''Dissonants'' is the third album by Australian rock band

Hands Like Houses Hands Like Houses are an Australian rock band from Canberra. Formed in 2008, the group is currently signed to Hopeless Records and UNFD. Their debut album, '' Ground Dweller'', was released on 13 March 2012 and charted at number 141 on the Bil ...

, released on 27 February 2016. It was preceded by the singles "I Am", released on 15 March and "New Romantics", released on 2 October 2015. The album follows the band's second studio album, '' Unimagine'' (2013), and debuted at No. 7 on the ARIA Albums chart. It is the first album to not feature keyboardist Jamal Sabet who left the band back in 2014 to pursue other musical endeavours. In the week of 29 March 2016, "Colourblind" debuted on the US Active Rock chart at No. 49. This is the last album the band released on Rise Records before moving to Hopeless Records in 2017.

Background

Hands Like Houses began recording the album in April 2015. The band worked with James Paul Wisner, whom they had previously worked with on their sophomore effort, '' Unimagine'' (2013). After about two months, the band said that the album was near completion. During an interview with ppcorn.com, guitarist Alex Pearson gave a tentative October release date for the album. Despite a few setbacks, including the cancellation of a headline UK tour in November 2015, the band announced on 18 December 2015 that the album would be released on 26 February 2016 and unveiled the album's full track listing and artwork. The band performed two free acoustic performances with signings in Australia upon the album's release.

Reception

The album was met with critical acclaim upon its release. Most critics citing the album's massive choruses, the lyrics, and Trenton Woodley's vocals. Most credited the band's "heavier" sound as part of the album's success. Writing for Highlight Magazine, Annette Hansen said of the lyrics, "''The magic on this record, though, is in the emotional appeal and lush imagery presented in the lyrics. As I kept listening to this album, hearing more and more of the lyrics each time, it was hard not to want to make note of many beautiful lines''." She went on to quote songs ''Colourblind'' and ''Stillwater'' as examples. Matt Doria of Blunt Magazine praised Woodley's programming and lyrics in particular, writing, "''...synths are indefinitely more refined - less obnoxious, but as prevalent as they've ever been. Along with a broadened hot-to-cold singing range, his songwriting has also sharpened tenfold; subject matter is the same as it's always been, but Woodley is no longer appealing exclusively to Newtown hipsters...''"

Track listing

All songs written by Hands Like Houses, with additional writers listed

Personnel

;Band * Trenton Woodley –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of th ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

, programming,

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Matt Cooper –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the feature ...

* Alexander Pearson –

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guita ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

* Joel Tyrrell –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

, backing vocals * Matt Parkitny –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

;Production * James Paul Wisner - producer, engineer, mixing * Erik Ron - producer, engineer, mixing * Mike Green - engineer * Jason Adams - engineer * Blake Harnage - engineer * Andy VanDette - mastering * Tony Noriega - assisting

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2016 albums Hands Like Houses albums Rise Records albums UNFD albums Albums produced by Erik Ron