37 Houses release second album When and How it Happened

The SF based indie punk quartet 37 Houses, begun as a sort of journal by newlyweds, singer/bassist Erin Sydney and guitarist/songwriter Jeremy Rosenblum in quarantine after just 4 months of marriage.

Since then, the music has become a running expression of the love and pain they experience together. When and How it Happened is the next chapter in that story: written over 18 months about the process of learning to be, and not be, polyamorous in a developing marriage.

There’s a lot of raw emotion, and raw musicality to the album, and their bopping rhythms, swooning and warbling guitars, and Erin’s soaring vocals take things into the stratosphere. The songs were written as the events transpired and they capture the raw emotions of deeply personal moments.

Neither person knew how this would end while it was being written. Helium, about a few days spent with a girlfriend, and a few months dealing with the feelings it created, captures that angst and grief. Album opener Shadow Puppets sings an apology, an acknowledgement, and a resignation of hope, while maintaining the fierce undercurrent of unconditional love.

Acoustic tracks Unloveable and Love Song contrast each other; one song about the darkest moments, and the other an expression of neverending love to hold onto when things feel overwhelming. This album also represents the first time Erin Sydney composed songs on the album, with Event Horizon and Only a Smile Remains giving voice to her struggle, her pain, and her ability to grow through it all.

When it came time to record, the band decided it needed to be as raw and urgent as the songwriting. Renting a house in the mountains of Colorado, they set up the band live and recorded all the instrument tracks in just 4 days. The recording captures exactly what happened between the band members in a whirlwind of creative expression.

It is a loving tribute to the early days of rock and roll, favoring cranked amps and feel over perfectly placed hits and polished layers. And because 37 Houses is always a product of the house Erin and Jeremy share, the vocals and acoustic tracks were once again recorded in their bedroom.

This is a record about a discreet moment and how you face it. This is a record capturing a discrete moment in the history of the band. This is When and How it Happened.