Rising Australian band, Hands Like Houses, has officially blown me away with their self-titled album out now via UNFD. Bringing this killer band to life are Trenton Woodley (lead vocals), Matt Cooper (lead guitar), Alex Pearson (rhythm guitar/vocals), Joel Tyrrell (bass/vocals), and Matt Parkitny (drums).

With a lot of influence derived from the concepts of “collisions, partnered with resolve, [and] heavily informs,” Hands Like Houses’ musical sound can be boiled down into just a few quotes. the following phrase: “a gritty, bold, and rock-fueled effort that is undoubtedly their most refined to date,” and a “A true vessel for who they are as individuals and a group at this stage of their lives.”

The opening track, “The Water,” is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to their insanely great sound. The vocals and performance is airtight, while filling their sound with emotion and vulnerability. This track is reminiscent of some grunge-rock music I listened to as a teen, but with some more inspiration from modern music. On top of this, it’s incredibly catchy and energetic.

“Space” highlights the bands talents even more with their attention to detail from the heartfelt lyrics to the build-up of anticipation in the instrumentation. This song in particular, catches the band at their most “tired yet determined.” The album was created in extremely close quarters, which is a big part of why the album is structured (both musically and recording-wise) the way it is.

The next track, “Dangerous,” creates a lot of contrast within the lyrics, which makes lyric junkies like me have the hair on the back of their neck start to stand up! There’s tons of buildup (which is something I love) along with their harmonies and intensity that brings this song to a whole new level.

“It’s about feeling pretty dangerous and really being afraid of exploding… almost like tension bottling up and thinking ‘get out of my way’,” frontman Woodley shares.

Their next track, “Wired,” brings the energy of their sound up even more, and they continue to blow my mind with their songwriting. Woodley also shares that “Wired” is the track that encases the “tension and release of [his] journey in full” the most. This track traces back to the “acknowledgement of the recordings at times stifling tension, [yet] freeing resolve” for Woodley.

“I think from day one I was trying to explore this with big, grandiose metaphors and slowly we’ve been bringing it back in and bringing it back in, like a coming home of sorts,” he explains. “It all comes back to allowing yourself to embrace vulnerability, embrace those collisions more… accepting that you can’t just go through the world invisibly.”

Closing out this, for lack of a better work, fucking incredible album is “Stranger” and again… I am NOT disappointed: they deliver another incredible song!

Hands Like Houses: you have completely ROCKED my world! You have just bumped up to my top 10 favorite artists, and definitely stole the spot for favorite Australian band at the VERY least! You guys are representing home in the best way possible, and you all have made me a fan for life!

Connect with Hands For Houses

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Vocalist Trenton Woodley explained in a press release that “Space” captures “a mentally and spatially suffocating time for the band experience while recording.” He personally found himself going through motions, dealing with exhaustion, and ultimately trying to push through life, while also feeling he was coming up short of other people’s expectations. The track captures what he was feeling and “a literal cry for the breathing space he needed.”

“I think the song really captures that pressure we felt having to refine our raw ideas and work through our differences in taste and personality while recording,” he says in a press release. He adds, “It’s strange that that sense of emotional claustrophobia has fast-forwarded to this literal one with COVID-19. Since we tracked it, I haven’t actually read the lyrics written down until now and there’s a strange sense of deja vu, like I wrote them yesterday, with full knowledge of everything that’s happened in the last few months.”

He finishes by noting: “I wanted it to feel tired, not hopeless, worn out but not ready to give up just yet. I didn’t want it to sound like I’d stopped trying. I wanted it to feel like coming out of a long silence, to say ‘please be patient. I can get this right. I just need a little faith, a little trust, and a little bit of space to get myself back together.'”

Connect with Hands Like Houses

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When I first walked into the TLA on South Street, I was surprised at the lack of people that were inside for the Mind Sweep Tour. The small amount of under 21s waited by the barrier, while an equal amount of over 21s hung out in the bar area drinking to pass the thirty minutes until the opening band went on.

Luckily, by the time South Jersey based hardcore band, Chasing Safety, went on, more people had filled into the venue. The hardcore band played songs from their first full album, Season Of The Dead, while Johnny, the lead singer, promoted the new album, NOMAD, with a DIY sleeveless shirt as he moved around the stage intensely. After throwing their banners into the crowd during their last song, the band quickly exited.

