Howard the Duck

ok, here's my go at starting a new thread

i did a search on this influential but unsung English band and came up nada

sandwiched between C86 and the rise of Stone Roses, I would say that this was the first band to do the grandiloquent sepulchral towers of guitar wash that most people tend to associate other big-name bands with, such as U2

but of course, The House of Love sounds genuinely inventive, even if the lyrics are not so good and Guy Chadwick's vocals not really up to mark

mostly the brainchild of Terry Bickers (who left in 1989) and Guy Chadwick (songwriter)

i have:-



The House of Love a.k.a. Butterfly (1990)

Pretty much scintillating oscillo-rock (?) programmed for big arenas. Has a terrif gem in the Only Ones' tribute I Don't Know Why I Love You. Satisfying from start to finish, with only hiccups in the lyrics ("The Beatles and the Stones/Put the "V" in Vietnam"). 8/10



A Spy in the House of Love (also 1990)

Pure moods and atmospherics. Quite ponderous and meandering. But still good. 7/10



Audience with the Mind (1993)

The departure of Bickers deals a mighty blow. Some of the swirling psychedelia is missing. It's mostly arena rock, with too many fillers. Mediocre. 5/10

And a pic of the band:-



they reformed in 2005, but i haven't heard their new one yet

thoughts? opinions? any other fans?

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Malaise is THE dominant human predilection.

jackhammer

Hannah is one of my favourite opening tracks of an album ever and Shine On holds a shedload of memories for me too but the rest of the album peters out too much for me and they never really reached those heights again.

They were a band that just happened to be stuck in between pre Brit Pop swagger and the tail end of acid house tinged guitar music.

I have never heard another album apart from the butterfly album though.

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Urban Hat€monger ?

I don't know if I'd call them unsung.

They were on virtually every indie paper front cover between the time of the Smiths breaking up & the Stone Roses arriving.

Never really liked them a great deal, they had a few decent songs but nothing really grabbed my interest other than that.

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Zer0

I only have The House Of Love (Butterfly). There's some good songs on it such as 'Hannah', 'Shine On', 'Beatles and the Stones' and 'I Don't Know Why I Love You' but the album seems very front-loaded, none of the tracks on the second half of the album grab my attention at all. I don't really like them enough to try any of their other albums.

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