House & Home is an alternative rock band from Virginia and recently signed to Open Your Ears Records. Their latest album Find Sense. Feel Love. Make Light. drops on April 17th. The first track from the upcoming album is available for stream now on Alternative Press.
The trio grew up breathing and bleeding DIY music and formed House & Home in 2017. The band self-recorded their first EP Fully Grown during their first year together. Find Sense. Feel Love. Make Light. will be their first, full-length record.
All Punked Up caught up with House & Home to chat more about their EP, as well as their inspirations and goals as a band. Read more below!
Don’t forget to follow House & Home on Spotify and Instagram.
How did you come up with the title Find Sense. Feel Love. Make Light.?
The title is an excerpt from the track, “Make Light.” It appears at the very end of the song and leads directly into the last track on the record. We thought it was the perfect summation of what we were trying to say throughout the album.
What did the writing process for this EP look like?
We spent a really long time demoing songs out for this album. It started the same way with every song; we’d all get in the practice space together and just play until we landed on something we wanted to expand on. It was really organic. Once we got into the studio, we spent the first eight or nine days with Will Beasley surgically picking apart every song until they were exactly where we wanted to be.
Which track on the EP are you most proud of musically?
This answer is probably different for everyone, but I think the one song that came out differently and better than any of us expected is Pocket Knife. That song is a total departure from what we usually do and it was a way for us to prove to ourselves that we can write a lot of different kinds of music. We had a lot of fun with the composition and instrumentation in that song. We didn’t feel like we were limited at all or that we had to fit any kind of mold.
Which track on the EP means the most to you and why?
This is a lot like picking your favorite child, but I think “Shrunken Head” is a really good candidate. It’s probably the song that was closest to its final form when we brought it to the studio. The writing process for it was so much fun, and it really felt like we were coming into our own while we were putting it together. Everything just clicked, and it was a really reaffirming feeling about the validity of our band.
If you could describe the EP in one word or phrase, how would you describe it and why?
“Cathartic” is the word I would use. We tried to make it so that every song elicited an emotional reaction from us. Anyone that writes music can confirm that can be a really hard thing to do. We didn’t want any song to fall short in the lyrics or feeling of the song. The message and emotion are at the forefront of this record and we wanted every second of it to hit home as hard as possible.
What message or vibes are you trying to send to your fans with Find Sense. Feel Love. Make Light.?
The album is about self-discovery. There are a lot of times when you’re finding out who you really are which can be really scary and hard to deal with. The record as a whole is meant to help people listening meet those feelings with healthy aggression in a way that pushes them forward through that process. Don’t be scared of yourself. If there are things that you don’t like, change them. When you find things you’re proud of, push them even further.
What bands or musicians influenced this EP? What bands or artists are you currently listening to?
We listened to a lot of Foo Fighters and Jimmy Eat World in the studio, to name some big ones. Those are a couple of our favorite bands, along with Title Fight, Basement, and some other ambient or grungy alternative bands. We also listened to a lot of our friends’ music. Downhaul, Rich People, Jail Socks, and Nominee to name a few.
What are some goals you have for this EP and for your band over the next year or so?
We just want this record to reach as wide an audience as possible. We’re still a relatively young band, and we feel like we’ve really done something special with these songs. The foreseeable future is going to be spent pushing and touring as much as we can, and doing everything we can to bring the music to as many people as possible.
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