Obvious was the last thing Aric Improta and Stephen Harrison wanted from House of Protection. After years of commercial and critical success in post-hardcore group Fever 333, as well as Night Verses and The Chariot respectively, the duo put aside all of the striving and stress to reconnect with their first loves in this band. “It’s all gotta be the things we thought were cool as kids.” Incorporating everything from Atlanta trap to UK trip-hop, post-punk and alternative, jock jams and art-rock, filmmaking and skateboarding, House of Protection’s second EP Outrun You All abides by the rule of “if it feels good, do it.” And then do so like your life depends on it.

After releasing their debut EP GALORE with no rules and no expectations, House of Protection are putting their skin in the game with the highly anticipated Outrun You All. Quite literally, that is - the title is taken from one of Harrison’s many tattoos, a lyrical homage to Converge’s 2004 classic “Black Cloud.” Outrun You All is an autonomous, bold statement as well as a “night time” companion piece to GALORE, a completion to an era of unbridled inspiration and creativity. Or, what the second disc of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness was to its first: the darks are darker, the pretty moments are prettier, the risks are riskier.

The common denominator for all of this is an earned artistic confidence borne from the rapturous reception of GALORE. Though it was hardly a surprise that House of Protection was warmly greeted by fans of Harrison and Improta’s previous bands, GALORE immediately and organically attracted attention outside the realm of American hardcore. Within less than a year, House of Protection received critical raves from NME, The Guardian and Revolver and were named a Spotify Artist to Watch. The success of GALORE granted House of Protection the freedom to not be experts, to chase the new and interesting over the familiar. Outrun You All is filled with moments of House of Protection surprising themselves as much as the listener. “I always appreciate Quentin Tarantino saying, ‘if you’re going to write a good story, you can't know where it's going to go,’” Improta notes.

Though a celebration of House of Protection’s burgeoning confidence, there’s a poignant undercurrent in its EP title that goes beyond a nod to their musical heroes. Outrun You All is as much a tribute to the peers and friends who couldn’t join them on this strange and exciting new path. “We've had a lot of conversations about how hard it is to watch people with potential just give up on what they're doing,” Improta says. “I don’t think that will ever be our reality. We match each other’s enthusiasm every day and we know the best is still yet to come.” Indeed, Outrun You All is the sound of Improta and Harrison catching their second wind and House of Protection just getting started.