House of Love deliver beautiful jangly psychedelia with rich pastoral melodies and their best album since the 1990 self titled album (aka Fonatana/Butterfly)
House of love took their time between 2005's underrated comeback album and the follow up, but the results are well worth the wait. I was a big fan of Days Run Away, putting it at #6 in 2005 year end list (which with hindsight might have been a bit too eager on my part). The songs were individually quite strong, but it was missing something that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Upon first listen of She Paints Words In Red I realized what was missing from Days Run Away was the overall feel. The new album FEELS like a House of Love record. It lures you in the way the first two albums did, and it captivates in a way that you could lose yourself in the grooves.
Middle aged House of Love are mellower. Acoustic guitars play a larger role now than ever before. But that only adds to the elegant pastoral sound that hits right in Guy Chadwick's sweetspot. There are still plenty of shimmering guitars, but they're more relaxed and organic. 2013 House of Love make jangly psychedelia with roots in 1990's Britpop, but now they're letting their mid 60's influences stretch out more. I hear bits of Rain Parade and the Church on much of the album, with a few songs dipping into the same terrain as Robyn Hitchcock or mid 80's REM. She Paints Words in Red is hardly an adventurous album, but it's one that feels perfectly natural for House of Love and exactly the type of album I hoped for.
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