Written by: Nick Ashton
Band:
Title:
Release Date:
This House We Built
Get Out Of The Rain
21st November 2025
The idea of the difficult second album has become received wisdom in the industry, thanks to the struggles faced by many bands in replicating their breakthrough success. Well, if that is the case, then someone forgot to send the memo to This House We Built because Get Out Of The Rain is absolutely brimming over with ideas ranging from hard rockin’ bangers to introspective singalong ballads.
Kicking off appropriately (given the storm that has just battered the country), with Rain, the band set out their stall for all to enjoy. Big choruses, luscious harmonies, chunky riffs, and a rhythm section tighter than a duck’s derriere. They create an expansive soundscape that is simultaneously as luxurious as a down-filled duvet and as punchy as Mike Tyson with toothache, creating the aural equivalent of sweet chilli sauce. Elsewhere they play with the soft to heavy ratio to create the desired effect with apparent ease. Addiction has a big, cock of the walk swagger and a sassy riff that will sound huge on the live stage, whereas Coming Home To You is the lighters in the air power-ballad that used to guarantee you heavy rotation on MTV. If you have caught any of the band’s festival performances this summer, you will have heard the latter at the end of the set as the song breaks down into an acapella singalong with the group members downing their instruments to sit on the lip of the stage to connect with the crowd.
…as luxurious as a down-filled duvet and as punchy as Mike Tyson with toothache…
Despite the upbeat vibe of the music, the lyrics tackle darker subjects as well as the usual rock and roll hedonism. Better Man talks about self-reflection and the power within to make changes to your life, Drifter tackles the self-doubt faced by many musicians whereas One By One is a bitter love story. But it’s not all doom and gloom: It’s Only Rock N Roll tells the familiar tale of rock star dreams over a dirty, Sunset Strip grind (plus it has cowbell!) and Wheels is a low-slung, riff-heavy homage to life on the road.
Frontman par excellence Scott Wardell is on top form throughout, switching between the ‘f*ck you’ attitude of Crash N Burn and the slower introspective numbers like Drifter. Guitarist Andy Jackson steps up to the mike on the self-penned Broken Dreams and One By One to mix things up with an ’80s film soundtrack kind of vibe which adds some light and shade to the proceedings. Bass duties are handled by the low-slung king of cool Wayne Dowkes-White, and Chris Mayes is responsible for the massive drum sound that nails things down at the back.
If big, feel-good singalong choruses, dirty riffs, and summer vibes are your thing, then Get Out Of The Rain should be an essential purchase. Expect to see and hear THWB everywhere next year, as based on this album, the only way is up for this hard rockin’ Yorkshire quartet.
This House We Built are:
Scott Wardell – Vocals, guitar
Andy Jackson – Guitar, vocals
Wayne Dowkes-White – Bass, vocals
Chris Mayes – Drums, vocals
Track Listing
- Rain
- Addiction
- Broken Dreams
- Desires
- Coming Home To You
- Crash N Burn
- It’s Only Rock N’ Roll
- Wheels
- Better Man
- One By One
- Drifter