Houses of Heaven - Within/Without

1. Strange Temptation 04:42 video
2. Within/Without 04:16 video
3. The End of Me (feat. Douglas McCarthy) 04:22
4. New Decay 04:54
5. The Depths You Hold 04:51
6. Flesh Techniques 04:24
7. Deserve (feat. Ms.Boan Mariana Saldaña) 04:06 video
8. Pisces 03:49
9. Serpent Coil 03:44
10. Sightline 03:38

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. Opener, “Strange Temptation”, sets the pace with an energetic push as overlapping, staccato synths weave around a fuzzed-out vocal directive that suggests an impasse between two conflicting states of being: “Release / control / release / control”. According to singer Keven Tecon, it “captures the sense of being emotionally confined or limited by the bonds of love”, and “the relentless pursuit of fulfillment that forever remains just out of reach.”