(NEXSTAR) — Five years after dropping a “pop bible” in the hyperpop music genre, the charmingly chaotic and somewhat genius alternative pop duo food house has returned with their sophomore album, “two house” — their best album yet.
Food House is the electronic music project composed of two friends, known by stage names Gupi and Fraxiom, who began releasing singles, and then their debut, “food house,” during the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The group’s music, while difficult to describe, could best be likened to 3OH!3, “Spongebob Squarepants,” Nicki Minaj, metal, and original Twitter put into a musical blender by The Joker.
Truthfully, though “two house” was released several weeks ago, our review has been gestating as we gathered all our thoughts from its delightful — and intimate — sound collage.
Upon first listen, “two house” hits somewhat softer than its predecessor and listeners might be worried that they’re getting less chaos but the album actually succeeds by knowing when to pull punches and when to punch. Part of the draw of “food house” was that anything could happen at any minute and while that off-the-cuff frivolity is still present, the duo seem more precise in how they’re applying their massive soundscape to each track.
The 17-song album also clocks in at nearly an hour (which feels substantive, especially for a hyperpop album in 2025) and packs so many personal experiences, relationships and rage into that runtime that “two house” feels like a full meal in every way that an album can.
And despite dealing with some darker subject matter, “two house” never stops being fun.
Even tracks like “Everybody’s Eyes” and “TD Bank,” which describe parental rejection and abusive friendships, respectively, sound like songs that wouldn’t be out of place in a Boiler Room set. “Everybody’s Eyes,” in particular, is one of the album’s most masterful strokes, as lead singer Fraxiom describes the inevitable death of a parent who never accepted their child being transgender.
“Come on, man, just call me your daughter for the hell of it,” sings Fraxiom with palpable anger and hurt. “I would go so far as to call all the past irrelevant… I heard you call Twitter ‘X’ — I’ve been trans for longer than that and I still don’t get respect.”
The album also finds the ever-braggadocious and creative Fraxiom smack-talking enemies (“Dancing On Your Grave”), talking smack in general (“Jumpin The —-” and “Now 2”) and hitting back at weak criticisms of food house’s music (“Hot Problems”). But “two house” doesn’t ever get bogged down in grievances too long and quickly goes down some other referential rabbit hole or meme callback.
Album closer, “Dumb Ways to Die” finds Fraxiom lyrically reaching a place of personal realization and maybe even peace in themselves and their vision for their life. “I need a type of therapy that hasn’t been invented yet,” laments Fraxiom. “Maybe I need to make enough money to leave the internet.”
The fact that an album that sounds like “two house” still manages to be moving and inspiring is a testament to Food House’s improved lyricism and artist self-understanding. “Two house,” though perhaps less immediate than its predecessor, is deeper and feels more intentional. It’s simultaneously an endlessly terrific pop record and also one that is probably not for everybody — and that’s okay.
Nonetheless, food house has made a solid case for their musical future with their sophomore album. These two people are very unserious but that doesn’t mean they aren’t serious artists. We can’t wait to see what they’ll think up next.
