Continuing to churn out content during lockdown with epic live-streamed shows, Canberra’s Hands Like Houses have released their short but fulfilling, punchy self-titled EP.
The EP maintains the band’s gritty tonality with heavy guitars and crisp drum beats while diving into some personal and exhaustive topics. ‘The Water’ narrates a longing of returning to familiarity and comfort whereas ‘Space’ is a deep dive into needing room to breathe, feeling suffocated caught up in a whirlwind of overwhelm as crashing drum beats and airy vocals provide a calm wash over the soul.
We get into the rough and tough side with ‘Dangerous’, as singer Trenton Woodley’s vocals rip through the air, gravelly, rough and impactful he depicts the song is “ about feeling pretty dangerous and being afraid of exploding…. almost like a tension bottling up and thinking ‘get out of my way’” and as the song’s bridge builds up and up, it does explode into the final chorus that’s aggressive yet also danceable and fun.
Caught by complete surprise, we get a cheeky f-bomb, “I fucking love it” comes out of nowhere among a powerful slamming guitar into an epic punch of a chorus, the swear and aggression evoke a fire inside and the track is pumped up and roaring. As the track is thrashed around it carries a manic vibe to it, it feels like we’re being thrown around inside Woodley’s head.
“I get overwhelmed in crowded spaces”, the opening lines of track ‘Wired’ feels like a disorientated and exhausted confessional as Woodley’s vocals are low and tired. The track was born during a moment of studio tension as Woodley questions himself “maybe I’m burned out / maybe I’m just tired”, it’s a highly relatable feeling I’m sure we’ve all experienced, balancing the tightrope between what’s real and what’s a temporary and fleeting moment, reverberated vocals and drawn-out guitar lines closing the album off with a deep sigh.
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