Album Review: Hands Like Houses - '-Anon.'

Hands Like Houses are a band that I’ve been a fan of for a few years now. In that time, I've loved all of the material they've dropped, especially 2013’s 'Unimagine' and 2016’s 'Dissonants'. So after having heard their latest record's first lead single, 'Overthinking', '-Anon.' quickly became one of my most anticipated releases of the entire year. And I was not at all disappointed with the final product!

'Kingdom Come' kicks off the album strongly, building up nicely to the chorus and bringing in some great melodies. 'Monster' channels other influences from different sub-genres of rock and has an overall darker vibe in its composition; something the band pull off well. 'Sick' is a very captivating track and easily one of my favourites from the record. The intro "wowing" me with some killer guitar riffs, and for the most part, a great chorus balances out 'heavy' and 'light'. All bringing in some real aggression along with harder instrumentation, harsher vocals, and even some interesting melodies.

Up next is the aforementioned incredible lead single 'Overthinking'; a well-written, well-structured structure melodic track that'll get stuck right in your head. 'Through Glass' is one of the more experimental tracks available, displaying more indie rock and pop influences with the softer instrumentation. A lighter sound bed that really allows Trenton Woodley's vocal performance to stand out. Following that is 'Half-Hearted', another one of my favourites for this record. The hook in the intro is insanely memorable, all contrasted with moodier instrumentation and major key melodies that, together, make this cut such an interesting listen. 'No Man’s Land' is another goldmine; another catchy track that feels damn well anthemic, all with a huge intro and an even bigger chorus to boot.

'Black', in terms of the band's newer, energised, rock-orientated sound, goes down swimmingly. It’s not only aggressive in terms of lyrical content but is also heavier vocally too; with screaming suitably entering the mix amongst all of the tracks inner-darkness. Second-to-last song, 'Tilt', much like its fellow single, was a great pick to be one of the early windows into this newer, riffier, and darker era of Hands Like Houses with '-Anon.'. 'Bad Dream' is the closing piece, a great little ender in the shape of a relatively upbeat track with some great guitar and bass work.

While '-Anon.' is a little bit different from a majority of Hands Like Houses' previous material, it shows them going in a rockier, more melodic direction; one that I love overall. Much like this record's front cover, the Aussie group are evolving out of their own cocoon to express a new experiment in their sound. They won't just be some anonymous, forgotten band off the back of this new record, that's for sure. Keep on keepin' on Hands Like Houses!

1. Kingdom Come

2. Monster

3. Sick

4. Overthinking

5. Through Glass

6. Half-Hearted

7. No Man’s Land

8. Black

9. Tilt

10. Bad Dream

'-Anon' is out now.