Indiana-based Houndmouth release their video for ‘Make it to Midnight‘, from their forthcoming album, ‘Good For You’, another home-recorded track from their ‘Live at The Green House’ series.
Alternative blues band? Alternative folk band? Alternative rock band? Alternative pop band? Houndmouth have been the sweet-sounding alternative to all these things and more. However you choose to describe them, there’s no way you can overlook these three fabulous voices that work so well together. The harmonies feel loose and natural yet always seem to hang together just beautifully. You could say the same about the playing: drums, bass and guitar, they all have a seductive loose feel, but it’s never ragged and they can snap together into a tight, powerful unit in less than a heartbeat.
‘Make it to Midnight‘, is part of a series of performances from the band’s beloved base in Albany, Indiana. The Green House is an eighteenth-century house where the band live and work. The front room – their studio space – is full of quirky period furniture and paintings, and lit by several table lamps placed around the room and on the floor. It’s crammed with musical equipment and it seems to have been where the band have kept themselves busy and sane over their lockdown.
A characteristic of the Green House videos are opening shots featuring some goofily choreographed entrances – including, on ‘Good For You‘, where Matthew Myers descends into shot playing his acoustic guitar on the stairlift. On ‘Make It To Midnight‘, they keep it simple, the camera tracking in behind the band as they enter the studio and take their places behind their instruments. The rest of the Green House series shows all three members swapping instruments on different songs, but here they play it straight, Shane Cody behind the drumkit, Zak Appleby on bass, and Myers on guitar and lead vocals. It’s filmed as a single, continuous shot, beautifully directed and edited by Matt Fulks.
With this particular track, it’s the ‘alternative blues band’ label that might be the best fit. It’s a swampy, gothic tale of a ill-starred, late-night trip, with Myers’ reverb-soaked Stratocaster burning up the song, as Appleby and Cody help light up the track with their perfectly judged playing and tuneful, shout-it-out backing vocals. Was it fun? Check that smile on Shane Cody’s face as he bellows out the chorus for details.
Alternative bar band? If so, they’ve set that bar very high. Take some time to watch the whole series of ‘Live from the Green House’.
