Ōtautahi-based Model Home have recently released this fine debut album ‘…And Nobody Made A Sound,’ whole-heartedly encapsulating early 2000s’ punk-rock sentimentality with passionately fuelled vocals, technical drum fills and overlapping guitar riffs.

Recorded by Stephen Marr at Roundhead Studios ‘…And Nobody Made A Sound’ is consistently concise in tone and energy, centred on the contrasting emotions of being excited to grow up and realising the disappointing truths of adulthood.

The opening track Home Again V immediately introduces listeners to the band’s luscious soundscapes full of thick drum chops and intertwining guitar melodies. Beginning in compound time, the song swiftly turns into a head-banging 4/4 with the introduction of a new guitar motif, complimented further by a chorus of passionately yelled harmonies. The bridge involves a guitar-heavy thrash of emotion, driven by drummer Sean James hitting every part of the kit as quickly and reliably as possible. This mashable instrumental is broken up with the nostalgia-fuelled vocal melody, “…come home,” setting the scene for an album that’s not only sentimental musically, but emotionally as well.

Each track contains the essence of an emo ballad, as though they could all be playing at the end of a’90s rom-com. As an almost continuous display of melancholy and full sonic environments, Model Home never stray too far from the musical and lyrical themes expressed in previous songs, despite the constant tension and release that the four-piece have nailed in their instrumental layering. Tracks such as New York Is Thataway, Man, Spain, and As/Per are initially more sparse, but listeners can be confident they’ll not miss out on the distinct Model Home sense of momentum and climax that this debut album so evidently illustrates.

The overarching aesthetic of ‘…And Nobody Made A Sound’ reflects on feelings of frustration, growing up and lost opportunities, and encourages listeners to do the same, as what’s described in Three Squeezes Of The Hand; hop in your car for a long road trip through the night, and blast songs that make you feel like a kid again.