House of Heroes

AMG Review of House of Heroes

Jared Johnson
All Music Guide

House of Heroes are the quintessential alt-rock outlet for Christian youth who have difficulty stomaching the likes of Chris Tomlin and other straight-up worship acts. The peppy grunge-pop trio's self-titled effort on Gotee Records was originally packaged with little ado. But successful tours with MxPx and Relient K helped buoy up the band until the album was re-released with two additional tracks as Say No More. At points they sound like Weezer or Fountains of Wayne with a few extra power chords thrown in for good measure. Where Relient K come off as earnest yet lighthearted, HoH's calling card is a crunchier rhythmic prowess with bursts of thunder. The lyrics are never transparently Christian; in fact, they are barely discernible at times underneath layers of lamentable social commentary and relationship doctoring. Yet as sticky as the guitars get on songs like "Make a Face Like You Mean It (Vampires)," the band comes across as playful and somehow optimistic.