HOUSE OF HARM – AN IN-DEPTH BAND INTERVIEW

House of Harm is a Boston trio who’s music delivers bombardments of dramatic explosions. Dark, dense and textured, their sound immerses the listeners with 8o’s signatures alongside novel twists and turns. Think The Cure or Depeche Mode on modern day steroids. The band is about to release their second album, Playground on December 1st. The new record shows a maturation of their organic sound with clear bursts of aural experimentation. Their two recent singles, “Two Kinds” and “Roseglass” are prime examples of the magical essence House of Harm is emitting. Sublime vocals are enhanced by an edgy palette of emotive beauty.

The band comprised of Michael Rocheford (Lead Vocals), Cooper Leardi (Guitar/Synths) and Tyler Kershaw (Guitar /Synths) sat down with AMP for this in-depth interview.

AMP: Can you give our readers a little background on the band?

MICHAEL: We started in late 2017 in Boston. Released our first EP in 2018. The debut album was 2020. We’ve been moving forward ever since. Our second full length drops in December.

AMP: How would you describe your sound to someone who’d never listened to you before?

TYLER: It’s futuristic yet familiar.

COOPER: It’s the type of sound that feels like you already know the music but it has a twist. Like Tyler said familiar but in an original way.

MICHAEL: The tracks are totally in tune with the impassioned aspects of today’s life. Our music sounds like emotions, reflective and impulsive.

AMP: Your new single, “Roseglass” is full of intriguing textures. Can you give us an insight into the track?

MICHAEL: In regards to the writing phase, it came together pretty quickly. We wrote a lot of songs for this record and when it came to narrowing them down, we noticed that the songs that made it were mostly created at the same recording session. It was recorded at a late night session while we were in a crazy mindset. We listened to the songs the next day and collectively said “Holy Shit”.

A lot of new ground was covered on this album. We experimented with a whole new sonic palette. “Roseglass” was a song we wanted to sound like our previous material but brought up to a brand new level. To our existing fans, the record will sound slightly familiar but extremely heightened.

TYLER: Like any recording artist will tell you when making an album, it’s a total abstract concept. But there is always that one song that just happens and that’s the song that’s delivers the vertical drive you are striving for. When we recorded “Roseglass” and “To Last” we knew this was the record’s heartbeat. Even though they are different sounding, they both fit under the House of Harm umbrella.

I also believe that recording these two songs back to back created a safe zone for us. You are always worried that your new material can alienate your existing fanbase. So, when you put out something different there is always that fear. Both songs are true to the band but offer a marked growth. We were comfortable with the fact that our followers would love these tracks. At the same time, we felt satisfied that we had moved into uncharted territory. “Roseglass” and “To Let” were our cornerstones.

COOPER: Reiterating Tyler’s statements, the textures on these two songs really did it for me. Weirdly, when I was coming up with the guitar parts on the rest of the songs, I would still be thinking of “Roseglass” and “To Let”. It was definitely a special session.

AMP: Staying in the same vein, is there another track besides “Roseglass” and “To Let” on Playground that you think will turn heads?

MICHAEL: I think everything on Playground is shockingly good. “Two Kinds” is special to me because I feel it’s an expansion of our sound. All songwriters try to dig for a certain feeling in their material and “Two Kinds” hit where i wanted it to go. For that reason, it should turn some heads. There are other tracks on Playground that can achieve that same result but for other reasons.

TYLER: I’ve previewed “Ignore The Taste” to a few people expecting a huge surprised reaction but in reality,the comments were more like “sounds like you but in a new direction“. It made me feel better.

AMP: Do you feel that Playground is an evolution in musical style from your previous material?

MICHAEL: Yes! I think all three of us can agree that subconsciously that was always in our heads. We all knew this record had to be a level up.

COOPER: As an artist, you always want to better your craft. We could of made our first album Vicious Pastimes part II but what’s the point. We want to cover new ground.

AMP: What’s your creative process like?

MICHAEL: It’s very intense. We write a lot. We know when a song works both individually and as a group. Trust is huge when you are writing songs. We try to find a comfortable place where all we have to worry about is the songwriting. From there, we hash everything out. We are all a complete open book and riffs just flow out. That’s why we are so productive.

TYLER: It can be super humiliating writing a song with other people around. There is an emotional wave associated with it. You are bearing your soul in front of someone else. When we create, we establish a safe zone where we can push each other. I’ll give you an example. Hey guys, do you remember the the original working title was for “Vicious Pastimes”? (Neither can remember) It was called “Is That All You Fucking Got”. It was concerning the guitar parts and we were all egging each other on by saying ” is that all you fucking got”.

MICHAEL: It may seem mean but that is how we get the most out of our songwriting. We amp and amp it up until we can say “Holy Shit”. And by working in this fashion, the songs come out way better than any one of us could have written on our own.

AMP: You have shared the stage with a bevy of impressive artists. Is there one act you would love to tour with?

MICHAEL: There’s a ton of them but I’m going to say The Cure. We are huge fans. That would be my number one but the other guys may say something else. I also think it would be cool to play with an artist from a different genre. Half of the audience would love us and the other half hate us. That strange energy would heighten our experience. Plus, that gives you a chance to change people’s perspective on the band.

COOPER: I always wanted to do an Oasis kind of tour. It would be cool to have four or five of our best friends’ bands go on the road with us. Of course, we would headline. We could do several crazy sets. Start one off with an acoustic jam and get plainly weirder from there. Make it so it’s totally memorable.

MICHAEL: We recently had an opportunity to tour with this well known metal band and they were super excited about it. We were all on board but we couldn’t make it work. I know their crowd wouldn’t have liked us but the band was stoked. That’s a cool scenario. It would have been an experience!

AMP: Do you feel Boston is a nurturing city for musical talent?

TYLER: No! I’m not really negative about the city but the fact is that everything is so expensive that it is hard to survive. Many of the artist spaces are being shut down due to exuberant rents. There is a glimmer of hope. New venues seem to be opening up outside the city. That’s a huge drawing force. It’s keeping us around.

AMP: What’s the worst trouble the band has ever gotten into?

COOPER: We had to make bail to make a show but we did it.

AMP: Would anyone like to embellish on this?

TYLER: If you knew the three of us, you would never figure I would be the guy who’d get arrested. It was a minor infraction. Actually, a parking violation. And I ended up getting arrested for it but we made the show on time. And it was a freaking awesome performance.

MICHAEL: It made the show way better.

AMP: What’s next for House of Harm?

MICHAEL: The record is going to be released next month (December). We will be touring. We will be hitting new cities and old favorites. New music, of course.

TYLER: I’ll double down on Michael’s statement. A Lot Of Touring. We’ve already started writing new material. I’m also excited about our new merch.

COOPER: Our live show has gotten a complete overhaul. Next year is going to stupendous!

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