House Of Protection, aka Stephen Harrison and Aric Improta, dazzled new fans with their debut EP GALORE in September 2024, and they’re finally ready to show off their sophomore EP Outrun You All.
Fresh off their tour with Poppy, the veteran hardcore duo is making all their wildest sonic dreams come true as they intertwine their heavy roots with jump-inducing trip-hop sonics. There are few, if any other, alternative acts who are putting so much time and care into creating a live show that kindles a fire (no pun intended) in each of their listeners.
On their seven-track Outrun You All, House Of Protection is more experimental and exciting than ever before. Basically, we’re already dying to see what’s next. Fortunately, the duo is bringing their high-octane performances to the UK and Europe this summer, preceded by a May 24 EP release show.
Read more: Architects Tap House Of Protection For New Single “Brain Dead”
Ahead of their massive festival run, idobi Radio caught up with vocalist and drummer Aric Improta to go track by track, zooming in on each song. He says of the project, “Honestly, we’re just really appreciative of everybody’s willingness to be open-minded and experiment with us. That’s something that we don’t take for granted, and ultimately, part of what’s exciting about this is that there are no rules. And so we just want to say thank you to everybody that’s been along the ride so far and has kept that same ethos and enjoyed each sort of left turn that we throw out there.”
Of note, not only does the release see the duo experimenting sonically, but also visually. Marked by large block heads of their own faces, Outrun You All’s recurring motif was inspired by the 1972 Rothschild Surrealist Ball. “There’s a sense of humor to this band that I think comes with just the type of energy that we want to create,” Improta says, “and we wanted a visual to sort of encompass that.”
Order your copy of the EP here.
1. 524å§ł€€|° (Pronounced “524 Asleep”)
I think we knew we wanted an introduction that was completely different than GALORE. This piece had a lot of inspiration from bands like Portishead and Massive Attack, and stuff that we listen to a lot on drives to and from practice.
But I have these really talented family friends, Jamie and Carlos Homs. They helped produce a lot, and they worked a lot with DJ Premier in New York. And so, we had referenced tracks and we’d written like the drums and sort of like a vocal melody, but neither of us could sing it. We sent it to them and let them do their own spin on it. And there were pretty much no notes. They nailed it right away. So, we kind of felt like it would just be a cool intro to the album.
2. Afterlife
This was an interesting track because it was technically the second song we ever wrote. We started it right after we finished “It’s Supposed to Hurt” in the first year of the band. But we could tell something was missing. Like, we were excited about the ideas and the pace and the fact it was such a different approach than “It’s Supposed to Hurt.” But, in the time that we had written the first EP, it just never really found its way to completion.
Then we brought it back with Jordan [Fish]. He helped us figure out a chorus. And all of a sudden, it had come to life in a way that was just so much more elevated. So that being said, again, I think just the pace and having the heavy halftime, that’s something that we avoided a lot on the first EP because it’s something that’s very comfortable to us. And we wanted that first EP to be really fast and not lean on sort of the heavier things that we have always leaned on. It’s its own song. Even the idea of using a whip sound instead of a snare drum was a fun starting point because it totally changed the direction that it went in.
3. Godspeed
I think “Godspeed” is mine and Steve’s collective favorite on the album. Ultimately, we love fast music. When the chorus kicks in, it sort of has this hyper-pop synth behind it, which is some territory that we haven’t been able to touch on yet. And I don’t know if it’s just me, but there are parts in that chorus where Steve kind of has these Bloc Party moments, and that’s a band that we both love, but have never really been able to tap into that influence before. All around, I just think the relentlessness of the music and the vocal approach Steve has are part of the reason that I love it so much.
4. I Need More Than This
This was our attempt at really bringing that trip-hop influence into the band, but at the same time, trying to find a way to maintain the energy that we wanted for the show. And obviously, the chorus leans more toward what we normally write. But when you look at the verse, and especially the bridge, that’s like the closest we’ve gotten to tapping into that DJ Shadow, Massive Attack, Portishead, Hooverphonic world. That’s one of my favorite genres, and I’m really lucky that Steve is open to that.
And I think what’s exciting for me about this is it’s the first time that Steve’s ever tracked a guitar solo, I think, in his entire career. So, us going into that outro and him ripping. I think Jordan threw out the idea in the studio, and it’s just something that we’ve never really explored in this band. I think within 30 minutes, he just had like the perfect take and it felt like it was the best way to end a song.
5. Fire
This one was sort of written at the tail end of GALORE. At the time, it just didn’t feel like it fit that EP. And then we really sort of finished it off in the studio. This was a weird one, because we had listened to it so much since we’d had it before the writing process. We almost sort of questioned if it was too simple or should just stay as a B-side.
Then, because we had the tracks ready, we played it in London before it came out, and the live energy was just on an absolute different level, where it sort of reminded us why we wrote it in the first place. Honestly, I don’t even know if it would have made the EP if we didn’t do that test in London. Immediately, any sort of fatigue I’d had from listening for six months straight went away when we were jumping to it and the audience was with us. It felt like an obvious single after that moment.
6. Phasing Out
I know Steve really pushed to pull off these vocals. And I think this is probably the most difficult one for him to sing. But again, we go into this trying to grow every time. We are at a point where the doors are wide open and we’re willing to experiment. And that means all directions. So with this one, we knew we wanted something that was drum and bass oriented, but had an almost nostalgic melody over it. So, we kind of led with that and started building with Jordan. All of a sudden, it just kind of fell together in one day, which was awesome.
I’m just really proud of Steve in this because again, if you would have showed us this song a year ago, there’s no way we would have thought that we could make something like this and that he could sing that well. We’ll see how long it takes for us to nail it live, but it’s something where when we got done with it, it felt like definite progression, and that’s always exciting for us.
7. Slide Away
We don’t always write huge songs if that’s the way to describe it. There’s something about the way that that riff drops and Steve’s chorus and everything that just feels massive. And so we wanted to end with an exclamation point on this record.
