I’m not sure if the title of Two Houses’ self-released new sophomore album, Can’t Fail, is a demand or an expression of optimism; the Chicago three-piece play workingman’s punk that confronts challenges with a mix of hard-assery and hope. Two Houses heave their songs into being, so that you can hear the labor that went into them: the rumbling bass, steel-toe guitars, and no-nonsense drumming give their music the heaviness of masonry and a rugged charm that comes from the aches and blisters that work implies. When Two Houses hoist a stack of vocals onto the hollered hook of the muggy single “Lost,” they overcome draining exhaustion to achieve genuine joy—thanks in part to the hardship they experienced along the way.
Two Houses, Nervous Passenger, Babe Report, Fri 4/22, 9 PM, GMan Tavern, 3740 N. Clark, $12, $10 in advance, 21+
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