Dive on in to ‘The Water’.

You know how they say it takes a lot of pressure to create diamonds? That’s the same way we feel about the latest offering from Australian rockers Hands Like Houses. With four full-length albums under their belt, hundreds of shows and millions of streams, the quintet decided to put their writing/recording skills to the test when hitting the studio to make their new self-titled EP.

There’d be none of the cruisy LA recording sessions as there was for their last record full-length, Anon., with the group instead deciding to live in the studio and record the entire EP in 10 days. It’s the kind of environment where artists either thrive or struggle with, but as you can hear from ‘The Water’, HLH definitely fall into the former category.

“The songs all capture that particular moment in time,” vocalist Trenton Woodley explains. “There were a lot of stresses to begin with, we went in with the best of intentions but there were a lot of things that just weren’t ideal about the circumstance for all of us, we hadn’t had that time in a room together to just iron things out and get on the same page”

Bottling the energy that HLH fans around the world have grown to love, the ‘The Water’ packs that emotive punch via Woodley’s vocals whilst retaining a thumping instrumental backing that we can only imagine will be going down a treat when live music returns… Give it a spin right now and check out the tracks selected by the band that inspired it, you might get a little surprised.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AorRPt7X0bQ&feature=youtu.be

Head here to pre-save Hands Like Houses EP and check the details for their live stream this Saturday at the bottom of the page:

‘Let Me Down Easy’ – Gang of Youths

Trenton Woodley (vocals): “As the demo was coming together, the intro drumbeat immediately reminded me of ‘Let Me Down Easy’. I loved the light-hearted, wandering feel of its melody, and the way they contrast that with downward inflections and a tight vocal rhythm that create a real sense of grounding and forward motion. One of my favourite lines in ‘The Water’ comes in the chorus; “…don’t make this harder than it has to be, this place was never meant for someone like me.” It’s that wandering, downward melody for me that grounds the emotional core of the song – it’s about a sense of resignation but without regret – and that’s where I tried to draw on that contrast of lightness and gravity.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeBf79q90js

‘Like Eating Glass’ – Bloc Party

Alex Pearson (guitar/BV): “When writing ‘The Water’, I wanted it to carry the pace and tone from this sick tune from Bloc Party. The drums are the driving force and we wanted to be able to distil that same balance of energy and emotion. It’s a really raw sounding song, particularly in the drums and bass, and it shaped a lot of how I wanted to approach ‘The Water.’”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdBt3n1MtFM

‘Elevator’ – Holy Holy

Alex: “I love the atmosphere in this track, in particular the way the chime-y sounding lead guitars layer with the crunchy rhythm guitars. The direct, close-up sound of the music contrasts nicely with the washy 80s vocal reverb and moves you on a deeper level.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCfc10jrKLg

‘Friday Forever’ – Trophy Eyes

Trenton: “This is a hard chorus to escape from once you’ve heard it. It’s so catchy and fun but the lyrics also have this dark twist that feels like it literally snags on something pointy as it’s bouncing around your head. Songs like that have always resonated the loudest with me.

I also love when the bridge drops away and how it builds itself back up, and tried to draw on that for the bridge in ‘The Water’, especially as it gears up to that big synth & guitar solo.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzHpkfu8koM

‘Electric Indigo’ – Paper Kites

Alex: “Again, the atmosphere of this tune was something we really wanted to capture, but injected with a little more pace and urgency. The vocals are so smooth and the relaxed, gently pushed guitars create the bed for them to lie on. I wanted to make sure ‘The Water’ carried that same sense of space and ambience.”