House of Heroes – Suburba

Suburba, the fourth album from Columbia, OH natives House of Heroes, is what I would describe as retro-inspired rock.

House of Heroes claim they were aiming for a soundtrack to growing up in middle class suburbia, something that would remind you of the best summer of your life. For the most part they’ve managed to achieve a certain nostalgia element in their music and pay tribute to the classic artists they list as inspirations (the Who, E.L.O, Springsteen).

The first track, Relentless, opens with a 70s-synth vibe and feels like a classic rock track from that era with modern vocals; and lyrical shades of coming of age, of young love and reckless abandon. It then flies in to Elevator, a strong rock track with great drum work.

There are a couple of slower songs that miss the mark with me, especially So Far Away – it seems a little out of place on the album, it’s not quite as fresh and accomplished as the others. Salt in the Sea is a much better example of House of Heroes’ skill with ballads.

There are two other standout tracks on the album – the first is Independence Day for a Petty Thief, which has an 80s-Motley-Crue feel to it. The second, God Save the Foolish Kings, features excellent vocals, both lead and backup, and an interesting arrangement with focus on the clean guitar work making it the strongest track on the album.

There is a bit of a loss of flow towards the end of the album, especially with such strong songs at the start; and it feels like they could have used one more fast rock track in there. It does come to a great end withBurn Me Down – proving that the band clearly excels at the faster, punchier songs.

House of Heroes are generally considered to be a Christian rock band, but you’d barely pick up on this if you didn’t know – the album is certainly not focused on religion and I was only aware of one or two places where it was vaguely obvious. For the most part the band are focused on the same thing as other young bands – love, growing up, rebellion, and their thoughts on the world around them.

This is a band with stacks of potential to reach a wide audience and I look forward to seeing what they can do in the future.