Customer Reviews

Audience With the Mind

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of the 5 best albums I've ever heard. It's pure genius. As with most works of genius, most peole just won't get it, but someday, when time catches up to it...

Pay no "mind" to the lazy perception that "Audience With The Mind" was the terminus of an alleged "downhill slide" for the immortal House Of Love. Even some of the band seemed eager to consign this underrated gem to the dustheap. Wrong. This was an artistic progression from the earlier releases that casual fans are so blithely nostalgic for. Here's hoping the re-united HOL will someday incorporate this material into their live act in addition to the early classics. Crank up the guitars, Gents, and please tour the States in 2009!

Favorites: "Sweet Anatomy," "Audience With The Mind," "Shining On," "Hollow," "Into The Tunnel," "You've Got To Feel."

Honorable Mention: "Erosion," "Corridors," "Call Me."

Hey, even their cover art is in great taste.

House of Love (HOL) are one of the many great atmospheric rock bands out of England. Their sound bridges modern rock and new wave and then adds sparkles of punk and even traditional rock. At times, they remind me of a lyrically deep Wang Chung.

With deep lyrics, they even remind me of Echo and the Bunnymen, but are to me, much better.

"Won't this body leave this mind? Can this child decide to find a reason why the soul might be subliming from another time? I guess that's why I have what some would say is a dangerous mind..."

Their lyrics transcend meaning at times. The cryptic nature of them with emotionally powerful melodies makes their sound aloof and complex.

Songs like "Erosion" have an outburst of energy; where, songs like "Shining on" have a certain hopefulness in their expression.

Finally, Haloes is the perfect atmospheric expression. It blends hope, dreaminess, and even sardonic wit. You never know what's going to come out their singer's mouth. This unpredictability makes their albums worth keeping your collection.

Now without the guitars of Terry Vickers for this, the album following Babe Rainbow, it's charitable to say that any fan should start with the earlier, late 80s sounds of what was a fine band until they lost their key sound architect--who went on to form Levitation, by the way. The original HoL lineup has reformed with a new album in 2004/5.