Follow TV Tropes

Following

Music / Lifehouse

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Who_We_Are_-_Lifehouse_5185.jpg
Precisely.
I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you
—"Hanging by a Moment"

Lifehouse, originally named Blyss from 1995 to 2000, is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles. Not to be confused with The Who's music project of the same name. They have released seven albums.

Principal members (founding members are in bold, current members are in italics)

  • Sergio Andrade – bass (1995–2004)
  • Ben Carey – lead guitar (2009–2014, touring musician 2004–2009)
  • Collin Hayden – lead guitar (1995–2000)
  • Aaron Lord – keyboards, violin, viola, mandolin (1995–1999)
  • Jon "Diff" Palmer – drums, percussion (1995–2000)
  • Bryce Soderberg – bass, backing vocals, lead vocals (2004–present)
  • Steve Stout – lead guitar, backing vocals (2017–present, touring musician 2015–2017)
  • Jason Wade – lead vocals, guitars (1995–present)
  • Rick Woolstenhulme, Jr. – drums, percussion (2000–present)
  • Sean Woolstenhulme – lead guitar, backing vocals (2002–2004)

Discography:

  • Diff's Lucky Day (EP,note  1999; as Blyss)
  • No Name Face (2000)
  • Stanley Climbfall (2002)
  • Lifehouse (2005)
  • Who We Are (2007)
  • Smoke & Mirrors (2010)
  • Almería (2012)
  • Out of the Wasteland (2015)


Lifehouse provides examples of:

  • Album Title Drop: Their self-titled album, No Name Face, and Almería are the only ones with no title track. Although a subversion of the trope happens on the title track for Stanley Climbfall, which is derived from the lyrics "Stand, climb, and fall"
  • Auto-Tune: Used on "Wrecking Ball" and "Here Tomorrow, Gone Today". Jason's used it in some live performances.
  • Break-Up Song: "Bridges", "Blind", and "Had Enough", among others
  • Driven to Suicide: The character in "The Joke".
  • Epic Rocking: No Name Face has two six-minute Power Ballads: "Simon" and "Everything". The latter is their longest recorded song so far, and a fan favorite.
  • Foreshadowing/Sequel Hook: The title of Who We Are (pictured above) actually comes from the last line of the previous album (Track name "The End Has Only Begun"):
    These times that the world falls apart
    Make us who we are.
  • Happily Married: Jason, since 2001.
  • Lighter and Softer:
    • Their self-titled album - probably in no small part due to the departure of one of their guitarists and their bassist.
    • Also Almería, though its sound is much more diverse to make up for it.
  • Lyrical Dissonance: "The Joke", a song about suicide, is up-tempo, bouncy, and downright jarring compared to the mellower material surrounding it on Who We Are.
  • Mexican Standoff: The cover image on Almería. This is also an example of Spexico, because the cover depicts a scene from a spaghetti western even though the album is titled after a city in Spain. (But a justified example, because many spaghetti westerns have been filmed there.)
  • New Sound Album:
    • Smoke & Mirrors has a slightly harder edge than their other albums. Programmed drums and Auto-Tune are also used on a few tracks.
    • Almería ditches the alternative rock sound almost entirely in favor of experimenting with country, blues, and classic rock influences.
  • Non-Appearing Title: Several times:
    • From No Name Face: "Quasimodo", "Simon"
    • From Stanley Climbfall: "Stanley Climbfall", "Out of Breath", "My Precious"
    • From Lifehouse: "Better Luck Next Time", "Chapter One"
  • Perishing Alt-Rock Voice: Jason, especially in the early days, naturally resulting in...
  • Perma-Stubble: Jason's default look.
  • Silly Love Songs: A lot of their content.
  • Step Up to the Microphone:
    • Bassist Bryce Soderberg on "Wrecking Ball" from their Smoke and Mirrors album. He's also been known to take over lead vocals during live concerts sometimes so Jason can give his voice a rest.
    • Bryce and Jason trade off lead vocals in "Stardust", which was originally written by Bryce with the intent of putting it on a solo album.
  • Vocal Evolution: At the beginning (circa No Name Face) Jason was fresh out of his teenage years and, like lots of post-grunge vocalists of the early 2000s, had a lot of Scott Stapp-isms in his vocal style. He's since grown out of it a bit - not to mention his vocal range has expanded significantly since then.

Top