Review: Home Counties – Dad Bod

When a song manages to do everything you want within two minutes, you have to sit back, shut up, and applaud. Home Counties have achieved this with their fantastic new single, Dad Bod. The only downside is that the title reminded me that my drinking over lockdown has become somewhat untethered, and at the age of twenty-five, this could be a decisive moment in deciding whether or not I fully embrace my chubby future. 

I absolutely love the way Dad Bod plods along. It sounds disjointed while remaining tightly woven together, and I have no idea how the band achieve this strange aural sensation with such ease. It’s rough and ready, yet simultaneously polished and harmless. The sort of tune you could invite round to your grandma’s for tea, but it might break a few cups along the way. Ultimately though, she doesn’t mind because the song is so loveable. 

All joking aside, Dad Bod is lyrically tied into some fascinating themes. It tackles modern masculinity, questioning and probing some of the light-hearted and more damaging tropes that surround this topic. I’ve often wondered whether someone would write about the false progressives of the middle class in a two-minute masterclass, and now that it’s been done, I can sleep easy. We need more bands like Home Counties, who talk about what they want and refuse to let their music be boxed in. Viva La Dad Bod.