Album review: House of Secrets “Keyhole”
On its debut album, Danish rock band House of Secrets shows us some real potential.
Danish rock band House of Secrets describes the music on its debut album, “Keyhole”, as grungy hard rock with some progressive touches. That’s not a bad summary but I think there’s a bit more complexity to it. Style-wise this is a bit closer to Pearl Jam and Soundgarden than Nirvana if we are sticking with the grunge references. When it comes to Danish rock, this is not miles away from D-A-D or Dizzy Mizz Lizzy but without sounding like copycats. There is great potential here and they are off to a great start with this album. To differentiate themselves, I’d love for this band to go down a slightly heavier and darker path in the future. The foundation is definitely there. This is a good band with good songs. Being Scandinavian, they unsurprisingly have some great melodies. But with some more heaviness and darkness, they can really shine by taking this to the next level. I hope they choose to go down that road and avoid the slippery slope of becoming another Volbeat wannabe. I personally find Volbeat an incredibly boring and “safe” band. A Danish Nickelback if you like. House of Secrets has much more oomph and feeling in their music. Listen to tracks like “Mescalin” and “You Oughta Know” which, while quite slow tracks, have great heaviness and attitude. “Remember” is perhaps the highlight of the album with heaps of emotion and a feeling of music made from the heart and the backbone. Even a ballad like “No Turning Back” has something about it that the bigger polished acts could never accomplish. If Volbeat is kissing a girl at the movies while eating popcorn, House of Secrets is lovemaking and beer drinking. This is a band to keep an eye on.
