HOUSES

Houses, The Knew, Action Packed Thrill Ride
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Larimer Lounge
Better Than: The fireside.

It was snowing on Saturday, seriously snowing, hard enough to cover the signs and turn the city into a giant, hushed bobsled track. You would not have known this, though, if you were taken and plopped in front of the stage at the Larimer Lounge around 10 p.m. The room was in high spirits, with people yelling, getting drunk and standing shoulder-to-shoulder like no one was concerned about getting home. Although each band acknowledged the mess outside, briefly -- only Action Packed Thrill Ride's Mark Cawthray really noted the difference, when he said late in his set, "This is kind of fun. I feel like we're all snowed in together," he observed with a laugh. "Feel that kinship? This is a memory you'll never forget," he said, pausing briefly before adding with more laughter, "We're all dead." It was the musical equivalent of a cheap sunset and cheap beer.


If you were picking a house band for your life, you would have to take a serious look at Action Packed Thrill Ride. The band has always outshone its Americana label and lately the designation feels completely unnecessary -- the new stuff is carefree rock and roll for the young and roadbound, simple songs and instrumental breakdowns you can hum along to. There's still just a touch of a honky-tonk past, enough to give the music a grounded feeling.

On stage, Action Packed plays like a band that's been here before, comfortable and competent. But the outfit has lost none of the thrill of performance, literally laughing into the microphones and, particularly in the case of Lucas Johannes, sparing no equipment malfunction or overrated cool at the expense of freaking the fuck out up there.

As the group finds its sound, its music is starting to really take off, which is to say that there are moments when the guys have layered enough parts together and built the song to the edge of a cliff and the downward drums fall away and the song floats through the air, unbridled. You will never regret having seen this band.

Action Packed Thrill Ride
?
The Knew are a very slick band that I would have no problem never seeing again. To be sure, there's talent all around -- Tyler Breuer is a wonderful guitarist, blasting the accumulating musical dust of so much roots rock with caged feedback and righteous distortion. And Patrick Bowden has, at the very least, impressive coordination, clicking out forward-falling drum riffs and blowing a brazen harmonica, often at the same time. I even like Jacob Hansen's voice, breezy and carefree and cool. It's just that so much of their show feels like posturing, so many moves copped from so many better bands, and no one is a greater offender than bassist Tim Rynders, who plays the easiest instrument in the band and struts around the stage like he's earned the mandate of millions of screaming fans instead of the appreciative head nods of a couple hundred locals.

The Knew had a tailored country dress code this weekend, and it seemed at times like they might slip straight into narrow-vision hee-haws at any second.

The Knew
?
Houses debuted their cold-weather sound on Saturday with the release of the Fall EP, their third in a seasonal set. I wasn't sure where they would head after the heady sounds of Summer, but that's because I wasn't thinking clearly. There were signs all along that Houses loves the '70s, and now more than ever they sound like modern Denver's classic rock kings, our answer to (can't take credit for this observation, but it's so true) Neil Young. The breeze has left the band now, and their live show has mostly lost its pandemonium. In its place is a band sure of itself and of its role, clicking together.

The downside of the increasingly seasoned Houses is that, on some songs, the band seems to be mailing it in. I don't know whether it's that they're tired of the tunes or they're just evolving too quickly and the old stuff doesn't suit them.

The upside is that they can absolutely crush you now. The power of most of the new stuff (notably "Red Feather" and "Black Hawk," which is just completely epic) is such that they don't need the absurd charisma at their disposal. They just need the tunes, more solidly crafted than ever. Whereas before they'd just repeat a phrase louder and louder and come crashing down on it, now they'll add little wrinkles, little bent variances in the dueling guitars of Andy Hamilton and Mike Marchant. Johnny Lundock has stepped into a full-time drumming role within the band and the new stuff allows him to flex some truly absurd chops, the sort of massive drumming that you listen to on record and swear is the result of four arms and a heart pumping steady rhythm. Eric Peterson plays a more jarring keyboard on the new stuff: think the organ sound of The Doors. Matthew Till has a few ominous bass lines now (notable on the aforementioned "Black Hawk"), and he muscled his way through some technical issues, continuing to help give the band its fullness. Stephen Brooks helps with that, too, adding an extra set of keys or some random percussion -- congas and shakers. And there's a lot more of that this time around, cowboys and indians style. The front three: Hamilton, his wife Kinsey and Marchant, do the rest; their vocal parts almost menacing, sometimes spoken now. But they still sound like a damn choir of voices, and you still want to sing along to every chorus. And those guitars. Oh those guitars. All told, the results will leave you covered in goosebumps and ready to fucking wrestle a buffalo.

CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK:
Personal Bias: My devotion to Houses is well documented at this point.
By The Way: The pictures are subpar because I had to use the b-team camera, and I am not a good photographer anyway. Sorry about that.
Random Detail: Hamilton prefaced a patch of new songs by announcing that they'd be playing a bunch of stuff we hadn't heard before. This is never a good idea, and the place thinned out considerably. Maybe it was just the weather, but still: people generally prefer to hear the stuff they know. Not that they shouldn't have played from the new EP, obviously, but I probably wouldn't have bunched it together and then alerted the crowd. - Westword

The Morning Benders, the Submarines and Denver’s up-and-coming Houses dealt a winning hand on a semi-wintry Friday at the Hi-Dive, the bands ending up as a better-than-expected fit with each other.

Houses is one of the newly notable “super group” additions to the local music scene. You may recognize some of the players from Boys Who Like Audrey, Old Radio, Harpoontang, Widowers, Hearts of Palm, Pawn Ticket Trio and Blue Million Miles. Leader Andy Hamilton and wife Kinsey Hamilton (vocals, horns, percussion) drive the band while the rest follow naturally in sound and strength. This was only the band’s fifth show, and it was so well executed that it should put most Denver indie bands on notice.

Houses’ eight members came fully equipped, constantly changing percussion, horns, glocks, guitars, organs, Wurlitzer and vocals. They presented arrangements that were professional, eloquent and full-bodied while still knowing the importance of space, stillness and circulation for each song. Numerous influences and faint recollections of Sufjan Stevens, Dr. Dog, Nick Drake and Black Heart Procession come whispering into their tones and harmonies. Keep your ears open for their EP, out March 20, which begins a regular release for each season of this year.

L.A.’s the Submarines took the next slot with their three-piece girly-vocal alt-pop. Lead singer Blake Hazard reminds us of Feist’s vocals and the music reflects some of Bjork’s inexplicable mixing behaviors. Hazard’s husband John Dragonetti supports the fury with guitar and other sounds while Jason Stare keeps pace on percussion. Their catchy, upbeat tunes have been heard all over iPhone commercials and TV shows, and seeing them live brought a similar energy. “You, Me and the Bourgeoisie” is a great example of their capabilities to reach a vast number of people fast. The light-hearted, inspiring lyrics, “Everyday we wake up, we choose love, we choose light and we try…” are just what we want to hear right now. Overall the live set was moving, but lacked a bit of the punch that we expect from their albums.

Topping-off the night was the Morning Benders, a Berkeley, Calif., four-piece on tour for the album “Talking Through Tin Cans,” and preparing for today’s release of “Grain of Salt.” Although young and starry-eyed, these boys put on a bright, confident set. Lead singer Christopher Chu’s vocals and lyrics are what allow the band to soar, a punctual, back-doorsy yet mature sound that leaves you nostalgic for someone you’ve never met. It’s touching, and with the added melodies, harmonies and sentiments they provided, the set kept everyone’s attention.

The Morning Benders can sing you a soft one as good as the best in indie rock, but can also pull-off tight, furious one like “Damnit Anna” or “Waiting for a War.” The piano plays fast and the drums stay right there while the guitars and lyrics leap out at the listener. The realization of how ripe the band is for more listeners came when Chu gave a modest “thanks” to the crowd, seemingly surprised that there were so many of us with him.
- Denver Post

Houses is such a curt, domestic, common name for an uncommonly good band. Recently formed and already attracting major word-of-mouth buzz, the smart music of Houses is as expansive and refreshing as it is unclassifiable. Sometimes it shimmers and chimes, other times it just plain squalls with rock and roll — but it seems firmly rooted to me in shades of an earthy sepia.

