GREAT power pop band from Texas and on their third release they hit the
target big. Household Names is a rock band combining smart, emotional lyrics
with pitch-perfect songcraft on top of a powerful rhythm section, a band
that most Not Lamers will not only `get`, but be thankful to own. " The
second album from this highly stylized local pop trio is precision-tuned and
oversoaked with hooks. Cynical chin-scratchers might quibble with the notion
of always aiming for the universal chord, but it`s rare to find capital-P
Pop pulled off with such a slick punch, particularly in an organic-leaning
nape like Austin. Ace producer Lars Goransson mixes Picture in My Head extra
hot, which compliments Household Names` big bright sound well....fueled by
the same unrequited aspirations as Big Star devotees like Matthew Sweet and
Jellyfish. Soaring group harmonies and a snap rhythm section add to the
wallop. The latter figures prominently in "The Latest Success," an urgent,
hold-and-release power cut that makes you want to drive too fast. "Anytime,
Mrs. K" is a summer-sweet mash note to a fleeting office fling that sounds
like the logical successor to Fountains of Wayne`s "Stacy`s Mom." The only
thing missing from the Top 40 circa 1979 yearn of "Beggar`s Radio" is
transistor-radio crackle, but that production trick shows up soon enough
between the lushly padded choruses of "Handle On." As tricked-out as these
sounds are, they remain secondary to Household Names` quest for the perfect
pop song." - Austin Chronicle. "Their music inspires many of the same
feelings that more blatantly commercial records do - swelling joy,
monumental melancholy, the inescapable urge to sing along - but it`s music
for the mind as much as the ears." - Music Austin. Big Time, Extremely
Highly Recommended!
Anytime - mp3
Badnews - mp3
Mrs. K - mp3
Picture In My Head - mp3
All To Myself - mp3 |