Sometimes I’m a little slow to catch on.
Despite having been told by numerous good-eared friends that I should buy this, and despite the fact the I’ve seen them live and know first-hand that they’ve got the stuff to really rip it up, it still took me a year or so to grab my own copy of The End Is Not The End, the latest album by the Columbus-based, and God-fearing, House Of Heroes.
Maybe my reluctance had to do with those last two qualities. It’s hard to have any critical distance from music released by those within your milieu. And I’ve always been biased to quick-skip tunes writ for the safely cordoned-off, closed market of the CCM crowd. Preaching to the choir creates mediocre music like Trekkies breed Tribbles.
Please forgive me, Listening Public, for I have sinned. I should have tried this disc a long time ago. It is, as one buddy of mine sez, “all killer and no filler.” Each Sing-A-Long (indeed, Radio-Ready) chorus is sandwiched in angular, proggy guitar hooks that launch the 3-chords-and-a-hunch Power-Pop template into sonic bliss.
And they’re funny! My favorite track (at this point) is “Baby’s A Red” about crushing hard on a lil’ commie cutey. It splits the difference between The Beach Boy’s Surfer Girl and The Dead Milkmen classic, Punk Rock Girl. Listen to it for the “Hammer & Sickle” backing vocals alone. “I’m not ashamed to be your comrade.” Indeed!
Not that it’s all fun-n-games. You can’t pretend to be Muse on every bridge and breakdown without taking your craft pretty seriously. And you can’t sample preacher extraordinaire Rich Nathan pontificating on capital-“g” Grace (as they do on “Voices”) without a dose of divine conviction.
So why now? House of Heroes is playing Sioux Falls this weekend. I thought I’d check it out for kicks, but after spinning this record all week, I’m really looking forward to the show. Though I was once a skeptic, I am now going as a fan.
