Out Of The Woods is the second album from Norwegian folk/pop outfit House By The Lake and it’s a nice little feel-good piece that has a lovely atmosphere to it.
It’s an accessible piece that is easy to connect with and it’s just great to listen to. House By The Lake doesn’t need complexity or showy instrumention because whilst a little on the simplistic side, Out Of The Woods still hits the spot fantastically. It’s easy to just immerse yourself in the music and get lost in it, especially with the light, airy and almost ethereal approach throughout.
Second track Hollow is an early highlight that features some stunning vocals that really help to carry the track (they’ll give you goosebumps, partically when the layered vocals kick in atop of a lush wall of thicker instrumentation, which juxtaposes well against the sparser approach earlier on. Another great inclusion is North Sea, which is a song that is a little different stylistically with a bit more of an indie vibe (and an awesome harmonica line!) but it still fits in with the bigger picture of the album and doesn’t feel out of place.
At times it would be nice if it was more of an adventurous listen but overall Out Of The Woods is a good piece and is certainly something House By The Lake should be proud of.
8/10
