House & Parish

House&Parish-Foto_02“It’s not clear to me exactly when we became a band,” explains Jason Gnewikow. He’s trying to explain the sudden formation and steady rise of House& Parish, the Brooklyn quartet with whom he plays guitar. “But if I had to pinpoint it, I’d say it all came together earlier this year.”

Although Gnewikow—along with singer/guitarist John Herguth and bassist Scott Winegard—had already recorded a few songs with Jets To Brazil drummer Chris Daly in late 2006, the House & Parish story truly begins with the permanent addition of drummer Brian Malone. Having fi nally crystallized a formidable line-up and a strong cannon of material almost effortlessly, the band confi rmed its fi rst New York City performances; and, having tapped the production talent of former Rival Schools guitarist Ian Love, they reserved a new block of studio work.

If it all sounds too easy, consider the band’s pedigree: Gnewikow played guitar for indie-rock heroes The Promise Ring, Winegard served on bass duties for the much-loved Texas Is The Reason, Malone was last seen playing drums with Austin indie stalwarts The Gloria Record, and Herguth, whose previous work with The Love Scene won both critical acclaim and a record deal with Nirvana’s A&R rep, Mark Kates, before prematurely disbanding in 2006. “People are going to think John came out of nowhere,” Gnewikow muses, “but he’s been around just as long as any of us. Maybe that’s why it’s so hard to say when or how House & Parish got together.” He pauses. “I mean, we weren’t a group of strangers before this all happened. The only difference is that when we hang out now, we bring instruments.”

House & Parish’s first six songs make up One, One-Thousand, an EP in the US. The result is a brave new sound: crisp and melodic, spatial and dense, and delicate and raucous all at once. If House & Parish sound more adventurous than their previous discographies allude, it’s because they are. The band recently returned home to New York after live dates in the UK and Europe, and is currently writing what will be their first full-length album in the US. Europe already has One, One-Thousand including two exclusive bonus tracks.

HOUSE & PARISH:
Jason Gnewikow – Guitar
Brian Malone – Drums
Scott Winegard – Bass
John Herguth – Vocals, Guitar

Arctic Rodeo releases:
HOUSE & PARISH – “One, One-Thousand” – CD / LP+CD (arr006)