New York City’s Springhouse is noted for being early US adopters of the shoegaze sound in the great alternative-indie blitz of the early 1990s. But in 2008, they returned with From Now to OK on CD from Bruce Licher’s Independent Project Records. Flashing forward to right now finds that set receiving an overdue expanded vinyl reissue from IPR that includes instrumental versions, demos, and live tracks all beautifully designed, as is Licher’s way. The set is out now. Our review follows below, along with a video premiere of the album track “Moving Van.”
Springhouse is the band of guitarist-vocalist Mitch Friedland, bassist Larry Heinemann, and drummer (and The Big Takeover publisher) Jack Rabid. On From Now to OK they enlist a lot of help to realize a crisp, vibrant melodic sound that veers away from the shoegaze textures of their two prior albums, 1991’s Land Falls (with sleeve design by IPR) and ’93’s Postcards from the Arctic (no IPR design and it appears it’s yet to see a vinyl release).
Springhouse’s approach on From Now to OK has been described as folk-rock, and there’s no need to quibble with that assessment, but it’s worth noting that a fair number of the disc’s 12 songs connect like classic Hoboken guitar pop. This is true of the jangly bah-bah-bahs of “Moving Van,” though “Time Runs Out,” with its acoustic strum, keyboard swells, and horns, broadens the template.
Opener “Passion” features punchy punky bursts in the choruses but also dishes some sweet faux mellotron in the back end. The strum of “No More Yesterdays” has a decidedly Anglo feel by way of NYC/Jersey, so the influences continue to traverse the big pond. “Grateful” is a likeable slow build to the symphonic, but Friedlander’s vocals are still reminiscent of a band Bar/None Records might’ve added to their roster around 1987 or so.
There are a few stylistic surprises along the way. “Never Impossible” is a blend of coffeehouse fingerpicking, indie folk and flutes. “10 Count” is also folky, but adorned with trumpet that suggests Freddie Hubbard dropped by the studio. Of the bonus material, it’s the instrumentals that are the most immediately striking but the whole record is worthy of our interest.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
