House Of Idol Hands Take Us Into The Elusive Sound Of "The Others"

House of Idol Hands is the brainchild of Solomon Murphy and Marie Lewis, a Los Angeles-based husband and wife duo who weave dream pop, ambient, and electronic sounds together to explore the fringes of the sonic sanctum and usher listeners into a shared dreamscape.

Releasing their 2022 E.P titled 'Opaque,' we get to bask in the atmospheric realm of the fifth song on the tracklist, "The Others." Reverberated drum hits spark up a sense of anticipation as the almost ethereal timbres caress your mind with the hunger to grow with this dreamscape.

Carrying forth harmonies that shimmer in the dark essence of "The Others," we're drawn into the mesmerizing tenors that further pull us into being one with this masterpiece. Utilizing a brilliant sense of timing through the composition, we get a perfectly balanced sonic cocktail that leaves us wanting more with each lyrical motif that dangles us to the next. Poetic and abstract with the carefully curated wording sprinkled upon this track, lyrics like "There are the others, under star-spangled skies.

Encircled by obelisks of stone, locked from the inside," have us hanging onto the edge of our seat as we explore the depths of House of Idol Hands. Taking us into their embrace and shedding the wisdom of their world with their audience, it's rather uncanny just how dominant the kaleidoscope of imagery is that sits in our minds.

So, if you're looking to expand your horizons and take in the irresistible sounds of House of Idol Hands, we suggest that you start with their E.P' Opaque' and all it has to offer.

Welcome to BuzzMusic, House of Idol Hands. We love the atmosphere that you've crafted in your song "The Others." Could you please share a glimpse into what inspired the creation of this song?

We see writing songs as a form of world-building, so whenever we start writing a song, we ask ourselves the question “What does this world look like, feel like, and how can we paint a visual picture for the listener using only sounds and words”. For The Others, we drew inspiration from a lot of non-musical media including Kay Nielsen’s artwork, Miyazaki’s films, and the poem “Enter This Deserted House” by Shel Silverstein. We wanted to make the listener feel like they were traveling through woods that were shrouded in folklore. Woods that legends say spirits once dwelled in. You convince yourself that the specters you see are just your imagination, but as you venture deeper into the woods, it becomes more apparent and finally, aggressively undeniable.

How does "The Others" tie into the overall concept of 'Opaque?' What's your reasoning behind making this track the lead single from the project?

Opaque is an exploration of the mutual enchantment we share for dark whimsy. We wanted to create a bit of an epic tale like those that we are often inspired by. The Others is really the long journey of the album. It slowly pulls the listener in with a steady marching build-up and then blooms into a wide and distorted finale. After reaching the proverbial top of the mountain at the end of the song, the listener is guided softly out of the album experience through the two more experimental and meditative closing songs. The Others is not the final track on Opaque, but it is certainly the apex before the exit.

We love the abstract lyricism that's used in this particular piece. Is this always how the lyrics are approached in your creations?

A good rule of thumb for us is that once the lyrics read like they were lifted from an ancient manuscript, we know we are onto something. We often subscribe to the David Bowie way of writing music; write anything you can, put the words on strips of paper, then arrange as desired. Songwriting becomes a puzzle that you need to put together, but this particular puzzle has no box with the final results on it! You just keep mixing things up until, boom, it all seems to click and the precession of words and meaning just fall into place.

What's your mission statement as House of Idol Hands?

We are both lovers of dream pop, ambient, electronica, and folk music. We’re always seeking to distill our favorite elements of these musical styles and fuse them into something new that feels like home to us. We want to whisk the listener away to the vespertine dreamscape that is House of IdolHands.

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