Nashville’s Homes at Night unveil the track by track of their debut EP If You Were a Stranger.

Blurring the lines between genres is something Homes at Night is used to. The Nashville-based duo comprising of Hank Compton and Aksel Coe are both respective songwriters, but bring together a unique combination of sonics that dance between the ages. Their debut EP If You Were a Stranger, the duo brings their deft touch to every song, exploring themes of heartbreak, fresh starts, and the beauty of feeling free. 

In their track by track, exclusively written for 1883 Magazine, the band explores the themes, inspirations, and catalysts that created their debut EP If You Were a Stranger.

Bonnaroo

This was the first song we ever wrote together and became the first that we released. Bonnaroo means a lot to us because it set the tone for the rest of the EP thematically. What was supposed to just be a pandemic writing session sparked the band’s existence and being something that has become such a main focus in our lives.

Tell Emma

We wrote this with our good friend Louis Johnson aka Lonas and looking back, the writing process was so effortless. The day we got together it was just the three of us with acoustic guitars sitting around Lou’s studio and the song just kind of fell in our laps. It was one of those crazy moments where it felt like the song was writing itself. I feel like as songwriters we always look forward to days where creativity is flowing easily and this song is a good memory of that.

Sugardreaming

This one is special cause it’s the only love song on the EP. It’s a glimpse of optimism in the midst of these relationships falling apart throughout the EP.

Wasted On You

Hank came in with the verse on this thinking it was gonna be the chorus and as soon as our producer heard it he was like “yeah that’s really sick….but it’s definitely the verse” which completely changed the song for the better. It ended up becoming one of our favorites out of this batch.

Help You Unpack

This is definitely the most raw out of the bunch. Hank wrote this song about getting out of a relationship and staying in the house they shared together. It came about when he was having to get her things together so she could come pick them up.