Straight out of St. John’s and into our happy eardrums comes Lookin’ Up, the latest from indie songwriter Adrian House. With cheerful little strums and positivity in spades, House’s newest album is leaving a trail of smiles.
With a cornucopia of sounds on the album the most consistent element we find on it is a relentless positivity. Lookin’ Up, just as the title suggests, is sticky sweet with upbeat melodies.
“Changes” starts us off with the essentials; a quiet, light-hearted little tune about facing the dynamism of life with a welcome attitude, followed up by “Travellin’ On,” which creates another big smile of a tune with an added fiddle/banjo combo, giving it a unique Maritime flair.
“Short Back & Sides” recounts memories that House appears to have had with a special somebody, right up to the time they went to a barber shop to cut a few inches off the back and sides. House frames this person as an absolute delight; “You laid your head on a piece of bread and said that you felt crummy.”
“Hold Me Close” keeps the peppy sounds and heartfelt lyrics in a track about a night in with someone beloved, and “Rebel Rebel” is an ode to those girls who have a wild, daring streak in their eyes.
As for “Babette,” I don’t speak French, so we’re taking an educated guess and saying that it’s a positive tune about another (or the same) special gal.
Finally, “1951” greets us in a slower, softer, gentler manner, with a touch of melancholy. It by-and-large differs from the album in this way, but is heartfelt all the same.
“The album means a conscious effort by me to push forwards and produce something positive, life affirming, upbeat, and fun,” says House. “I hope that the audience finds an antidote here to all of the gloom and doom that we’re surrounded by on a daily basis these days.”
“There’s enough pain in life, and I’ve had my share, and sometimes that can obscure all the joy. I wanted to make something light and transcendent.”