Hotelier, The – Home, Like Noplace Is There [GOLD VINYL] – New LP

As drummer Sam Frederick stamps out an enormous beat and chords—strummed by Cody Millet, Scott Ayotte, and Chris Hoffman—clamor around him, Holden sings, "I called in sick from your funeral / tradition of closure made it feel impossible… / I should have never kept my word to you / Not a cry not a sound / Might've learned how to swim but never taught how to drown /You said remember me for me, I need to set my spirit free.

On "Housebroken" Holden addresses an abused dog; after inviting it to be free, he sings as the canine above a jangling guitar, saying, "Master's all that I got, keeps me having a purpose, / Gives me bed keeps me fed, and I'm just slightly nervous / Of what I might do if I were let loose / If I caught that mail car or ate garbage for food, / So as I bear all my teeth, I will ask of you please / to just leave." As this swaying song rises dramatically, that some individuals prefer their restraints, it becomes clear that there's more to the record than its powerful melodies. - Dane Erbach