ATMOSPHERICS is a 16-track introduction to a new era of music by Hands Like Houses, released on February 14, although I have only just managed to give it a listen. I must admit, I’m quite torn on what to think…
Musically, ATMOSPHERICS is enjoyable, and quite up to the genre standard. Unfortunately, I found it quite long and repetitive when it comes to sound, which means I’d be lying if I was to say memorable. It is an issue that does come with longer albums, and being an album that reflects the artists’ experiences, I’m conflicted on what a fix would be as I wouldn’t want to diminish that.
The album is broken up into four volumes – Tropo(sphere), Strato(sphere), Meso(sphere) and Thermo(sphere). Being broken up, I had hoped that each segment would explore a different sound. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Though, I do wonder if it’d been worth releasing the volumes as separate EPs to create some excitement and help split it up a little.
There were parts I enjoyed, though. Heaven was a strong start, and a good introduction to the sound. The chorus in particular was catchy and had me moving along. Looking at how the album’s performed on Spotify, it seems to be a fan-favourite.
Although the music in between was good, the end picked up again for me. This started with Obey. I really enjoyed the riff at the beginning, and I love the line “always the moth, but never the flame” in the chorus. I do think the addition of Kellin Quinn’s vocals added to making it stand out, possibly because it’s familiar to me, or because the two vocalists have different tones that bounce off each other well.
The final volume, Thermo, I found I really liked. Although still similar in sound, the vocals seemed stronger, and more emotive. The songs were catchier, they had different textures and tones. It just seemed all-around like more effort had been put into writing and mixing and felt a lot more creative.
Although it’s not for me, Hands Like Houses’ ATMOSPHERICS may be for you, and it is out now. I encourage you to have a listen, see what aligns with you.