White Noises, a fairly new band out of LA, walked onto stage as a few crowd goers screamed their love for the band. The enthusiastic lead singer, Shawn, ran onto stage to join his bandmates who had begun the set already. The band quickly moved around to their songs from their first EP, Aren’t You Glad, which was just released this past February. Due to a cable malfunction, bassist David quickly ran to fix the problem. Shawn easily took control of  the stage and called crowd surfers up, handing them the microphone as they were carried over the barrier. The band finished after their 25 minute set and dramatically threw their instruments onto the stage in front of them in the heat of the moment.

Now that the crowd, who packed the lower level of the TLA, was pumped up, Hands Like Houses was welcomed on stage with cheer. The Australian band started off their short set with “I Am”, which allowed the crowd to relax somewhat with their indie rock/hardcore sound with Matt “Coops” Cooper on lead guitar, Alex Pearson on rhythm guitar, Joey Tyrrell on bass guitar, Matt Parkitny’s powerful drumming, and  Trenton Woodley’s clean vocals. It was clear before they even went on, you could tell that this band would be different than the two hardcore bands before them because they were burning incense before they went on.

After three short sets for the opener, I didn’t really know what to expect from British band, Enter Shikari. Having listened to them in high school, I was familiar with some of their music, but haven’t heard anything newer from them. Ten minutes prior to their start time, a recording of a ’50s entertainment announcer came on to countdown the minutes until the performance between the ’80s music they had playing.

When the recording came down to one minute, the crowd was anxiously waiting until they began to chant “And still we will be here, standing like statues”, which is a line in a handful of the band’s songs. The chanting gave me chills as I watched the anticipating faces of the crowd behind me. Finally, the members of Enter Shikari came onto stage waving hello as the stepped into the spots on stage. Lead singer, Rou Reynolds, stood by his microphone until the first song “Enter Shikari Reprise Solidarity” began, a song that uses the line the crowd was chanting. As the song went on, Rou and bassist, Chris Batten, moved around each other with ease as the ran around the stage. Crowd surfers were coming up left and right, one even jumping out of the security guards arms in order to high five Rou.

Once the songs “Sorry You’re Not A Winner” and “One True Color”, I left the photo pit and quick hurried to the upstairs balcony to get a good view of the band and the rest of the crowd I couldn’t really see before. After the band played an old one that I recognized called “Destabilise”, they told the crowd that it was now time for the “crazy” part of the set. That they wanted to see the crowd dancing the best the could. Before the song “Paddington Frisk”, Rou gave a quick definition of the meaning behind the name, which is the “dance” one does as they suffocate. While this was happening, guitarist , Rory Clewlow, climbed on top of the crowd to play the song. In order to take a break from the crazy part of the set, they played one of their calmer songs “Constellations”. But the break didn’t last long as the band continued on with songs like “Gandhi” and “Torn Apart”, which created a circle pit and some moshers in the crowd. When “Torn Apart” was finished, Rory told the crowd that the next song was the last song, but paused and smiled at the crowd before adding “Or is it?” implying an encore to their set. The band “ended” with another old song, but a crowd favorite “Mothership”.

They exited the stage as all bands do and once gone the crowd began to chant again, but some how they were louder than before. Chris was the first to reenter the stage, followed by Rory, then drummer, Rob Rolfe, who instead of walking to his drum set, when to the front of the stage and put his arms up to pump up the crowd even more, though I didn’t think it was possible. Once he sat at his drums, Rou came back on stage to introduce the next song they were playing, which was “Redshift”. They quickly went through that song into the next one, “Anaesthetist”, and they all ran around stage like orderly madmen. As they ended their performance with “The Appeal ll”, Rou told the crowd that they only had two more minutes to go crazy. Rory climbed back onto the crowd, who helped him stand and play. Chris ran into the crowd to the circle pit and played as many ran around him. Rou climbed on top of speakers as he also played guitar, before meeting with Chris back on stage and running around in circles with him. Rob threw his drumsticks into the crowd and Rou jumped on the speakers next to the drum set, grabbing one of the stage lights and shining it everywhere as the song finished up. When the song was finally done, Rory climbed back on stage and Chris threw his guitar into the crowd while a dozen of hands grabbed onto it trying to claim it.

