REVIEW: Home Front - Watch It DIe

HOME FRONT’s Watch It Die turns grief and disillusionment into something vital. The Edmonton duo GRAEME MACKINNON and CLINT FRAZIER have always worked at the crossroads of punk grit and synth-pop shimmer, but this record feels like a leap forward. It’s sharper, bolder, and more alive, shaped by the experience of becoming a fully-fledged live band after their earlier albums, Think of the Lie and Games of Power.

Where Games of Power felt cold and intentionally claustrophobic, Watch It Die carries a sense of motion and light. Touring between releases gave the band a renewed perspective on what their songs could be. The live shows, in their chaos and catharsis, pushed them towards something fuller and more physical. That energy bleeds into this album, even though the stage and studio versions of HOME FRONT now feel like distinct entities. The result is a record that bridges intensity and melody, loss and resilience, without smoothing the edges of either.

The title track sets the tone with a widescreen sound that feels almost cinematic, evoking the sweep of a coming-of-age film score. In a recent interview with Treble, MACKINNON explained that, as a track, Watch It Die began as a nod to THE JAM’s Setting Sons - a starting point that shaped the album’s mix of punk defiance and introspection. That influence definitely lingers in the songwriting, with the entire album examining grief and change with the same unguarded sincerity that once powered PAUL WELLER’s sharpest lyrics.

A few tracks later, Light Sleeper stands out with its chant-like delivery of “we’re born alone, we die alone”. It’s an idea that could read as hopeless, but instead lands as communal acceptance when shouted over surging synths. The record’s emotional center lies in its ability to turn bleak ideas into shared catharsis. Eulogy reflects on mortality, but does so through the language of an anthem, while Dancing With Anxiety opens with warped, twitching rhythms that gradually unfolds into one of the album’s most danceable moments - a fitting contradiction for a band fascinated by tension and release.

Young Offender is another key track, pairing some of the album’s heavier vocals with a bright, synth-driven pulse. The grit in MACKINNON’s voice cuts through the gleaming production, and when the guitars snarl in behind him, the contrast gives the song its bite. It’s a reminder of how comfortably HOME FRONT blends rawness with precision. Even at their most melodic, they never lose touch with punk’s physicality.

By this third release, HOME FRONT sounds like they’ve found the sweet spot between technology and instinct. Earlier records were built remotely, with the duo still learning the machinery of their sound. Here, though, everything finally clicks. The synths feel purposeful rather than ornamental, the drums hit harder, and the production balances digital polish with the grit of guitars recorded in small rooms in their hometown.

Despite its polish, Watch It Die is an album rooted in vulnerability. The lyrics circle around loss, exhaustion, and the daily work of surviving in a collapsing world. Yet rather than sink into cynicism, the record insists on momentum. The band’s message, about community and resistance, feels less like a manifesto and more like an act of care. Their outspoken support for Palestine and Indigenous rights in Canada runs parallel to the album’s themes of connection and survival, but neither overshadows the other. The politics are personal, embedded in the sense that endurance itself is a form of defiance. 

However, it’s also fair to say that Watch It Die won’t resonate with everyone. The hybrid of synth-pop brightness and punk abrasion is striking, but it’s not always an easy listen. Some may find its mix of nostalgia and experimentation jarring, or too specific to certain underground sensibilities. Yet that’s also what makes it compelling: HOME FRONT sounds refreshingly unbothered by convention, crafting something that feels true to their scene rather than engineered for mass appeal. For those open to it, the payoff is huge, rewarding repeat listens with new emotional detail each time. 

In the end, Watch It Die finds hope in persistence, refusing to stand still, accepting how devastating and messy life often is. It’s proof that survival can sound ecstatic, even when the world feels like it’s burning down around you.

Score: 8/10

Watch It Die will be released on November 14th 2025 via La Vida Es Un Mus Discos.

Words: Zuzanna Pazola

Photos: Lyle Bell