Customer Reviews

Suburba

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Suburba is an album like nothing else you will hear today. Since last album The End Is Not The End, I've been convinced that House of Heroes is the top punk band in all of Christian music. With this album, they are now my favorite punk band in all of rock music. I am a long-time fan of Weezer, Jimmy Eat World, Plain White T's, Death Cab for Cutie and Relient K. If you like those bands, get this album immediately. House of Heroes won me over 2 years ago with "If," "Lose Control," "In The Valley of the Dying Sun" and "Field Of Daggers." I have had the privilege to see the band in concert twice and heard them perform a few songs from this new album last month. If you like what you hear on this album, don't miss out on seeing them perform live. I haven't seen many bands who are even better in concert at performing incredibly tight guitar riffs and singing amazing harmonies than on the studio recording. House of Heroes are the real deal.

Suburba is hooky, ambitious, and dripping with honest, candid emotion. This is what a rock record is supposed to sound like. This is what a rock record is supposed to feel like. "I like this album because we chose to write about things that we knew," states frontman Tim Skipper. "We wanted it to sound very American and full of youthful energy. We kept a lot of what we loved about the last record, but we just applied it differently and I think it came out exactly the way we wanted it to. This record is about growing up in middle class suburbia," states Skipper. "It's about fighting for your own identity in the face of society's ideas about love, money, religion and power. It's about having big dreams and going after them with reckless abandon, yet having to reconcile the fact that things aren't always going to go your way. And it's about realizing, throughout all of it, that God is real and is the one constant among all the variables of life."

The opening moments of the first track "Relentless" will appeal to any fan of 1980's electronic rock. The mix of diverse musical styles with Tim Skipper's amazing vocals are an incredible combination that gets better and better with each album. The standout songs on Suburba include the anthemic album opener, "Relentless," "Elevator," "So Far Away," "Salt In The Sea" and the epic "Independence Day For A Petty Thief." House of Heroes went the extra mile this time around to create lyrics that are cool, calculated, and crafty, while remaining vertical all the while. On "God Save the Foolish Kings" they comment on the search for significance: "And we fight `cause we'd rather break our bones than brave this loneliness, And we draw blood `cause we're just trying to draw out some significance, But I met God on the street tonight, He said, "Choose your battles wisely or you'll never find me." On "Love Is For the Middle Class," they comment on materialism and unconditional love: "If all I gave was love, Would you give up on me? But if you measure love in false securities, I owe you nothin' at all.." Perhaps the most poignant moment of all on the record comes in its most worshipful, on the track "Constant," where House of Heroes simply states the following: "All thru the night I was fallin', Straining to hear your voice callin'. You never gave out. You never gave in. You never quite gave up on me. You are my constant."

CLOSING THOUGHTS
Suburba is without a doubt the top punk rock album of the year. I can't get enough of this album and expect multiple GMA and GRAMMY award nominations for this album. If you haven't jumped on the House of Heroes bandwagon, don't wait any longer. This album will stay in heavy rotation for me and although I didn't think it was remotely possible to match the intensity and brilliance of The End Is Not The End, after constant listening of Suburba, I'm now convinced that this is their best overall album and one of my top 5 albums of 2010.

I'm hearing an amalgam of every rock band ever, all smushed together into a bunch of songs that will totally stay in your head for a long long time. I've had melodies from 5 or 6 of these songs running through my head in the weeks since I first heard it... moreso than any other album I've ever heard. Beautiful ballads like "Salt in the Sea", Queen-like harmonies and dynamics on songs like the opener, "Relentless", and the coolest story-in-song I've ever heard in "God Save the Foolish Kings".

My only beef with this album might be that imho, they kept the weakest tracks for the end... but consider this. I'm not lying when I say that the weakest tracks on this album are better than the best tracks on any other album I've heard this year.

These guys deserve a LOT of attention. This album has instantly made my top 10-ever list. It's the best thing I've heard since "Company of Thieves" in 2009, and probably a little better than that.

I have no idea how they write such amazing songs, and the performances are wonderful. The chorus/verse/bridge structures are all mangled and messed up, but the songs end up being more memorable than more conventionally written stuff.

Totally amazing.

I've been a HoH fan ever since their self-titled album (which then was re-released as "Say No More") and every album is really a fun, joyful ride. Here's a band that's not trying hard to accommodate to the mainstream. They're just trying to make good music and to me they're greatly succeeding at it. Suburba is a really fun-to-listen-to album and it's nice to see the guys are keeping their formula alive.

An absolute goldmine i tells ya! xD <3 Seriously, it's really good. This is an album that makes you want to listen to it again and again, melodies are catchy, and puts me on a feel good train :D <33

This has got to be my favorite album that has ever graced my ears. BUY IT! You won't be disappointed!

Bands come around every so often that grab you for the reasons that they are catchy, talented, witty, serious, and you become amazed that they are underground and not more popular than they are. House Of Heroes is such a group. Why is this group not more popular among Christian radio and secular radio? They write relevant songs that aren't your standard fare, which makes me realize the reason they are not played more...because they write intelligent tunes that are not watered down with the same old cliched lines. HOH are songwriters, PERIOD! Read their lyrics and you will be blown away by both POETRY and TRUTH. They are a rare find and they also rock live! My band, Alleyways & Avenues [...] had the pleasure to open up for them at The Canal Club in Richmond. They were extremely nice and put on a great live show. Keep on rockin' HOH!

First and foremost you need to know that I hold HOH's last album in such high regard, you should buy it no matter what, it is called "the end is not the end".

Now to "suburbia"

As far as the production, musicianship and lyrics go it is an amazing album.

My problem with the album comes down to this. I feel at times that the album is all over the place in style. I understand the idea of needing to build an album with highs and lows but not with different styles. The first 5 songs start off terrific and all out of the same vein and feel. But then you get to songs like "Salt in the sea", Independence day for...", "Somebody knows", and "Burn me down" and I feel like I am listening to another band. They are good songs they just don't fit the album for me. So I would say that it is a good album just not complete. Honestly if I just left those four songs out of my Ipod I would have something as good as their last album. My take on each song

1 "Relentless" (Killer intro song)
2 "Elevator" (Classic HoH, great Bass)
3 "Love Is for the Middle Class" (Awesome)
4 "So Far Away" (Outstanding Vocals)
5 "God Save the Foolish Kings" (Couldn't be better)
6 "Salt in the Sea" (Feels like Extreme doing "more than words")
7 "Independence Day for a Petty Thief" (Hello AudioSlave)
8 "Somebody Knows" (It feels like the 90's)
9 "Disappear" (Good filler song)
10 "She Mighty Mighty" (Rock) (and) (Roll)
11 "Constant" (Album Highlight)
12 "Burn Me Down" (I think Billy Corgan helped write this one)
13 "Galveston" (It was Free)

Anyway buy this album and you won't be sorry....

I decided to check out House of Heroes' album The End is Not the End when it came out and It quickly became one of my favorite albums of all time. Then when I saw that Suburba was about to be released, I was really really excited. I pre-ordered it instead of downloading off here because I wanted the actual CD so I could take it to work and have the booklet with the lyrics. I don't remember the last time I was as excited to get a CD as I was this one. It came today, I listened to it and heard another phenomenal album by House of Heroes. The production is fantastic, the guitar work is awesome, and Tim Skipper is one amazing vocalist. Not to mention the lyrics, which are awesome too. There is not a bad song here. They are all good. Get this album. You will love it!