Hands Like Houses

Australian post-hardcore act Hands Like Houses emerged in the late 2000s amid a wave of stylish yet intense outfits that balanced aggressive drive with catchy melodic hooks. After their 2012 debut Ground Dweller outperformed its domestic showing by climbing higher on U.S. charts, the group maintained consistent momentum that peaked with Dissonants in 2016. That evolution persisted on the 2018 release Anon.

The lineup came together in 2008 when musicians from the dissolved bands Eternal Debut and So Long Safety united, bringing together vocalist Trenton Woodley, keyboardist Jamal Sebet, drummer Matt Parkitney, guitarists Alexander Pearson and Matt Cooper, and bassist Joel Tyrrell. Several singles appeared in 2011 ahead of the full-length Ground Dweller (Rise) the following year; both that album and its 2013 successor Unimagine registered on the Billboard Top 200.

Reimagine, a remix EP, surfaced in 2014, after which Sebet left the group a few months later. Recording for the third album began in April 2015 under producer James Paul Wisner (Underøath, Paramore). Issued in February 2016, Dissonants entered the Top Three of the U.S. hard rock chart and reached the Australian Top Ten, prompting an extensive international trek alongside A Day to Remember, the Amity Affliction, Northlane, and Motionless in White. A contract with Hopeless Records followed in 2017; the label’s first release from the band, the more pop-oriented Anon., arrived in 2018 and included the singles “Overthinking” and “Monster.” After teaming with Samsaruh on the 2019 single “Through Glass,” the group issued a series of tracks compiled as the Hands Like Houses EP in 2020. A short withdrawal from public view in the early 2020s ended with the 2022 single “Hurricane.” In July 2023 the band announced Woodley’s departure; Josh Raven (The Faim) came aboard as the new vocalist later that year, and the updated lineup delivered “Heaven” in December.