, and the last few seconds it starts to break down into the beginning of the next song "Don't Waste Your Breath" and an incredible choir of voices.

Throughout the album, the band uses several different extremely catchy choruses, both instrumental and vocal, and really draws in the listener, keeping their attention throughout and making them want to keep listening.

The album also contains a number of breakdowns that I found myself stomping my feet and banging my head to without realization until the writing of this post.

If you had a chance to listen to the two singles the band released already from this album, "Backstabbers Need Not Apply" and "Family Ties," you can hear how the overall feel and listen has changed from what we've seen previously. This may have a large part to do with the departure of vocalist Nick Stiens earlier this year and the coming of Andrew DeNeef who replaced him. But it seems more than just the vocals. We're seeing a whole different side of Close To Home, and it really excites me.

In some of their former EPs and in their first full length album "Never Back Down," I saw Close To Home as kind of a pop/punk/rock band who reminded me a great deal of A Day To Remember. However, they were still unique in their own way and what really stood out to me was their mixture of a vocal style of screaming and singing, almost yelling in a way.

What we see now in Momentum is something completely different, something more than just a change of vocalists, and I really like what their putting out.

The incorporation of special guest vocals (Dave Stephens and Kyle Pavone of We Came As Romans) is also a huge plus to me.

The two singles they've already released definitely did their job to preview what you can expect to hear when listening to Momentum. But these two tracks don't embody the fullness and newness that the full album brings. One thing that I really enjoyed was the synth they incorporated into some of their songs such as "Young & Stupid."

Overall, the album is an incredible listen, both refreshing and dirty. Easily one of my favorite releases of the year.
You can get Momentum now on iTunes.


- Steve

Close To Home - Momentum

Momentum - July 31, 2012

Close To Home is less than two weeks away from releasing their brand new full length album and the "momentum" is picking up. Momentum will be the fifth release the band will put out since its birth in 2006 and is everything we could expect from the group and more. The album has a mixture of feelings from a soothing intro track to hardcore, metal riffs and downright insane vocals, both clean and screaming.

The album starts out with a short intro track called "Make It Count" containing a melodic piano, momentum picking up slightly halfway through the song, and the last few seconds it starts to break down into the beginning of the next song "Don't Waste Your Breath" and an incredible choir of voices.

Throughout the album, the band uses several different extremely catchy choruses, both instrumental and vocal, and really draws in the listener, keeping their attention throughout and making them want to keep listening.

The album also contains a number of breakdowns that I found myself stomping my feet and banging my head to without realization until the writing of this post.

If you had a chance to listen to the two singles the band released already from this album, "Backstabbers Need Not Apply" and "Family Ties," you can hear how the overall feel and listen has changed from what we've seen previously. This may have a large part to do with the departure of vocalist Nick Stiens earlier this year and the coming of Andrew DeNeef who replaced him. But it seems more than just the vocals. We're seeing a whole different side of Close To Home, and it really excites me.

In some of their former EPs and in their first full length album "Never Back Down," I saw Close To Home as kind of a pop/punk/rock band who reminded me a great deal of A Day To Remember. However, they were still unique in their own way and what really stood out to me was their mixture of a vocal style of screaming and singing, almost yelling in a way.

What we see now in Momentum is something completely different, something more than just a change of vocalists, and I really like what their putting out.

The incorporation of special guest vocals (Dave Stephens and Kyle Pavone of We Came As Romans) is also a huge plus for me.

The two singles they've already released definitely did their job to preview what you can expect to hear when listening to Momentum. But these two tracks don't embody the fullness and newness that the full album brings. One thing that I really enjoyed was the synth they incorporated into some of their songs such as "Young & Stupid."

Overall, the album is an incredible listen, both refreshing and dirty. Easily one of my favorite releases of the year.

Close To Home is currently on tour with the Scream It Like You Mean It Tour. They will be splitting up the Red and Blue lines and playing with bands such as Attack Attack!, We Came As Romans, Woe, Is Me, Abandon All Ships, The Chariot, Texas In July, The Acacia Strain, and more. Find out when they play near you on their tour schedule, here.

You can pre-order Momentum now on iTunes for $8.99. The album will be released July 31 via Artery Records/Razor & Tie.

In the meantime, here's Close To Home's two newest singles of their new album Momentum.

Backstabbers Need Not Apply

Family Ties

- Steve