"homescience? a beautiful and well-kept secret. from 'small music's cute lollop and the lazy handclaps of 'september' through the flaming lips-esque 'midnight in the store' and homely pianos and brushed drums of 'movin up and out', the 'small music ep' is the lo-fi heaven for which seven-inch vinyl was made. you need homescience? yes, like you need oxygen"
reviewed by the fly

every so often you stumble across a delightfully simple, plaintive record, full of sweetly caressing melodies and songs to die for, that brings a smile to your face and reminds you how good straightforward beautiful music can be. homescience's small music ep is one of those records. a seven-inch containing five songs (that plays at 33 rpm, natch), it's quietly inspired and perfectly endearing. starting with title track 'small music', the scene is set for a slo-fi, harmonised series of tunes. 'small music' wanders along dreamily, in a manner reminiscent of the essex green or of montreal, with a real kindercore edge to the proceedings. 'september' is soft, almost ethereal in tone, and sounds almost as if it's being played on toy instruments, with the childlike vocal adding an even greater feeling of wonderland gone awry. 'midnight at the store' sounds like the cast of bagpuss doing grandaddy covers. it's one of the best tracks here, a guitar heavy, xylophone-friendly track that is reminiscent of the likes of santa sprees in its delightfully off-kilter feel. 'silver state' carries on the grandaddy vibe, with squelchy keyboards oozing over a deliciously lo-fi sound. someone said to me that homescience were a 'small sound band with a big heart', and i think that's the best description to apply here. this is a charming, unassuming little record, and without a doubt is a gem.
review by paul h. at strange fruit

recorded around the same time as the wonderful songs for sick days album [see albums reviews], the four tracks on small music are sepia tinged, lo-fi, slacker americana nuggets. the title track itself - acoustic strumming, electric note picking, descending bass line - sounds like a companion to that album's excellent volcanoes. quirky sounds, sad melodies, good tunes. what more do you want? 7" vinyl only.
reviewed by kev o. soundsxp

perfectly suited to the 7" ep format, edinburgh's homescience do what you'd expect with this 5 tracker on fortuna pop! that's nervous, not drawing attention to itself, and shot through with homespun, homecooked, faintly classic melodic frailties. us being us we go fully for the lo-fi element, but don't "get" the sixties-inspired stuff - still, the title track is a perfect example of how they combine both, crafting harmonies in bas-relief to achieve their stated aim to "make small music / so it fits within the walls of the room". "movin' up and out" is a fine folk grunge amalgam of national heroes and screen prints as a drowning falsetto gamely attempts to react to haltingly-mixed acoustic guitar.
reviewed by in love with these times in spite of these times

"also just fine is another slab of 7" vinyl, this time emanating from the tasty fortuna pop stable. small music is a five tracker from homescience, a gaggle of edinburgh / leeds youth who conspire to make the tremulous blend of noise you would expect from anyone in love with the treasures of the likes of the beach boys, pavement, neutral milk hotel, toy instruments and the marvellously pure simplicity of home recording. all of which means that homescience are a gloriously ramshackle proposition guaranteed to leave you all of a tremble, and thank goodness for that."
reviewed by tangents