In 2021, there may be no more effectively desolate album than House of Lull . House of When. It’s an intense and harrowing listen, absolutely worthwhile, yet not for the faint of heart. There’s simply no air to breathe, nor the faintest glimmer of light to follow.
It feels like Alexis Marshall is driving at something new for heavy music: just as Daughters are redefining the boundaries of noise-rock for the 21st century, their frontman is applying a similar logic to his individual distillation of darker-than-dark American gothic songcraft.
House of Lull . House of When is engaging and inspired, deliciously expansive in its best moments but impressively succinct as a whole.
It’s an uneven listen, and its abrasive, experimental weirdness can be too overbearing, but House of Lull . House of When is nevertheless a weird, wild ride worth experiencing at least once, even if that’s just to see whether you can make it all the way through.
EDIT: Obviously, the document that Lingua Ignota released documenting the horrific actions of Alexis Marshall paint a new light of Alexis. While my thoughts on this album remain the same, and what I wrote below I still agree with from a musical standpoint, what's happened to his partners cannot be ignored. I'll be providing links to support Lignua at the start of this review. Please check out her excellent album from this year 'Sinner Get Ready', also linked. This isn't me trying to virtue ... read more
Coming nearly three years after the release of “You Won’t Get What You Want”, the incredible noise-rock masterpiece from his band Daughters, and more than a year’s worth of delays due to the coronavirus pandemic, vocalist, lyricist, and poet Alexis Marshall has finally released his debut album. Needless to say, all eyes are on him to see if this LP will actually live up to the hype, not just because of the context of this release but also the fact that the question ... read more
If you take away the depth and substance from Daughters last record, combine that with bland spoken word and grating yet hollow industrial wankery, then we get this Alexis Marshall album.
Man, it feels tough going back to this album, given how much of a piece of shit scum fuck bastard Alexis has proven himself to be, especially the songs featuring Lingua Ignota herself...
... since, at the same time, his horrific actions give his music a new dimension and atmosphere. Those terrifying thoughts he has, those spine-chilling subjects he tackles, those primal screams and vocal tones, those unsettling, delirious episodes... what if they are more genuine and real than they seem? The ... read more
1 | Drink from the Oceans . Nothing Can Harm You 7:01 | 76 |
2 | Hounds in the Abyss 6:02 | 76 |
3 | It Just Doesn't Feel Good Anymore 4:04 | 78 |
4 | Youth as Religion . 5:21 | 73 |
5 | Religion as Leader 4:04 | 71 |
6 | No Truth in the Body 4:42 | 64 |
7 | Open Mouth 3:45 | 70 |
8 | They Can Lie There Forever 3:07 | 74 |
9 | Night Moving 4:16 | 71 |