Having just released the new album, Playground on 1 December, Boston’s House Of Harm have been picking up speed and earning attention having crafted a blend of post-punk and Midwest emo that ebbs with nostalgia and flows with originality. House of Harm’s Michael Rocheford joined TGEFM in the latest of our Roll of the Dice interviews to discuss the band, who he’s listening to and what’s next.
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Congrats in advance on therecent album: Playground. For the uninitiated, could you tell us a bit about yourself, the record and how it came about?
Thank you so much. We formed in Boston a few years back, and Playground is our second record, following our debut Vicious Pastimes.
What album or band or significant singles made you go “Yeah, this is what I want to do” Not just an influence but who or what was the catalyst??
I’ve been shying away from this question as time goes on, but it’s no secret that our love for The Cure is what brought us here. I don’t think we sound much like them, but we do try to hold ourselves to the standards they set.
What have been some of the most memorable moments or experiences with the band so far? What’s been the most unexpected? The weirdest?
Releasing our debut record was special. It was a huge milestone for us, and for myself, personally. The west coast tour we did back in August was really memorable as well. I can’t think of anything overly unexpected, but we’ve experienced more weird stuff than you could imagine. Most of which wouldn’t be suitable for print.
There are certainly some throwback vibes to the music, especially in the video and single “Two Kinds.” Let’s talk a little bit about how the track came into existence. What was going on at the time that helped kickstart the process? What did you want to see happen with the record?
“Two Kinds” has been a favorite of mine since we made the first demo version back in 2021. It was something I was protective over, so I made sure we took our time with it, and only worked on it if the vibe was tight.
You’ve said you started writing this record in 2021 and came up with 75 songs. Are there plans at the moment for the songs that aren’t on the album? What was the process of narrowing the tracks down like?
I’m sure they’ll see the light of day at some point. Since then we’ve written double that, so we’ll see how they fit together with this new batch of songs. It’s tough to narrow it down, because you don’t always pick the 10 best songs. We ended up with the 10 songs that complimented each other, and flowed the way we wanted the record to.
The music world has also changed a lot over the last few years. What are some of the biggest industry changes you’ve come across in your time within the scene?
It’s hard to say, honestly. We released our debut in the height of the pandemic, so our reference point is only from there on. We’ve seen a lot of the 250 cap rooms close down, so that’s been tough to navigate in terms of touring.
We all have a few, what is your biggest regret? A gig you turned down, advice you didn’t take, what one thing do you wish you handled differently as a musician?
Surprisingly, nothing I can think of! We’ve always had good luck and put a lot of thought into the decisions we make. We’ve definitely turned down some exciting show offers, but all for good reasons so I never think twice about it.
One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should?
Still Ruins, Korine, Pleasure Coffin, The Infinity Ring
Once the world has its hands on Playground what’s next for House of Harm?
We’re going to focus on touring North America and beyond.
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
Nothing more I’d like to share, but thank you to everyone who’s digging the record and hope to see you all when we hit the road.
Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
