The House Flies – Lions And Ore

If you’ve been following our pages for a while, you’ve probably stumbled upon The House Flies, an outstanding Moline, Illinois-based band, one of those rare sonic forces that stands out from anything you could hear on the music scene nowadays. They explore similar genres like many other acts, but their music sounds unlike anything else you usually stumble upon on social media and streaming services. Now, they’re back with “Lions And Ore,” a collection of incredible songs that will immediately end up on your playlist. “Lions And Ore” serves as their second full-length album, released today via all streaming platforms, and a perfect follow-up of “Mannequin Deposit,” their critically acclaimed debut full-length that you should also check out as soon as possible. The House Flies nurture such a specific, unique sound that spans across many different yet complementary music genres. Those unfamiliar, inexperienced pair of ears would easily throw their songs into the alternative rock category, but if you take a deep dive into structures of those compositions, all the vocal harmonies, lush guitar works, intricate basslines, and groovy beats, you’ll notice there’s a lot of things going on. Surely, The House Flies explore alternative music, but post-punk would be more than a correct answer, as every composition carries all the fundamental elements of this longstanding genre. But there’s plenty more. Throughout the entire album, the band explores and experiments with styles such as goth, shoegaze, art rock, grunge, indie, dark wave, dream pop, and all other similar genres in order to create lush soundscapes that, once they penetrate your listening apparatus, refuse to let go long after the last notes and beats fade away. There’s no doubt that The House Flies poured heart and soul into this fine piece of sonic artistry, as the entire material shines with exceptional songwriting and flawless musicianship. It’s an album you’ll dearly include as a staple in your music collection.

Once you press play, it becomes more than evident that The House Flies do not joke around with their music. “Goodnight, Goodnight, Lover Dear” is a perfect opening tune that carries all the fundamental elements of goth, grunge, and alternative, blended together to perfection. The goth and grunge elements are vividly hearable in the interplay between the main theme and heavy riffs, while the calm, soothing, relaxing, ethereal, otherworldly verses bring those sweet alternative and indie rock moments. Such a perfect introduction to an amazing album. “Lost Literature” brings a thoughtful and tasteful blend of post-punk, darkwave, and dream pop. You’ll immediately stumble upon to perfectly programmed rhyhtmic patterns where each steady, well-accentuated beat, break, and fill keeps the momentum going while the clean, punchy, heavy basslines offer the main melody. In the meantime, the luxuriant synth themes and leads pair with generously distorted guitar riffs, creating a perfect backdrop for all the beautiful vocal harmonies to shine. This composition have an addictive, hypnotic, engaging, captivating chorus that forces you to dance and hum the melody all along. With “Derelict Crawl,” The House Flies gradually build a sonic universe where calm vocal lines, palm-muted riffs, and well-accented beats define the entire verse, but all of a sudden, the band introduces such an aggressive, raw, unfiltered, powerful, heavily distorted chorus where the band implements everything you dearly love about shoegaze and grunge music. Each instrument, from groovy rhyhtmic patterns and warm-sounding basslines to high-gain guitars contribute to this dirty, gritty sound, while the vocals bring more melody and harmony. “Snakes And Toads” delivers generous servings of reverby guitar work, paired with intricate basslines and half-time beats, all while the lead vocals guide listeners on an epic sonic journey. This composition is so atmospheric, psychedelic, and captivating. The House Flies are masters in creating calm, soothing, relaxing, ethereal verses where every sonic maneuver has its place and purpose, contributing to the overall ambiance. As in the previous song, the chorus brings those colossal, heavy, unfiltered riffs and groovy beats, making this song so dynamic and pleasant to the ears. This composition carries many post-rock, shoegaze, grunge, and alternative rock elements. It’s definitely one of the standouts of the album.

“Count Us Down” further expands The House Flies’ sonic output by implementing more cinematic ambient, dreamy electronica, and downtempo elements, blended to perfection with all those fundamental elements of shoegaze, dream pop, and indie. It’s nearly mind-blowing how all those intricate synth textures, layers, pads, and other sonic maneuvers pair with heavily distorted guitars and subtle rhyhtmic patterns. “Shelter Me” brings back all those beautiful post-punk and goth elements that made these genres so popular in the first place. The band builds an expansive sonic universe by stacking tastefully assembled themes, melodies, harmonies, and chord progressions. These guitar works play a significant role here, as they act as a soundscape that immensely supports soulful, passionate, emotive vocal performance. In the meantime, the warm, deep, heavy, clean basslines provide more clarity and melody, while the exceptional drumming keeps everything in line. This epic sonic journey comes to an end with “The Glass, The Orchard,” an incredible closing composition that will definitely force you to spin this beautiful album all over again. With all those jangly, angular themes and chord progressions and percussion that bring tremendous depth, groove, and dynamics, the band creates a space where calm vocal harmonies float around. Even during choruses, the song maintains that gothy, post-punk, psych-rock vibe. But, as is usually the case, the band introduces many segments where reverby themes collide with colossal riffs, heavy basslines, and rhyhtmic acrobatics, all while the vocals maintain emotion, melody, and complexity. The House Flies have created another outstanding album where every song sounds superb. Their dedication to the craft, from perfect songwriting to flawless performance, is vividly hearable from scratch to finish. They poured heart and soul into this material, making “Lions And Ore” such a captivating listening experience worth spinning over and over again. It’s a top contender for an album of the year! Do not miss it!