House of Love: Deep Moods, Hard Rock

Some bands want to succeed, and some bands want to matter. The English quartet the House of Love looks as if it’s shooting for the whole ball of wax.

In its Los Angeles debut at the Roxy on Friday, the band displayed the kind of ambition and seriousness of purpose that inspires a true following. Singer Guy Chadwick has a choirboy face, and he spoke amiably and humbly between songs. But when he started to sing, his stare assumed a haunted intensity. That contrast mirrored the tension at the heart of the band’s music: doubt and darkness overtaking innocence. It’s a transition captured in the way a subtle ominousness seeps into the lush, buoyant pop, and in the existential questing of Chadwick’s lyrics.

At the Roxy, the House of Love’s sound was marked by deep moods, outbursts of dissonance and an eagerness to rock hard. The House of Love’s own inspirations seemed clear enough: U2’s ringing, two-note drones, some New Order drive, R.E.M. textures, Beatles melodiousness. What the group lacks--if it really wants to matter--is an arresting originality, the touch that will let it transcend those sources. From all appearances, Chadwick and company won’t rest easy until they find it.