EP Review: Dealing With Damage – Home Security

Hot on the heels of their acclaimed debut album “Ask The Questions” the eight legged riff machine that is Dealing With Damage have released “Home Security“, a digital only EP to help you while away those lockdown blues, and let’s face it we’re all experiencing those to some degree as there seems to be no end in sight to the current pandemic. The “Home Security” EP was recorded last summer at the legendary No Recording Studio with recording supremo John Hannon at the controls, it features three new tracks, two originals, ‘Lady Day‘ and ‘Making Plans For Misery‘, and a cover of a track by the hugely influential Texan psyche outfit, The 13th Floor Elevators. 

On the aforementioned album “Ask The Questions” album The Punk Site noted that “Dealing With Damage are an amalgamation of punk’s past that is perfect for post Brexit Britain, dark, stormy, claustrophobic and fucking furious”, let’s face it, sadly things haven’t got any better, especially with the addition, and mismanagement, of COVID-19 in the UK. The menacing tones of ‘Making Plans For Misery‘ brings a jagged post punk approach to bear before “Lady Day‘ crashes into you with the sound you should have come to know and love from Dealing With Damage. Both of the new tracks manage to simultaneously make a welcome addition and expand on the sound of their debut album, however something else lurks on the “Home Security” EP.

For the final track on “Home Security” Dealing With Damage have eschewed the well known standards by The 13th Floor Elevators and have taken the lesser known track ‘Dust‘, that originally appeared on the Elevators sophomore album “Easter Everywhere” back in 1967, the roots of punk run deep as their version of this underground psychedelic classic shows. Even though it’s only been a few months since the release of the band’s debut album, the release of the “Home Security” EP demonstrates that Dealing With Damage are no one trick pony. The “Home Security” EP is a more than welcome, although somewhat unexpected, follow up, one that indicates that’s there’s a lot more to come from Dealing With Damage

“Home Security” can be streamed and purchased via Bandcamp here