Cold Hard Want by House Of Heroes

Reviewed by Gareth Hills

The fifth album from the well-established Ohio-based alt-rockers is very special indeed. Just when you thought that Christian alternative rock was starting to sound stale, along comes 'Cold Hard Want', crammed full of creative ideas. The acappella intro establishes that this group of musicians know exactly what they're doing, before they launch into the raucous defiance of "Out My Way". It's a quite a heavy album, but there's a lot of variety here too. "We Are Giants", a song about lost love and clinging to hope, manages to transcend what could be a cliché and becomes beautiful and real. "Comfort Trap" meanwhile perfectly sums up the conflicting mix of lethargy, yet desperation that can be experienced in waking up to realise and believe that you've truly missed your calling. Finally the yearning and determination of "Touch This Light" are truly believable and affecting. It's rare to find a band that are as creative lyrically as they are musically, and 'Cold Heart Want' shows that this band most definitely tick both of these boxes. Thoroughly recommended.