Review: The Eden House – 'Songs For The Broken Ones'

THE EDEN HOUSE
'Songs For The Broken Ones'
JUNGLE RECORDS

Four years on from the supergroup's last full-length offering The Eden House release their third album, 'Songs For The Broken Ones'. With the band's revolving door line-up of collaborators joining the core duo of Stephen Carey and Tony Pettitt (Fields of the Nephilim) every release sees the band's trademark mixture of psychedelic, progressive and ethereal gothic rock get a shake up and yield new and exciting elements on every track. Album number three is no exception.

Featuring guest appearances from: Monica Richards (Faith & The Muse), Lee Douglas (Anathema), Kelli Ali (Sneaker Pimps), Simon Hinkler (The Mission), Bob Loveday (Penguin Cafe Orchestra) the album is once again a melting pot of genres and styles.   

Kicking off with the Spanish lyrics and Latin atmospheres of 'Verdades (I Have Chosen You)' the band subtly frame these around a steady gothic rock core that leads nicely into the more ethereal gothic of 'One Heart' that provides a nice continuation on from previous releases. Songs such as '12^th Night', 'The Ghost Of You', 'Ours Again', 'Words And Deeds', 'Let Me In', 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang', and 'Second Skin' provide the album with it's strongest gothic credentials with the haunting jangle of guitars paired with the always identifiable bass style and sinister yet beautiful atmospheres. But the band still find plenty of room to manoeuvre with songs such 'Misery', 'It's Just A Death', 'The Ardent Tide' with their respective heavy incorporation of folk and trip-hop elements into the mix.

As you'd expect from the band, they've taken their time to create and put this album together and once again the production is absolutely on point throughout. Balancing the haunting feminine vocals with the earthy bass lines and progressive elements to create a stunningly rich whole.

'Songs For The Broken Ones' may not delve into desperately experimental waters as the first album and EPs did. But it doesn't really need to anymore. The band have found their sound and with the progressive mindset running throughout every track they can be more subtle and sly with their playfulness to create a wider scope than putting in say a synth-heavy track purely for the sake of it.

The Eden House are a band that all other gothic rock bands should aspire to. The veteran skills of the core members and their collaborators are beyond repute and the scope of their work is only matched by their lack of ego. The result is always something that pushes the limits of what gothic rock can be, and this is no exception.

Posted in: music,songs for the broken ones,The Eden House