Now, Houndmouth is returning to Cincinnati to headline the big room at the Taft Theatre. But venue capacity isn’t the only thing that has changed over that time. Since the group’s last visit to our area, Houndmouth has completely changed its sound.
Hailing from New Albany, Ind. (just across the river from Louisville, Ky.), Houndmouth emerged with a bluesy Americana sound often compared to The Band early on. But when singer/keyboardist Katie Toupin left the group in 2016, the remaining musicians didn’t just switch gears — they blew up the bike and bought a blimp to replace it.
Houndmouth’s Golden Age is the band’s debut as an electronic-fueled AltPop outfit. The album was reportedly influenced by the trio’s heavy diet of Hip Hop and a decision to start anew. They also had access to new producers and studio gear for their major-label debut (the album was released in August through Reprise/Warner Bros.).
“We had all these tools we could work with that we didn’t realize were possible before,” bassist Zak Appleby told West Virginia’s postandcourier.com this summer. “It was really refreshing to be able to get out of this hole of having to do guitar-based drums and organ sounds. We had a ton of fun with the record. We would do tracks for days and days, still trying to bring new things to light.”
While the change initially angered longtime fans (who, understandably, weren’t prepared for such a wholesale change), Houndmouth appears to have made up for any loss of its following with new fans; as mentioned, the band is currently headlining the largest venues of its career.
