House Of Freaks - Tantilla (1989)

“Tantilla” is the second album by the rock band House Of Freaks.
Folk and pop melodies drive this magnificent album from start to finish. The chorus to "Sun Gone Down" holds up against any great hook, from Nick Lowe to Tommy James. “Tantilla” is pure Southern Gothic, as subjects from religion to the Civil War are addressed and set to a roots music beat that is handy, tight pop/rock at the core. After so many years, this record has worn quite well.
House of Freaks manage to be great in spite of a terrible band name. Bryan Harvey, guitars and vocals, and Johnny Hott, drums, sparingly clothe Tantilla without it ever feeling bare. Often slotted in the paisley underground, House of Freaks have never fit with The Three O'Clocks and Dream Syndicates of the world. Sure, Tantilla brims with jangle but it doesn’t echo the sunnyness of 60s pop or the noodling of psych rock. Sonically asunder from the paisley underground, they are topically otherworldly.
House of Freaks stamp a special kind of melody off-kilter, yes, but undeniably catchy. A little pop, a little rock, a little folk, a little blues, House of Freaks doesn’t sit neatly it doesn’t sit at all. It sways, it bounces, it wanes and it waxes. Harvey’s atypical guitar playing and Hott’s stellar drumming more than make up for the lack of a bass.
Thematically, “Tantilla” is rooted in the past. Despite the historical bent of Tantilla, it’s a very personal album, value-laden and introspective. Harvey reveals a debt to Flannery O’Connor that would become more explicit on later albums. In his almost bellicose manner, Harvey dredges the lowest of the low, the stuff no one else says and, based on fanfare, no one seems to want to hear either.
Harvey confronts himself and his heritage, addressing racism (“White Folk’s Blood”) and religion (“I Want Answers”). He denounces both. But he seems to realize that the stain of both remains, no matter how vigorously or extensively he washes his hands. “The roots that support us have built a forest,” sings Harvey on “Family Tree”. Autobiographical or not, “King of Kings” betrays the mark of the divine in some form. The South is Harvey’s to inherit, for better and worse.


01.  "When the Hammer Came Down"  - 3:29
02.  "Righteous Will Fall"  - 3:09
03.  "White Folk's Blood"  - 4:41
04.  "Birds of Prey"  - 3:06
05.  "King of Kings"  - 3:23
06.  "Family Tree"  - 3:38
07.  "Sun Gone Down"  - 3:07
08.  "Kill the Mockingbird"  - 3:28
09.  "Broken Bones"  - 3:11
10.  "I Want Answers"  - 3:02
11.  "Big Houses"  - 3:16
12.  "World of Tomorrow"  - 4:51

Credits
Drums - Johnny Hott
Guitar, Vocals - Bryan Harvey
Organ [Hammond B3, Pump], Piano - Marty McCavitt
Mixed By - John Leckie
Producer - John Leckie

Notes
all song written by Bryan Harvey and Johnny Hott
Length: 41:52
Genre: Rock, Jangle Pop

©1989 Rhino Records