Back for good?
Another band seemingly back from the dead, every Tomas, Richard and Harold seems to be reforming in some way or another these days. For anyone not familiar with The House Of Love they were a mildly successful band from around 1987 that disintegrated partly due to the inflated young egos of the main players and partly due to the musical landscape being rearranged by the tidal wave of Madchester. They had a few hits and a couple that still stand the test of time, most notably "Shine On" which if you listen close enough still gets the odd airing on XFM.
This release continues in the vein of where they left off all those years ago. "Gotta Be This Way" is a breezy indie track that drifts along with an affecting liquidity with some neat guitar workings and sweet melodies, the voice of Guy Chadwick still sounds strong and makes you wonder what hes been up to all this time. The only real problem is the lead guitar which sounds a little too close to Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" and so by association the BBC's "Grand Prix" programme and in this mind it rather distressingly conjured up visions of that uber pillock Jeremy Clarkson galloping around in ill-advised denim with his bulbous head and its shocking perm. But I suspect that last bit could be something particular to me.
The other tracks on the EP are a stripped down version by Mogwai that drops the lead and messes with the vocal and a live acoustic version of one of their oldies "Love In A Car" recorded at the ICA in February of this year.