A big, exuberant, Denver-style collective of at least eight members (and all their varied instruments), Houses is formed around the core songwriting duo of Andrew James Hamilton and his wife Kinsey Hamilton. Joining them are members of several other excellent groups in and around Denver (such as Widowers, Blue Million Miles and the perhaps-defunct Hearts of Palm).
With Bishop Allen-type plans for year round domination, Houses is releasing one EP for each season of 2009. I’m having fun divvying up all the songs on their MySpace player into speculative seasons. It seems clear to me that instrumental sojourns like the surf-guitar-laced “Beach Song” radiate waves of August heat, and the pensive “North Sea” is a brilliant shade of arctic January white — or maybe December with those faint sleigh bells chiming.
But this next track might be more like the hazy smell of burning leaves in late October. I am totally and completely in love with it — the way it starts out with a classy, bluesy organ melody that anchors throughout and builds into a singalong that feels like The Band at the San Francisco’s Winterland, early 1970s.
By the last minute, the song explodes like fiery sunrise, just like they promised it would. We’ll see the sun again indeed.
We’ll See The Sun – Houses

For more listening, last month’s show with Everything Absent or Distorted is up over on The Flat Response.
And one of those EPs (presumably Spring) is being released tomorrow night (Friday) at the Hi-Dive, in a show with other local luminaries Elin Palmer and Ian Cooke.
When Houses played with The Morning Benders and The Submarines in February, the Denver Post’s review claimed that although it was “only the band’s fifth show … it was so well executed that it should put most Denver indie bands on notice.” That’s a show I got real close (meters) to seeing, but lots of wet snow and maybe some tequila stopped me from actually making it inside. Sigh. I shant be so foolish again — I really am looking forward to seeing a lot of Houses in 2009. - I Am Fuel, You Are Friends

Houses, 11:55 p.m. Friday, hi-dive
What it was like: Arriving at the exact place you want to be.

Houses sent the hi-dive to the mountaintop late on Friday night. No Jesus Christ, nothing like that, just a bar full of gooey hipsters, arm-in-arm. Houses were huge and warm and soaked in sweat and booze. They were a swarm of matted hair and an earsplitting racket of harmony and reverb and rattles from tambourines and jingle bells. Guitars built and fell out, leaving just a mat of keyboard, and that dropped out too and everyone was singing things like, "Why can't we go back to how things used to be?" Such simple, beautiful sentiments overwhelmed the set. By the last song of the night, the hippest venue on the hippest stretch of Denver was a shouting mess. A fan in the front, falling all over the place in rapture, ripped his wristband to pieces and threw them at the stage. This band has just the thing for the waning hours at a bar, when everyone is too drunk to be anything but earnest.

Verdict: I've had some time now to make sure I still believe this, and I do: This was one of ten best shows I've ever seen in my life. I was so full, so satisfied you'd have thought it was Thanksgiving. -- Maletsky - Westword

For the 10th year, The Denver Post asked 61 local music experts to rank their top 20 bands in Colorado more deserving of mainstream recognition. Meet the Top 10, from Snake Rattle Rattle Snake to The Hollyfelds, out of 301 bands receiving points, in their own words.

1. Snake Rattle Rattle Snake

2. Houses
Personnel: Stephen Brooks (organ), Andy Hamilton (vocals, guitar), Kinsey Hamilton (vocals, shaky things), Johnny Lundock (drums), Mike Marchant (guitar, vocals), Eric Peterson (piano, vocals), Matthew Till (bass)
Websites: myspace.com/housestheband
Colorado connection: We are connected to the mountains beneath our feet, nourished by the storms above our heads, drunk on the sun.
Genre: Psychedelic rock and roll revival, Pentecostal swamp-rock
Members in other bands: Stephen Brooks (Pawn Ticket Trio), Andy Hamilton (O, Sorcerer; Coleman Winters & the Flowering Sunshine Band), Johnny Lundock (Blue Million Miles), Mike Marchant (Widowers; Mike Marchant's Outer Space Party Unit), Eric Peterson (Old Radio; Roger, Roll)
Favorite local acts: Bad Weather California, Nathaniel Rateliff, Tauntaun, Git Some, Joe Sampson, Joseph Pope III, Woven Hand, Achille Lauro
Next show: Midnight Friday, Verizon Wireless Stage @ the Hi-Dive; 3 p.m. Saturday, CarToys Stage @ the Goodwill Parking Lot, The UMS
We got into music because: Music got into us. That and we're mostly unemployable.
We're still in it because: Music is still into us. Playing music has improved our lives, wives, beers and beards.

