House of Heroes - Smoke

I recently fell in love with House of Heroes after listening to their 2010 album Suburba (which is the most fun I've had listening to music all summer). Their alternative rock sensibilities absolutely refreshed me, while their musical complexity reminded me of the Beatles in its simplistic nature. Their new EP Smoke doesn't come out until August 19, but because I supported their IndieGoGo project I got it a little early, so I felt it was only right to share my thoughts on it with you.

Lyrically, Smoke carries a theme of overcoming intrusion into our lives from good and bad influences by the knowledge of our salvation in Christ. This begins with "Bottle Rocket," as it conveys the invasion of a catastophe intending to consume our souls. "Wake Up Screaming" is about searching for a lost purpose in our lives, while "The Worst Kind of gods" discusses false belief and hypocrisy and adds some spoken word about not seeking our own devices to hammer the point home. "A Fire Only We Know" dwells on our secrecy about both our trials and our blessings, and "Satisfied" deals with our complacency and our desire for more of God in our lives. However, it is the closer "Infinite" that takes the cake lyrically, as the passionate delivery of the declarative chorus transforms a good song into a great one. It emphasizes knowing that everything will fade around us as we triumph with Christ. Overall, Smoke feels like a very concise concept album, which helps retain our attention throughout.

Musically, House of Heroes stays in the more modern alt rock scene for their influence rather than going into the past. Unfortunately, this makes Smoke feel far too familiar to be as effective as it could have been. "Bottle Rocket" and "Infinite" have clear Muse influences, while "The Worst Kind of gods" sounds a lot like the Foo Fighters. The remaining tracks feel a little too much like U2-but-harder knockoffs that have become trendy lately, so they were far less impressive to me. Thankfully, the lyrics make these songs highly salvageable.

Overall, the latest effort from House of Heroes shows a lot of lyrical experience with not much musical innovation. Please don't misunderstand me; this is a good release. I just expected a little more musically from the band who flawlessly combined Beatles minimalism with Led Zeppelin's energy to make an album about the life of the American teenager in Suburba.

Lyrics: 4.5/5
Music: 3.5/5
Overall: 4/5

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