MINNEAPOLIS, MN (August 9, 2016) — The Minneapolis-based hardcore band Household began playing concerts in their basements for a fan base that has continued to grow exponentially. The band, formed in 2013, now plays dates across the United States and Canada, including at multiple festivals, sharing the gospel.

Four of the five happen to be children of Covenant pastors.

Band members are drummer Matt Anthony, son of Pastor Barry and Barb Anthony who serve at Bethany Covenant in Du Bois, Pennsylvania; singer Josh Gilbert, son of Pastor Roger and Karen Gilbert, who serve at Deerbrook Covenant in Lee’s Summit, Missouri; guitarists Abigail and Nathanael Olson, daughter and son of Pastor Darren and Brenda Olson, who serve at the Evangelical Covenant Church in International Falls, Minnesota; and Josh Czech, a friend who they met at the Cornerstone Music Festival, which was produced by Jesus People USA Covenant Church in Chicago.

They tour in a van donated by Crossview Covenant Church in Mankato, Minnesota. Household has played unusual venues that included a wrestling arena and a deli, gaining respect of listeners along the way.

The Olsons and Gilbert, all in their twenties, wanted to start a band since they were kids, and when they finally got serious about it, they encouraged Anthony to move from California so that they could all live together in a house in Minneapolis. The band’s name references that the members live together as well as Ephesians 2:19—“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God.”

Household released several extended play recordings that have generated many positive reviews by publications that cover the underground scene. They released their first full album, Time Spent, in 2015 to equally laudatory reviews.

The album features a sound different from their first EPs because Gilbert developed vocal polyps while recording Time Spent, which prevented him from singing their original music. That forced the band to develop a new more “melodic” sound rather than the screaming normally connected with hardcore.

Still, the album stays true to the band’s roots and incorporates elements of hardcore, emo, and post-hardcore, group members say.

Household says spending a lot of time together is great but does come with its challenges. “Especially coming from Covenant parents, we all have an emphasis on personal relationships,” Gilbert said. “We try to be accountable to one another.”

Band members are open about their faith on stage and the songs they sing declare their faith, but the group doesn’t want to be known as a “Christian band.” Such labels can be to confining.

“We talk about Jesus and say what we’re trying to do,” Gilbert said, who adds all of the audiences have been receptive. “They know were not trying to push it, but live it out.”

Living it out also means being honest about questions they have, which is reflected in the lyrics on “Time Spent.” Despite the in-your-face music, the lyrics are filled with introspection.

As Gilbert writes in “Wistern”:

I claim freedom from confinement
And that freedom has offered me questions
Have we thought that appearing whole is worth more than true wholeness?
My hope is found in what’s ahead
So, I spend time looking at what You’ve said
I’m taking time away from perfect
Searching my life to find the surface
Taking time—Searching my life
There is no telling what’s inside of me
So, in seeking and asking I’m brought sincerity

And you never know what that might look like—even physically. Following a concert in which the band introduced some of its latest music, one writer opined: “The most exciting moment of the night was halfway through Household’s set when Gilbert pulled out a scissors and cut off his ponytail symbolizing the band’s new beginning and their new album.”

Songs and lyrics can be found online.

Topics: Arts and Culture