Had House on a Hill took the momentum and the willingness to step out of bounds developed in their first two solid tracks of Ladyslipper and run with it, they would have zipped by the snoozing hare, passed the surprised tortoise, and broke through the finish line amid cheers. This Seattle-based group offers us some real potential which is all the more disappointing in its unmet realization, especially after starting the album by setting the bar high up.
The first track, “Arcadia”, is immediately interesting with its rocking rhythms and shifting, nontraditional time signatures, propelling the song. Cedar Apffel and Sara Kermanshahi’s guitars and Carlos Moncada’s drums work together nicely in these change-ups to build up towards meeting cloudy horns and a throaty violin thread. There is, however, the feeling that House on a Hill used up too many of their ideas on Arcadia, which just manages to stick together as a whole through its disparate sections. The second track, “Gypsy”, offers Modest Mouse-esque vocals, driving low beats, and jangly guitar lines. We are going somewhere! But —
The rest of Ladyslipper is unfortunately not up to snuff. House on a Hill’s greatest strength lies in their instrumental work. At best, it can be engaging, lulling, and has range. For short periods or in small details here and there, we hear shades of their potential while they veer slightly off the road less traveled. But as the record progresses, these innovations become smaller tiptoes outside the lines, the songs retreating into a general blah and lack of destination.
The vocals of House on a Hill just aren’t strong or intriguing enough to be remarkable over their layers of sound. Some might find Sara Kermanshahi’s voice different enough than the rest to be appealing, but for a band whose ensemble is so tight, she just doesn’t cut it with singing out of tune. She shares vocal duties with Cedar on the album, but her light voice fits best with the last song, “It’s a Fact”. The group sheds its bogginess here to capture a sweet tune with catchy, noodling guitars sidestepping harmonies.
None of the tracks can be called bad. Either they start out promisingly or have interludes of nice moments but it isn’t enough. A listener looking for the positive and captivating starts to feel too much like the smallest kid at the end of the table in the old Campbell’s soup commercial, who exclaims with sheer delight, “There’s noodles in this soup!” Give us noodles! The fact that House on a Hill can probably put out something exciting, perhaps even dazzling, is a real let down when they start to sound like any-name not-so-descript rock band. We might just have to wait for the next album to see if they can catch up to themselves. |