Favorite Underrated Bands #5 - The House of Love

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As I see it, one of the main problems faced by underrated bands is that not enough people are willing to listen to them. It won't be everyone, but if enough people actually sat down and listened, some might find that they like it. Of course, there are other factors at work as well, which brings me to #5 in my Favorite Underrated Bands series, England's The House of Love. Guitar-based The House of Love came around at the right time, on the heels of The Smith's, forming in 1986. Led by vocalist/guitarist Guy Chadwick, the band played a pleasing brand of psychedelic guitar-pop, and had four singles crack the Top 10 of Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. Unfortunately, lead guitarist Terry Bickers became fed up and split to form the underrated Levitation. The House of Love were also heavily into booze and drugs at the time, and burnout would derail any forward momentum the band had achieved. Not to mention, British tastes had changed. The band was still playing psychedelic guitar-pop when dance bands such as the Happy Monday's had become all the rage. All of which takes nothing away from what a great band The House of Love were (I should say "are"---Chadwick and Bickers have made up and are playing together again,) a band that I wish more people would actually sit down and listen to. Those people might or might not like them, but the band at least deserves to be heard.