Within/ without - Grey Marble

• Track Listing

Oakland's Houses of Heaven fuse the grit of early industrial

with dizzying hits of EBM, techno, and drum & bass, all imbued

with lyrical themes that draw equally from the emotional and

the mechanical. Within/Without, their sophomore LP for Felte,

delves into a realm of intricate intensity, pushing electronics to

the forefront with the production prowess of Matia Simovich

(INHALT), and features top-of-their-game guest vocals from

Douglas McCarthy (Nitzer Ebb) and Mariana Saldaña

(BOAN).

While the dub-influenced, shoegaze throb of Silent Places

(2020) immersed itself in the paradox of opulence against the

unsettling backdrop of California's wildfires, Within/Without

confronts social order through the lens of inner strife. It

explores a contrast between the fantasy worlds and unfiltered

truths that define modern survival, and a yearning for genuine

human connection brought on by the anxiety and isolation of

technology.

On Within/Without, Houses of Heaven truly come into their own

with a distinctive alloy of electronic, industrial, psychedelic and

shoegaze elements. They create a dynamic conduit for discord

and harmony with a profoundly human essence, bridging

interior lives and exterior pressures through visceral songcraft

and deft pacing. In a cruel and technologically dominated

world, emotional gridlock is rampant. Yet, in the propulsive

paranoia of album highlight "Flesh Techniques", we're

reminded that it's often best to "breathe in / these dreams

again / shake, shake it off".