It's rejuvenating to run into a band — regardless of its age — that isn't caught up with the lure of fame. "Our biggest mission wasn't to get rich and famous. We're coming from a different place," says Lifehouse singer Jason Wade. "We never thought of ourselves as rock stars."
Still, Lifehouse was a surprise hit last year, reaching star dimensions thanks to "Hanging by a Moment" (a No. 1 modern-rock hit) and the debut album "No Name Face," which sold 2.3 million copies. But the group has stayed humble and has intensified the spiritual quest that lies at the core of its music. That's apparent on the new album, "Stanley Climbfall," which came out this week.
"It's surreal, because two years ago, no one knew us," Wade says of the Los Angeles-based Lifehouse. "But a lot of people now realize that we have deep spiritual messages, because we come from religious backgrounds."
Wade, 22, is the son of two ministers. He spent four years of his childhood in Hong Kong, where his parents did missionary work. But they later divorced, and that lingering hurt, combined with Wade's spiritual hunger, has fueled Lifehouse's guitar-driven rock, which owes equal debts to '60s acts such as Led Zeppelin and Simon and Garfunkel ("I'm a huge Paul Simon fan," says Wade) and to '90s Seattle rockers Nirvana and Pearl Jam.
The new album is named for a fictitious character who represents the phrase "stand, climb, fall," which is a cycle that Wade knows well. But he never preaches — part of the reason his band has been so successful. He could be singing about God, love, purpose, or all of the above. Regardless, he's always looking for connection. "I'd rather chase your shadow all my life than be afraid of my own," he sings in the new single, "Spin."
Most of the new record was written during Lifehouse tours with Pearl Jam and Matchbox Twenty. Wade's voice has deepened a bit, and he sounds like Creed's Scott Stapp on a couple of tracks, notably "Sky Is Falling." He's never met the members of Creed, but he says that Lifehouse (like Creed) has been pushed by some Christian fundamentalists to be more doctrinaire in its music.
"I still have the same beliefs I always had. But I never understood why, if you were Christian, you had to just write Christian music," Wade says.
All debate aside, the new album is a step forward musically. There are more subtle guitar lines and more expansive melodies. And the group, which includes bassist Sergio Andrade and drummer Rick Woolstenhulme, also addresses the shallowness of fame in the tune "Just Another Name." Sings Wade: "Everybody knows your name, but they don't know who you are." And look for Lifehouse (which just added a fourth member, Woolstenhulme's brother, Sean, a guitarist) to be around later this fall, probably at a radio-sponsored show in town.