When Enter Shikari walked off the stage for good, everyone began to leave as well. Sweat poured off of most of the fans so going outside was a nice treat for them. Many hung out outside, talking to some of the bands that played early and recalled their memories from the show they just saw as others made their way home with no voice and huge smiles on the faces.

My Iron Lung, Major League, and Hands Like Houses came to Union Transfer to support and help celebrate the 15th anniversary of the band Silverstein.

My Iron Lung from California opened the show, followed by the hometown heroes Major League. Every band that graced the stage for their 30 minute set paid homage to Silverstein and  explained what an honor it was to play with them.

“Best fans if you’re from Philadelphia, the worse fans if you’re not from Philadelphia,” said Brain Joyce, lead singer of Major League. The crowd cheered in response.

Joking aside, the Australian based Hands Like Houses and Cali’s My Iron Lung still got treatment like they were from Philadelphia. The crowd song along with Hands Like Houses’ cover of Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn” and clapped along during “Introduced Species.”

As much love as the Philly crowd  gave the opening bands, it was complete pandemonium when Silverstein hit the stage. Bodies regularly surfed to the stage as many as three at a time, all caught in the loving embrace of security.

Photo by Donte Kirby

“We fucking love you Philly, but you already know that,” said Shane Told, Silverstein’s lead singer. The crowd went crazy for songs ranging from the classics like “My Heroine” to the newer stuff like “Stand Amid the Roar”. The crowd even roared when Told mentioned the May 19th release date of their newest record, I Am Alive in Everything I Touch.

“I hope you know that all those things we say- it’s not just every city,” said Told to the crowd. ” All those shows at the Troc, at the church. I’ll admit…that one at Franklin Mills wasn’t that good.”

It was a night of celebration for everyone  in Union Transfer- celebrating the 15 year anniversary of Silverstein and 10 year anniversary of Discovering the Waterfront.

It has been fifteen years since Canadian post-hardcore band, Silverstein, formed and ten years since its breakthrough sophomore record, Discovering The Waterfront, was released. For a band to remain intact and active for that length of time is definitely a positive feat. I recently was able to speak with lead vocalist Shane Told regarding the current tour, forthcoming record and the state of the post-hardcore scene today as compared fifteen years ago.

The band is currently finishing up its North American leg of the tour through the end of February and then embarking on a U.K. / Europe leg in April, and a handful of dates in Australia in May.

Since Waterfront was released nearly ten years ago and the songs were written possibly even longer, as a musician, you may find that they do not nearly resonate with you as much as they when they were being written, but Told feels differently. “I think some of them somehow resonate even stronger actually. I look back at something I wrote 10 years ago and it brings me back to that time, but with a much different outlook and realization of myself.”

Two years set apart the last album, This Is How The Wind Shifts, and the next release, I Am Alive In Everything I Touch, which is set for release in May. As stated in a press release, I Am Alive In Everything I Touch is a concept album based on the four regions of North America: “Borealis” (North)”, “Austeralis” (South), “Zephyrus” (West) and “Eurus” (East).

Silverstein photo by David Pike

“The concept is more autobiographical, the overall vibe is bit more melancholic. It’s a sad record and definitely the most personal we’ve made,” Told reveals.

For those who aren’t familiar with the process of writing a concept album, it is a lot different than your typical recording process with music-melody-lyrics. You really need to know and understand the story you are presenting, how the tracks are going to be sequenced, and how to incorporate themes, etc., so it can be very challenging.

Musically, the new record has many dynamics including some real bangers, some catchy parts and even an acoustic song. It sounds like a little bit of the best of everything from Silverstein.

Looking back, it’s unbelievable to me that it has been ten years since the release of Waterfront. I remember graduating from high school, about to enter college and being first introduced to the emo/hardcore/post-hardcore scene with Silverstein being one of the first bands from the scene I was impressed with. If you’re just becoming interested in the emo/hardcore/post-hardcore scene, trying to discover new bands, or whatever the case may be, Told recommends this: Work backwards. Start with their last release, This Is How The Wind Shifts, check out Waterfront, the popular songs, what songs are played most live, go to grab their music on iTunes or stream the songs on Spotify.

“It’s really cool how young some of the fans coming are. The fact that our music has survived and been passed down through generations now is pretty rad,” Told admits.

Head over to Union Transfer to see the guys perform on Friday with Hands Like Houses, Major League, and My Iron Lung beginning at 7 pm.