Review Summary: Let me count the ways you kill me
I want to love Dissonants, I really do. Hands Like Houses have been nothing if not an extremely consistent band and their music is full of passion for their craft, so much so that it's addictive. The band's previous records were prime examples of this. Their passion and love of what they did were two of the best parts of their music, and the fact they all had a ton of talent to work with helped me root for them from the beginning. With this new LP, it's clear that this hasn't changed through the effort that was put into it - which makes it all the more heartbreaking when it falters and missteps musically, which happens often. As a whole, the record is nowhere near as good as their last two, and in the end feels like a regression in sound and structure.
First, the best things about Hands Like Houses are present here, with Trenton Woodley's soaring vocals paired with his always excellent lyrics, technical drumming, and energetic guitars. Woodley shines throughout here, and he really carries the songs practically by himself. His emotion is what sells cheesy lines like "let me count the ways you kill me". The few times bassist Joel Tyrell gets to shine are really neat, as his bass riffs in "Glasshouse" and "New Romantics" adds a solid grittiness to the songs that wouldn't have been there otherwise. The drums here are as consistent as they always are, complicated without showing off, always propelling each track's momentum. The guitars, in one of their few highlights, really make "Momentary" memorable though, with its atmospheric lines in the verses being especially great. It's in moments like these where I really believe this album can truly be great.
The loss of the keyboardist however, was a huge blow to these guys, as his always interesting parts added an element of fun and atmospherics in their past work that severely lacks in Dissonants. Before the loss of the keys, all the guitars really did was chug along in the background, and that hasn't changed here. Without the keyboards keeping the melodies and harmonies, the guitars are left without their melodic support. What they should have done is make up for that missing link, by providing the atmospheric lines where the keys would normally have. What happened is that nothing changed. Without this vital musical layer, the instrumentals themselves have become stagnant. There is not a single other aspect that prevents this, as the bass for the most part follows the guitars and the drums are nothing special. All of the best albums of every genre have intricacies in the production or instrumentation that make repeated listens such a joy. Dissonants is not one of these albums. Save for those few moments like like the ones I mentioned earlier, there are very few hooks here that make repeated listens enjoyable.
The biggest issue holding Dissonants back however, is its structure. In addition to the album being top heavy (all of the best tracks are within the first half) I'm not alone when I state that
every song has the same structure. There is little to no variety in mood, speed or intensity, so by the album's closing, the songs all blend together. The album loses a ton of momentum due to the constant mid tempo speed, and suffers in quality because of it. Had the speed varied, or any one instrumentalist made an effort to stand out, the album as a whole may have been better.
Unfortunately, it's this very lack of variety that holds Dissonants back the most, excacerbated by the rather uninspired instrumentals in each song. Maybe Hands Like Houses grew too confident in their albilities, spurred on by all of our "these guys can do no wrong" comments on the internet. Maybe their lost keyboardist really was the link to keeping them above a sea of mediocre post-hardcore bands. Whatever it is, the only thing keeping them afloat right now is their passion and Trenton's vocals. I hope they improve on their mistakes here in the future, because it's clear they have what it takes to truly be great. But for now, Dissonants is good, but not good enough.
