Brighton newcomers Thrillhouse have honed an intriguing sound that fuses synths, indie feel-good vibes and funky rock undertones.
The band tell us their backstory is nothing special but have an interesting one dreamed up. As Sam tells us: “We’re just a couple of fellas from Brighton trying to earn an honest living. There’s not a wildly exciting backstory sorry, I have been tempted to make one up though. Met at a Beatles gig, climbing a mountain for charity etc… Really it’s just three friends from Brighton who enjoy making music together.
The band released their debut track One Of These Days just before Christmas. It opens with light synth sounds that continue under drums then a funky little bassline and a piercing high-pitched synth noise.
Light vocals come in “Do you remember that kid, The kid across the street, The kid with the long brown hair, The kid that never seemed to care, And Mr Old Man next door, ‘Cos he ain’t around anymore, He told me one of these days, One of these days I’ll get it right.” It gradually builds in atmosphere with a stabby synth sound creeping in and building up to a catchy chorus.
A second verse of vocals come in over a funky bassline and builds up to another chorus. A cool little laid-back guitar solo jumps in with bursts of synth coming in and building up to a final chorus. Give it a listen below:
On the track’s reception, Sam told us: “It’s been good cheers, in hindsight chucking it out just before Christmas may have been a bit of a blooper. Get the feeling it got a little lost in a festive sea of Mariah Carey, Slade and Shakin’ Stevens. It’s seems to be picking up a bit now and everyone that’s heard it seem to be into it, which is nice. Inspiration eh?
“I’ve recently stumbled into being the wrong side of 30. I think in the musical landscape I’m now considered an ol’ chunk of coal. It gave me a bit of a push to get some tunes out that had been knocking around for a while. Realised you can’t hang around forever. Does that count as inspiration?”
The duo draw particular influence from Talking Heads, specifically in regards to doing a lot with a little. As Sam explains: “Brian Eno said ‘repetition is a form of change’ and we’ve tried to apply that to the music. It’s not just that we’re lazy, it was intentional.”
And describing the Thrillhouse sound, he adds: “It’s pretty upbeat musically. If you like synthesizers, guitars and words then it’ll be right up your street! Think LCD Soundsystem but nowhere near as good.”
And on what inspires them to write music, Sam says: “As I say, getting older is kinda the main theme really. I find the aging process not the easiest thing to come to terms with but chucking it down on a bit of paper (iphone) and then tunelessly wailing over some music helps. One of These Days, in particular, is about a time and place from my childhood that my memory of gets hazier as the years fly by. It’s kinda just a longing for that little time again.”
Expect to hear music from the duo through 2020 with a few new tunes planned for release over the next couple of months before heading back into the studio again.
You can follow Thrillhouse on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and check out their music on Spotify.
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