Houses, the lively musical project of singer-songwriter-producer Dexter Tortoriello, released their first major project in five years. This time, it comes in the form of an EP, titled _Drugstore Heaven_ and released through Downtown Records.
The LA-based Tortoriello has had quite the hiatus: starting in 2013, he released Houses’ sophomore album _A Quiet Darkness_, followed shortly by a debut full-length through his other, darker moniker Dawn Golden. Since, the artist has undergone a slate of high-profile remixes, including for the likes of Major Lazer, Odesza, and Kings of Leon, to name a few.
The four-track EP _Drugstore Heaven_ also features four miniature art films, promoting Houses’ return to music. Each of these short films feature key actors from hit ‘80s and ‘90s television shows. The opening track, “Fast Talk,” which was released in August as the only single prior to the EP’s release, features Patrick Renna – remembered for his legendary role in _The Sandlot_ – running through the woods in a Bigfoot costume, the song aerating mutely in the background.
The meaning of these short films is not to showcase the songs themselves, but rather to present a different side of the music: a way of looking at the songs through a unique, deconstructed lens. Other films presented in conjunction with the EP star Jaleel White of _Family Matters_, Nicole Eggert of _Charles in Charge_ and _Baywatch_, and Jason James Richter of the _Free Willy_ trilogy.
All four short films were directed by Brook Linder (who directed videos for the likes of Beck, Nine Inch Nails, and Spoon) and Nick Roney (who’s directed for Lil Yachty, Belly, and the Lemon Twigs).
“We wanted to take something well known from a previous era – child stars – and re-contextualize them in a way you haven’t seen,” said Roney. “This puts the shorts in an eerie zone where they feel familiar and unrecognizable \[at\] the same time. Together they form a pop culture mystery stuck somewhere between two times and two feelings.”
And for many of these actors, these short films come at an interesting time. _The Sandlot_ recently celebrated its 25-year anniversary, and _Family Matters_ ended its monumental run on ABC’s T.G.I.F. lineup 20 years ago.
Houses, while crafting nothing short of pop-rock tunes fundamental of easy-listening melodies, have used these accompanying videos to broaden the horizons of their genre. In fact, some of the videos hardly feature the songs themselves, at least not until the very end when a snippet of the chorus can be heard. Listeners are shown that we can’t take the music at face value, and must dive deeper and deeper to understand the contextualization of the modes we are presented. _Drugstore Heaven_, with accompanying short films, is nothing short of a representation for such an ideology.
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