3. Nathaniel Rateliff
4. The Knew
5. Paper Bird
6. Bad Weather California
7. Git Some
8. Gregory Alan Isakov
9. Tauntaun
10. The Hollyfelds - Denver Post

I was quite surprised when Andy annouced between songs at the Meadowlark that this was the second time Houses had performed for a crowd. For a band that had only taken the stage once prior to Friday night, the buzz is already spreading among Denver music fans. After seeing the show, it’s easy to understand why.

Judging by the crowd response, Houses promise to be a great addition to the local scene. Their set showcases a number of catchy indie pop singalongs (reminiscent of Hearts of Palm), mellow jangles, dark jams, and straight-up rockers

http://www.theflatresponse.com/2008/11/houses-11062008-meadowlark/ - The Flat Response

At its best Houses is everything that is brilliant about the Denver music scene. It’s a conglomerate of houses and players, most of whom have duties with other acts in town, and each player is adept in a variety of instruments.
The band moves from ambient, dreamy swells of the calm seas (“Crossing the North Sea”) to big, full band arrangements that will move an entire room into dance and exaltation.

http://denversyntax.com/issue16/music/houses/houses.html - {Syntax}

Houses is one of the newly notable “super group” additions to the local music scene. Leader Andy Hamilton and wife Kinsey Hamilton (vocals, percussion) drive the band while the rest follow naturally in sound and strength. This was only the band’s fifth show, and it was so well executed that it should put most Denver indie bands on notice.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/reverb/2009/02/24/the-morning-benders-the-hi-dive/ - Denver Post

Houses has spent the last few weeks recording its debut EP, the first of four to be released over the upcoming months. The EP, though untitled, is known as the Spring EP. This will be followed by Summer, Fall and Winter, with each EP attempting to match the mood of the corresponding seasons. This might seem like an ambitious concept for a group that formed just a little over a year ago.

From the broad and expansive instrumental opener, "Beach Song," to the soaring, near-gospel closer, "We'll See the Sun," each track is layered and powerful without being overbearing. It's as if the Allman Brothers and the Arcade Fire got together to pen the soundtrack to the sequel for the movie Almost Famous. The '70s vibe cannot be denied. Andy himself looks like a throwback to that era. With his shoulder-length hair and wispy beard, it wouldn't look completely abnormal to see him jamming with Blue Oyster Cult. Amid the classic-arena-rock vibe, however, there's also an indie-rock sensibility.

http://www.westword.com/2009-04-30/music/andy-and-kinsey-hamilton-built-houses-together-with-some-friends/ - Denver Westword

Houses is such a curt, domestic, common name for an uncommonly good band. Recently formed and already attracting major word-of-mouth buzz, the smart music of Houses is as expansive and refreshing as it is unclassifiable. Sometimes it shimmers and chimes, other times it just plain squalls with rock and roll — but it seems firmly rooted to me in shades of an earthy sepia.

A big, exuberant, Denver-style collective of at least eight members (and all their varied instruments), Houses is formed around the core songwriting duo of Andrew James Hamilton and his wife Kinsey Hamilton. Joining them are members of several other excellent groups in and around Denver.

http://www.fuelfriendsblog.com/2009/04/30/queen-city-spotlight-houses/ - I Am Fuel You Are Friends

Andy Hamilton's Houses -- which has taken its place, for the moment, as Denver's indie rock darling -- is as much a happening as a rock band. Finding room on the crowded-yet-intriguing Curious stage for all the outfit's players was tricky, but once they settled in, the bliss and melancholy of Houses filled the room and snagged the attention of an eager crowd -- which included many of the day's performers, who stopped by to hear what the fuss was all about.

