Houses

The story behind Houses is as romantic as it is inspirational.  For you see, Houses has finally answered the age old question: What do you do if you get laid off from your job in Chicago and have nothing in your savings account?  Well, move you and your girlfriend to a cabin with no electricity in the remote town of Papaikou, Hawaii of course!

This story is blanketed in an aura of glorious neo-hippiedom, and the more I read, the better it sounds.  Like I mentioned before, Houses is a couple that moved to Hawaii when the boyfriend lost his job, saying that he just felt like "he needed a change."  So, on a whim, they left.  They would work for their meals and learn about "cultivating microorganisms for sustainable living."  The cabin had no electricity or plumbing; so they'd have to extract as much energy as they could through their solar panels and cook/shower using pure rain water.  On many occasions, they'd have to use candle light in order to conserve energy to keep his laptop running.  During this time, their love for each other grew, and it's quoted that they "melted into one person."  Romantic?  Sexual?.....Both?  I think the best thing I've heard about the album though, is that the boyfriend is quoted as saying that "the music comes from a place of love and ease", which sounds quite beautiful.

The effort, the passion, and the purity of everything that went into the album really shines through on the tracks that have been released so far.  It's very interesting to listen to it knowing about its background, immersing you further into its experience and allowing you to appreciate it from a different perspective.  Their full debut album, All Night, is set to be released on October 19, 2010, but below are two singles from that LP; "Soak It Up" and "Endless Spring."  Download 'em here.

Soak It Up

Endless Spring