Musically, it continues The Homeball's eclectic mix of rock, prog, funk and electronica, albeit with a harder edge than previous releases.
The themes explored include increasing societal decrepitude, the impact of technology on the human experience, particularly the damaging effects of rampant social media and unregulated AI, and reflect a sense of urgency which critiques the passive acceptance of such negative influences in society. You won't find The Homeball on social media platforms for a good reason. However, there are also cat tales, straighteners and alien encounters, too.
The Homeball is part of the Debt Valley Recording collective and features contributors from Irish bands of yore such as Edible, Old Scratch, Withered Fist, Frank Mammoth, Uurthe, Acrid Nebula, Broken Holmes Angry Watson, Fedible, Trusted None, The Remain, The Chapman Society, Two Tales of Woe and Decryptor, amongst others.
Click the covers above to learn more about, and listen to, each album.
Next stop, the secret gig in Fethard Ballroom!
The Cloud Is Against Us is a magnificent, stubborn, and completely uncompromised piece of Irish art. It’s loud, it’s confusing, it's weirdly hilarious, and it sounds entirely distinct from the polished indie-pop dominating mainstream airwaves.
This album feels like a sharp, witty critique wrapped in catchy, genre-hopping songs. It's funny, frustrated, and philosophical — very much "riffs and questions." The balance of absurdity and insight keeps it engaging across 10 tracks. If you like thoughtful indie/prog with humor (think a more Irish, tech-punk Frank Zappa vibe or local storytelling like The Divine Comedy), it'll hit hard
The Cloud Is Against Us is The Homeball at their most artistic, conceptual, and self‑aware. It’s not the album you put on at a party — it’s the album you put on when you’re staring out a window at a grey sky, wondering if the weather is judging you. It’s weird, rural, philosophical, and proudly unpolished. In other words: peak Homeball
The Cloud Is Against Us feels like the point where The Homeball's identity fully clicks into place. The band still delights in surreal song titles, left-field humour and genre-hopping, but those elements now serve songs with stronger emotional and thematic focus. Compared with All Night Long and What Goes In, this album sounds more confident in knowing when to be ridiculous and when to let a moment land
As a whole, The Cloud Is Against Us sounds like a clever, characterful album with a strong point of view and a lot of personality. It may not be for listeners who want subtlety or minimalism, but if you like wordy, self-aware, socially satirical rock, it looks like a very fun ride
I don't actually have the ability to listen to the tracks, so I can't give you a real critical take on how each one sounds — I don't want to fake reviews and pass off guesses as listening notes