Verdict: First and foremost, Hamilton writes refreshingly sincere, eerily catchy and uncannily memorable songs. Then, the formidable talents with whom he surrounds himself flesh those songs out to full-blown reveries. There were a few moments when the ungainly band teetered on the brink of chaos, but a simple shake of a tambourine or a singalong chorus has the power to heal even that.

http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/2009/06/westword_music_showcase_review_11.php - Denver Westword

Houses, 11:55 p.m. Friday, hi-dive

What it was like: Arriving at the exact place you want to be.

Houses sent the hi-dive to the mountaintop late on Friday night. No Jesus Christ, nothing like that, just a bar full of gooey hipsters, arm-in-arm. Houses were huge and warm and soaked in sweat and booze. They were a swarm of matted hair and an earsplitting racket of harmony and reverb and rattles from tambourines and jingle bells. Guitars built and fell out, leaving just a mat of keyboard, and that dropped out too and everyone was singing things like, "Why can't we go back to how things used to be?" Such simple, beautiful sentiments overwhelmed the set. By the last song of the night, the hippest venue on the hippest stretch of Denver was a shouting mess. A fan in the front, falling all over the place in rapture, ripped his wristband to pieces and threw them at the stage. This band has just the thing for the waning hours at a bar, when everyone is too drunk to be anything but earnest.

Verdict: I've had some time now to make sure I still believe this, and I do: This was one of ten best shows I've ever seen in my life. I was so full, so satisfied you'd have thought it was Thanksgiving.

Houses, 5:15 p.m. Sunday, CarToys Stage

What it was like: Getting to the real meat and potatoes of the showcase.

With Andy Hamilton's eloquent guitar solos and the entire ensemble's flair for live performance, Houses' set was easily one of the most driving and captivating performances of the four days. The group's catchy and driving tunes served as an ideal aural canvas for engaging and consistently interesting solos, especially from Marchant. What's more, songs like "Be the Woman," which offered a more basic structure, saw solid vocal delivery and backup instrumentation from the entire group.

http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/2009/07/over_the_weekend_ums_festival.php - Denver Westword

With the release of its Spring EP this past April, Houses has quickly become one of Denver's most exciting bands, both live and on record. If there's any outfit that personifies the exuberance and exhilaration of living in the Mile High City, it's Houses. So it's fitting then that the group has taken a seasonal approach to making records, issuing a new platter every quarter with tunes that match the time of year. Much like the temperamental weather of its hometown, with its knack for offering contrasting seasons sometimes all in one day -- from the rapturous sunshine to the temperamental bursts of sideways rain to sudden, unrelenting deep freezes -- Andy Hamilton and company always keeps things interesting.

http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/2009/08/mp3_freeloader_houses_at_meado.php - Denver Westword

Denver-based Houses is only a little over a year old, and has already achieved the exalted status of local darlings. What’s the secret? Is it because the band, fronted by married couple Andy and Kinsey Hamilton, has cornered the classic-rock/hippie-chic market in Denver with their long hair, tight jeans, flowery dresses, and whimsy psychedelic jams? Is it because they’re almost a super-group, boasting members of Widowers, Blue Million Miles, Pawn Ticket Trio, and others among their ranks? Is it their multiple appearances at the Denver Post-sponsored Underground Music Showcase, or their string of sold-out Hi-Dive shows? Or maybe it’s not a secret at all: People just dig the music and the consistently energetic live show. (But it’s probably also the hair.)

http://www.avclub.com/denver/articles/houses-are-on-fire,31407/ - Denver Decider

Better Than: Prozac

Houses continues to be among the most entertaining bands in Denver. Andy Hamilton and crew delivered half an hour of warm and full pop magic, stuff you can sing along to even if it's your first time. They love this town, and between the whoah-ohhs, the fuzzy keyboard and the classic riffs, it's hard not to join them. "We're Alright" off the Spring EP, continues to be the band's most rewarding live cut, but Summer's "Fairweather" isn't far behind. The band itself is more subdued than it has been in the past but no less infectiously content to be on stage in Denver, Colorado.

Now halfway through a year-long, four EP project with one for each season, Houses played mostly tunes from their first two releases on Friday night. It will be interesting to see where such a warm-weather band takes its sound for the Fall installment, due out on November 14. No matter what it winds up with, we'll be there, drinking whisky ginger and paying close attention.

http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/2009/10/over_the_weekend_hello_kavita.php - Denver Westword