House of Usher's nucleus has been together and playing in the metro Detroit area for over five years. After listening to their debut CD, Body of Mind, you kind of have to wonder why they took so long to put an album out.
The only misstep on the 50-plus-minute disc is taken care of within the first five minutes-the opening track, "Faith," never manages to hook this listener's attention. But afterwards, it's all downhill, as House of Usher pushes the progressive rock envelope to in some pretty cool directions.
Starting with some obvious ELP and Gentle Giant influences, and mixing in a few touches of, say, Gong, they've turned out a pretty original sounding album.
The good stuff begins with "Don't Remind Me." Opening with an up tempo instrumental flourish that immediately signals a change from the plodding "Faith," its lyrics go on to describe a guy trying to hide away from persistent reminders of past mistakes, "Must you dust off that tired old story/ Once again I'm forced to dwell and hate myself."
An instrumental bridge sparked by a series of martial keyboard punches, courtesy of (Wayne State University Professor) Richard Kaczynski, highlights the middle section of the song. A few tracks later, the lyrical tables are turned, in "Obsession." The protagonist is now portrayed as a stalker, "Follow you home when your day's done/ Watch from the rain, your world's dry."
The title mania is portrayed through an eerie section in which vocalist Aaron's lines are layered over a repetitive, meandering and demonic 16-note passage originally played by guitarist Michael Allen Moore's guitar and later traded off between guitar and keyboard. If not exactly pointing at obsession, the chilling passage definitely sends the message that there's something wrong.
Overall, the band's sound is best described as symphonic progressive rock, and as bands of that sort are prone, there are a pair of short instrumental meditations on Body of Mind. The better of the two is "911," tribute to a relative who died one September 11th, rather than an ode to any inefficient emergency system. A keyboard showcase, it features a nice, beefy, rumbling organ sound as a foundation for dancing key lines.
The song that best encompasses that symphonic description is "Bewildered Serenity." A waltz-like introduction gives way to a song in which Kaczynski's keyboards emulate various instruments, from a piano to trilling flutes.
The last minute of the track belongs to drummer Mark Evans, formerly in the band Tiles, and Moore. Evans gets to show off a few of his Carl Palmer-esque chops, before Moore brings the piece to a soft acoustic close.
Moore's fluid guitar lines are brought to the forefront in "Chimes," one of the band's older songs. Allowed free rein to wail away, he drives this tune, one of my favorites on the album. The biggest problem with this album just may be that it's too short. All too soon, you hear the Detroit Red Wings' Matthieu Dandenault providing a French spoken word introduction to "C'est Pas Fini."
The 12-minute epic manages to sum up Body of Mind quite well, with its mix of reflective passages carried by Aaron's expressive vocals and more raucous moments featuring the explosive interplay between Moore and Kaczynski.
For more information, including ordering information, please visit the band's website at www.houseofusher.com.
-Partha Mukhopadhyay