Home Hearing Records gathers a stunning collection of boundary-free underground sound
adventures in sound vol. 2 feels a bit less like a compilation and more like a deliberate project rooted in curiosity of vibes. it’s fifth release in the home hearing records catalogue, reinforces the label’s commitment to individuality over genre, gathering artists not because they sound alike, but because they share a willingness to explore.
the collection spans folk, post-punk, garage rock, art-punk, and more – neatly resisting an easy framing. which of course we love. maybe it’s a better described as a snapshot of an underground we’d love to visit; alive, unsettled, and driven by intent.
opening quietely – this house by damien j. johnson kicks along with a wonderful neil young groove, rooted in a searching for belonging without ever pretending there’s a clean answer. it’s got a fantastic sense of groove, and kicks things off in style.
fantasy by elbury follows with a softer emotional ache. a plaintive vocal with finger-style acoustic guitars bring in a mood that reflects on love after loss. it’s restrained, produced wonderfully and got a vocal arrangement i really like. i’ll be digging into their catalogue, for sure.
the atmosphere thickens with grip from sabre siren. darkwave and post-punk tones pulse with hypnotic intensity, balancing menace and momentum. it’s all very shadowed, loose and physical – definitely pulling the compilation into darker territory – and contrasts wonderfully.
echoes by sounds like winter leans fully into post-punk atmosphere, exploring haunting as both concept and feeling. a personal highlight, with an incredible cure-like guitar line, builds a definite unease, as if the past refuses to stay buried. it’s dark and wonderfully cinematic without excess, and i would love to see this live.
things become more a little more on the unhinged side with too real by sour hour. buzz-saw guitars and a creeping narrative blur the line between psychedelic and unsettling. it’s all wonderfully uncomfortable, capturing a sense of modern paranoia and distortion that feels fitting for the 2026 we’ve been having. another personal fave, and a quick gooogle shows very little about these noisy lads, so i’ll be doing a deeper dive soon.
the tension peaks with all the news (live) by terror terror. starting with deceptive lightness, drivven indie guitars sent from heaven, the track builds somewhere wonderful. there’s also chaos, mirroring media overload and digital dependency. the live setting adds urgency and volatility – i would love to see this live.
rats are in the basement by n.b.c.c paints a world in crisis. sirens, collapse, and the desire to escape are rendered with raw directness. distorted vocals, a bold production, a direct message. this feels all collective anxiety, but the kind of collective anxiety that sounds fucking great.
energy snaps back into focus with advice song by dada sun. recorded raw on 4-track, it carries the immediacy of a band finding itself in real time. garage rock grit and urgency dominate, and – in a world of AI music – the directness, the grit and the driven four track vibes are genuinely stunning. i wonder if it was a tascam, hmm.
anyway, therapizza by karoshi takes us into more electronic territory, fusing dance and rock into something restless and emotionally taut. it documents slipping back into bad habits despite good intentions, driven by pulse and grit. there’s a physicality here, sweat and movement pushing the compilation forward.
closing track god of the machine by the lobotomy girls doesn’t round things off gently. it also doesn’t offer comfort, instead it’s all digital hardcore, drum and bass textures confronting technology and also pushing my headphones to the limit. it’s aggressive, unsettling, and deliberately confrontational – we absolutely love it.
as a whole, adventures in sound vol. 2 succeeds not by smoothing differences, but by letting them exist side by side. it’s a snapshot of underground music as exploration, not branding. messy, diverse, and alive, it trusts listeners to follow instinct rather than genre, and rewards them for doing so. an essential listen.
thank u for making this home hearing records 🖤
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