Australia’s Hands Like Houses are back, ready to blaze into their new era with their latest offering ‘A T M O S P H E R I C S’. A sixteen track double album, the group have split this into four volumes – Tropo, Strato, Meso, and Thermo. Each “sphere” signals the band’s journey as they built and shaped themselves, especially as this is their first full-length offering with Josh Raven, a well-established singer in his own right as the vocalist for The Faim.
The first volume, Tropo, consists of some absolute belters, including ‘Better Before’ which sees Underoath’s Aaron Gillespie lend his vocals to the incredibly powerful track and is quick to mark itself as a standout song. Then there’s ‘Bloodrush’, which wouldn’t sound out of place on a Fall Out Boy album – it’s layered with delicious hooks and fun guitar licks, and Josh’s vocals are staggering and huge. However, ‘Paradise’ ends the first volume on a relatively weak note and feels quite flat, especially when compared to the previous, high-energy tracks.
Strato, the following volume, starts off strong with ‘24 Hours’ and there’s no denying that Josh possesses an impressive vocal range, full of pure, burning passion and energy. But then there’s ‘Hollow’, which feels a touch jarring; the slightly slower pace of this track feels like a dip in the running order. ‘Panic’ and ‘Wildfire’ follow in a similar fashion and while they’re decent tracks on their own, it feels like they struggle to fit in with this particular release.
Meso kick off with ‘The Devil of Decisions’, which is packed with solid drum work and strong riffs that complement Josh’s vocals. ‘Hurts Like Hell’, a collaboration with Normandie, feels jauntier and then there’s ‘Obey’ featuring Kellin Quinn, which is utterly delightful – the duality of Josh’s and Kellin’s vocals add extra layers and depth to this track.
The final volume of Thermo marks the end of this release. ‘Fatally Fractured’ slows things down a bit, before ‘ICU’ and ‘Parasite’ up the ante again, laying down some strong vocals atop of explosive riffs. ‘The End’, so aptly named for a final track, signs off this album with a flourish, ending on a decent note.
Whilst ‘A T M O S P H E R I C S’ is a fun album, it feels a little too all over the place to truly know where Hands Like Houses are trying to land. It feels a stretch too long and some of the songs quite easily blend into each other; however, it’ll be incredibly interesting to see where the band go next in this new era.
JESS TAGLIANI