There’s an adage that says home is where you hang your hat. But for North Carolina blues rock musician Alex Blum, the adage stating you have to leave in order to come back might be more apt. The musician’s travels resulted in his latest single “Hometown,” a groove-riddled homage off his Good Weather album regarding where he grew up and the good-natured attitude of its inhabitants.
“‘Hometown’ is a song I wrote while far from home, and it had truly been too long since I had been in my hometown,” Blum, raised growing up in Chapel Hill but now based in Charlotte, says. “I had taken a trip full of idealism, hitch-hiking between off-grid communes and eco-villages and other various alternative living communities across the country and working very hard trying to contribute to what I thought was a positive mission. But the communities were beset by bickering, gossip, and slander, which I would have thought was part of ordinary life, but people would really kick each other out of a living situation over the most petty grievances.”
Blum felt betrayed by people who were “completely dishonest and openly manipulative” yet who professed to “trying to make the world a better place.” After ending up in California, he pined for the days of being in his hometown, a place “where people truly knew each other” and held each other to a higher standard. Left with either dealing with the proverbial backstabbing or speaking out in the hopes that clearing the air would result in progress, Blum picked the latter.
“The point here is not to settle old disputes, but to reflect on life and glean lessons that we all can learn,” he says of “Hometown,” which was also inspired by a Biblical reference (Luke 4:24: “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown.”) “It’s a song about venturing out into the world and discovering people are way less trustworthy than you had thought or hopes, and finding out about yourself in the process — all the while missing your hometown.”
“Hometown” is a groove-based track bringing to mind the likes of Everlast and Beck, melding a slight hip-hop back beat against a delivery resembling Lou Reed in some respects. A mid-tempo arrangement allows Blum’s narrative to come to the fore, leaving an infectious, intelligent, and intriguing track that works wonderfully for well over five minutes.
“Hometown” is the latest single from Blum’s latest album Good Weather, released in October. The artist is no stranger to being as prolific as he is eclectic, with a myriad of albums and EPs dating back to 2016’s Sunday Morning EP. In 2022, Blum released Speak Dreams To Me, a record he describes as his “fullest rock album” that featured the musician playing every instrument (including drums) while also diving deeply into songwriting for the first time. In 2018, he released Tourmaline (Guitar Instrumentals Vol. 1) and Amethyst (Guitar Instrumentals Vol. 2) five years later. Blum also released Acetone-Electro Tape in 2020 and 2023’s Blues Master Does Another Electro Tape. Other albums include 2020’s Rap Beats Vol. 1, while 2022 saw three more album releases: Alex Blum Does Rap Music and Noise Music. Earlier in 2024, Blum released Abstract Sample-Based Music.
Blum also spent time busking on the streets of Nashville and Asheville and has performed throughout North Carolina as well as in New York City. Now with his new single “Hometown,” Alex Blum’s career is sure to impress people far beyond his own hometown.