Goodnight House

The winter of 2006 was much like previous cold weathered seasons for Joel Lane. During those unbearable months, love seemed to burry itself in the inches upon inches of Michigan snow that accumulated. Though he had suffered from seasonal depression before, this particular winter was, for various reasons, especially debilitating, and Lane found himself completely unable to experience even periodic joy or contentment. Powerless at trying to tune out the constant anguish, he desperately sought solace in the one thing that had been there most of his life. Yet, any word written, any note sung, any string played would result in frustration. A vicious cycle of attempt and failure ate away at any sign of life from an otherwise spirited musician.

Gradually, the depression subsided, and, following a relocation during the summer of 2007, Lane felt creatively reinvigorated. He began writing the nine songs that eventually became Goodnight House’s debut album It Ends and Starts Again. In these songs, Lane boldly and honestly materializes the feelings of loneliness, dissatisfaction, and monotony he had previously experienced.

What resulted was an album that has been tagged as “genuine music laced with genuine poetry”. Shades of Mark Kozelek’s days in Red House Painters blend with the tempered overtones of bands such as Hum and My Bloody Valentine. The hushed vocal melodies marry delicate harmonies with the oo’s and oh’s in the background. It Ends and Starts Again was independently released by Goodnight House in late 2008. Goodnight House currently plays as a six piece featuring Joel and Megan Lane, Craig Ely, Ron Thibault, Dan Rock, and Hillary Holman. Though the recordings are beautiful in their quiet, introspective nuances, the band prides themselves on their grippingly energetic live performances.