Jesusfreakhideout.com: Grammatrain, "Lonely House" Review

Grammatrain
Lonely House

Artist Info: Discography
Album length: 13 tracks: 53 minutes, 2 seconds
Street Date: 1995

READER RATING: LonelyHouse

� / 5.0 (0 votes)

Very seldom do I find an album that I can come back and listen to after several years of owning it, but Grammatrain's debut, Lonely House, is a perfect example. From gritty solos and pulsing bass lines to the pounding beats and the lyrical and vocal stylings of Pete Stewart, Lonely House is by far Grammatrain's best album. Like Nirvana's Nevermind was renowned in the mainstream markets, Lonely House is a true essential to any Christian rock enthusiasts library. This album was one of the first albums I ever bought and has not lost any of its luster in the eight years I've owned it. I have yet to find another Christian band with such high energy solo-ing and head-banging riffs. In fact, no matter how many records I buy, I always find myself coming back to Lonely House for just plain rockin' out. On the downside, Lonely House does have a few songs that I usually just skip over. The 41-second-long "Jerky Love Song" is less than a musical triumph and "Apathy" just seems out of place. Overall, Lonely House starts out grungy and keeps rockin' the whole way through.

JFH Reader Review: written by Ricardo A. Rivera, 7/12/05, for Jesusfreakhideout.com

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JFH Reader Review

Words cannot express the brilliance heard on Grammatrain's first full-length album on Forefront Records, Lonely House. Some may be quick to shrug off the band after gaining attention for being the token "Christian grunge band" of the era, but if you take a serious look at the band and the albums, you'll find you can't write them off so quick. Perhaps it is also because they disbanded after only five years and two studio albums, but it seems Grammatrain went out on top and has the power to stay there. If you listen to the tracks all these years after it "came and went," you'll find they still impact your emotions (and afterall isn't that what the best music does?). The Roraback brothers bass n' drum rhythm combo is unbeatable and the two can fill out a song so much that at times you don't even notice Pete Stewart isn't playing the guitar until he comes back in with it. And what genius it is - the guitar. Pete Stewart (who later went on to play for Michael Tait after DC Talk "broke up") shows more honesty, maturity, intelligence, insight, emotion, and guts than most other frontmen I've heard and seen. Highlights to the album include the singles "Execution" and "Believe." Other great tracks include the sincere "Need" and the powerful title track, "Lonely House." This is an album I often revisit and try to push on friends who may be less familiar. Fans of this album are sure to love the follow-up album Flying and the live album that followed. I should note to readers that I am myself a musician so I am partially biased toward bands that can actually play music (Yes, this is a rip on Linkin Park and Metallica ... I've seen 14 year old punk rockers cover their songs to a "T")

JFH Reader Review: written by Scott VanGilder, 9/8/05, for Jesusfreakhideout.com

JFH Staff's Additional 2 Cents

By far a fond record near and dear to my heart. Probably the hardest record to grace my ears back when it released, Grammatrain produced some ridiculously memorable songs like the anti-abortion anthem, "Execution," the eerie "Lonely House," and the emotional "Need." Still a record I enjoy revisiting twelve years later and an album I would have little trouble considering a favorite.

- 12/23/07, John DiBiase

Record Label: Forefront Records
Album length: 13 tracks: 53 minutes, 2 seconds
Street Date: 1995
Buy It: Amazon.com