As I wrote in the last issue, I am often a victim of algorithms determining the music I listen to. This was certainly the case with TopHouse’s “The Mountain Song” which I stumbled upon one day while scrolling on Instagram. I have never fallen in love with a song as fast as I did with “The Mountain Song.” The music captured me and the lyrics deeply resonated with me. Since then, I have listened to more TopHouse and they have become one of my favorite bands. 

According to their Spotify biography, TopHouse was formed in 2015 with guitarist and songwriter Jesse Davis and violinist William Cook. The band added lead singer and banjo player Joseph Larson in 2017 and pianist Andy LaFave in 2022. 

Their most recent release is EP “Campfire Stories.” It features six songs, each with a folky, earthy sound due to the use of banjo and violin in the band. On their website, tophousetheband.com, they describe the EP as “a collection of 6 songs about love, loss, mountain climbing, finding your place, and of course, pirates. Basically the kinds of stories you tell around a campfire with your friends late at night.”

The first song,“Drive Back Home,” immediately pulled me in with its upbeat banjo and violin start. The two instruments beautifully drive the song and push it forward. I absolutely love this song because I think the combination of banjo, fiddle, and violin is particularly strong.

“The Mountain Song” is easily my favorite song on the EP. Lyrically, it resonates because of its theme of admiring nature with friends and doing something hard but worth it. However, it is a fantastic song musically. I love how a short instrumental interlude allows the violin to soar while making the listener feel like they are in the moment with the singer climbing the mountain and admiring nature. 

“Number One” is track three and has recently gone viral on Instagram and TikTok. This is not my favorite song on the album but I still like it. The song is much more laid back and reminds me of a nice bike ride during the summer. 

“Wine or the Weather” is the fourth song on the EP. I really like this simple and sweet love song that celebrates being yourself and growing together in a relationship. The bouncy piano, banjo, and violin blend perfectly together to create the feeling of being perfectly happy and content with where you are in a relationship and in life. 

“The Ballad of Michael Light” claims spot five on the EP. This song tells a story of a pirate who makes his home at sea. The narrator relates themself to Michael in the chorus to sing of sailing away from their troubles. Musically, this song feels different from others on the EP but highlights the banjo and violin combination that we have become used to. 

“Change” takes the final spot on the album. I listened to this song for the first time while writing this review and it gripped my soul. To close out the album, the musical elements of this song are much more blended than we’ve seen previously. In other songs, we can pick out each instrument and element, whereas, in this song, it all blends together beautifully to create a strong, choral finish. 

“Campfire Stories” by TopHouse is easily one of my favorite albums to date. The band firmly plants itself as a folky band with bluegrass elements. Over and over again, we hear the perfection that the band has crafted in their combination of piano, drums, banjo, and violin, which, to me, is the defining characteristic of their music.