Review Summary: Defining the ideals of an entire generation.
Hands Like Houses, the five-piece post-hardcore band hailing from Australia present their third and latest album, Dissonants. Known mainly for their experimental and progressive approaches to the genre they’re attached to, they hope to woo us over with their latest attempt to shake up their musical cocktail. Are they successful in their newest endeavor?
Lyrical content and prose are the key driving forces of 'Dissonants.' Every song is written with brilliance and finesse and it’s obvious that the Lyricist and Singer, Trenton Woodley, had put extreme effort in perfecting his craft and delivering his messages. His efforts show in spades as 'Dissonants' not only tackles a wide array of similar themes, but it approaches them eloquently. Each song has it’s own meaning and each explores its meaning enough to get the listener to think about how the subject pertains to their life. The opening track ‘I Am’ brings to question the validity in idolizing other humans on a fetishists level. ‘Grey Havens’ discusses the topic and fear of death and the unknown. ‘Colourblind’ shows the philosophy of equality that’s a constant theme today. ‘Bloodlines’ talks about not getting to the expectations of those who came before. 'Stillwater' brings light to futilities of aging and the depressing nature of humanity. There's a lot that is said here and each song presents it's case very well. Every song represents a topic that defines the thoughts of a maturing millennial and represents the mindset of an entire generation.
Each song has it’s own flavor whilst keeping the sonic theme of the album in tact. This is a far cry from the polar inconsistencies that were laden on Hands Like Houses last two albums, Unimagine and Ground Dweller. Where both of those LP’s suffered from having some tracks sound out of place or having the burden of a lack of quality and consistency between every song. 'Dissonants' shows the band learning from those issues and instead delivering a tight-nit theme to the album. This theme strikes the perfect balance between familiarity, cohesion and uniqueness with each song having it’s own flavor, yet being close enough in the album’s taste pallet for the listener to easily digest. I felt a gradual transition between each track and not one song felt too out of place.
The album has a heavy Arena Rock influence that fits well with the nature of the band. Nearly every song here can cement itself as some of the best in their discography. From the reminiscent resonance of tracks like ‘Momentary’ or ‘Motion Sickness,’ the atmospheric and melancholic ‘Degrees of Separation’ and ‘Stillwater,' or the in-your-face and energetic songs such as ‘I Am’ and 'Bloodlines’ every sound fits the lyrical content and gives the album a sense of balance and harmony in emotion. I found myself singing along not only because of the catchy nature of some of the tunes but because of the pride I felt in some of the words and messages being spoken.
All in all there isn’t much to complain about with Dissonants. Hands like houses show here that they’ve tightened their craft and have presented a muse. Each song gives a sense of meaning and life to the album. Every message is powerful and shows a mark of artistry that is seldom seen in music nowadays. Dissonants may not be perfect. It may not be what we all want. But it’s undeniable that this is art at it’s finest.
