There’s been a tendency in recent years to tar any band that broke through in the late 80s with the ‘hair band’ brush, but when House Of Lords hit the rock scene in 1988 they had more in common with Whitesnake and Deep Purple than with the likes of Poison.
At their best, they paired hard-rock heft with radio-friendly choruses shot through with AOR DNA, and that’s the case on the majority of New World-New Eyes.
The present line-up, centred on original vocalist James Christian and the long-serving Jimi Bell (guitar) and BJ Zampa (drums), have proved their worth since 2005 with a stream of consistently good albums, and they don’t disappoint here.
Feelgood rockers One More and The Both Of Us balance polish and power chords, Chemical Rush flips from a Led Zeppelin-eque riff into a slick, strident chorus, and there are accomplished performances throughout from Christian and Bell.
