The House Of Love – The House Of Love

The House Of Love are probably the best of the Neo-Psychedelic bands from the late 80’s UK music scene and their 2nd album is a masterclass of the genre.
The entire album is a winner but if I had to pick some highlights…’Never’ is a terrific jangly wah-wah fest with a catchy-as-hell chorus, ‘Beatles and the Stones’ is a sumptuously shimmering homage and ‘Shine On’ is a beautiful slab of pealing guitars, thudding bass and delicious harmonies hitched to a sweet-spot tickling chorus. ‘Hedoinist’ kicks into gear with a thudding psychedelicized groove and finds the band sounding like where Primal Scream wanted to be in a year or two.

The House of Love made one of the best albums of 1990 and set a template that so many bands would follow soon after, from the Britpop school of Blur and Oasis to shoegaze mods Ride and Slowdive and pretty much everything else in between…marvelous stuff!

Great separation and depth. Big soundstage and dynamics. Overall, this is a great pressing. Recommended!

I'm so glad to hear this on vinyl (at an affordable price)
My copy was very clean right outta the wrap and sounds awesome.
'Great underrated band!

I listened this album to death on CD throughout the 90s and early 00s and prob know it better than the back of my hand. This far surpasses the original CD and high-def streaming (Tidal) with depth, clarity and bass response. I always felt those earlier versions to be a bit tinny, and this pressing adds that low register which fleshes out the sound. No issues with pops on my copy. Grab this lost classic from the 90s. Recommended.

My copy sounds fantastic. No issues at all. Wet cleaned and played on Technics 1500c with rigB540ML cart. Great album and happy to finally have it in my collection.

My pressing had incessant ticks on SGTLY so I have returned it. The vinyl roar was fairly high, married to a low level cut, so during quiet moments, the noise floor was apparent. My girlfriend’s copy had ticks on two tracks and my Babe Rainbow copy had the same problems on one track. All albums came in a non polylined inner sleeves. I cannot recommend these titles as a result, despite the great sound quality. My 33-year old original copy is quiet and without ticks or pops!

I am so glad I picked this up. It sounds excellent—not an audiophile pressing, but blows my old CD out of the water. Thank you!

Contrary to the opinions voiced elsewhere, I believe this record was far from "over-looked" or "under-rated". It was very hotly anticipated for a long time, since their previous LP had hit home so hard. The songs are less potent, both the chord progressions and sounds more mainstream and less original. Where Chadwick's lyrics were cryptic before, they now became outre and cringe - "The Beatles and The Stones sucked the marrow out of bones, put the V in Vietnam" etc.
The over-production on this LP smooths out too much of the friction of this band, leaving them sonically somewhere between Siouxsie and the Banshees and Dire Straits / U2. It's clear they were going for a cleaner, more "professional" sound than on the preceding album, but lost the soul of these songs in all the careful decisions and expertly applied reverb. I guess the idea was to polish the record up for chart success. Too much too soon, for what was still an indie band.
It's a beautiful production job, but on the wrong record. This was not overlooked, it was a disappointing misfire. Not without some charm, but such a let down after the build of their singles and first LP. So precipitous in fact, that it all but finished them. Their place as heirs apparent to the Smiths, was taken by the Stone Roses, whose record was perfectly produced by John Leckie. Where the production on this record is too mature, comfortable and MOR, making the House of Love suddenly sound very middle class and safe, Leckie's gave the Stone Roses' brittle elements swagger and class, without losing their urgency and working class soul. After burning so bright, the HOL had become obsolete in just over a year.

My inner sleeve of butterflies is hand stamped 197739

We’re they all numbered ?

On my Cassette side one is the listing for side two and the reverse same barcode and pg number