Review Summary: Maturity and Energy
Album covers rarely fit albums as perfectly as Unimagine's art does. It isn't the fact that the picture in question looks something like a city floating on top of an airborne jellyfish, or that the jellyfish-like creature has rainbow-colored tentacles, but rather that the overall tone and feel of the picture fit perfectly with the music of Unimagine. The picture conveys a tone of expectancy, excitement, and youthful energy – all elements that are on proud display throughout the album.
The Australian group's second record starts out forcefully, with a flowing guitar progression that leads into one of the better songs on the album. Instrumentals (a strength of the album) are what make "Developments" shine, as well as Trenton Woodley's vocals. Vocals are another strength of the album, both through the sound and spirit of the delivery. Woodley not only hits the notes well, but delivers each word with a passionate tone that makes these songs both easy to listen and sing along to. No one element of the musical ensemble overpowers another, as the vocals mesh perfectly with the instruments to create a tightly-designed sound that conveys the spirit of the album perfectly. The aforementioned energy is present as well, and only the slower songs fail to convey the energetic feel that is indicative of this album.
The album fails the most when it is at its most introspective. "Oceandust" falters slightly, as does "The House You Built," albeit for completely different reasons. Cast against the backdrop of the rest of the album's energy, the slower offering found in "Oceandust" fails to capitalize on the momentum of the rest of the album and feels like a piano song recorded for the sake of having one on the album rather than a song that was inspired by anything else. "The House You Built" falls in line with the rest of the album well, but comes across as undoubtedly cheesier than the band must have intended. As much as it feels wrong to criticize a song about encouragement, the lyrics could have been written better in this case.
Despite the underwhelming lyrics at some points, Unimagine is a strong album that shows a band beginning to truly hit its stride. The songs, as a general rule, are very well written and a pleasure to listen to. The vocal delivery, coupled with the tightly woven pallet of instrumentals, sounds genuine and energetic, and the entire package is strongly written. For each misstep ("Oceandust," The House You Built"), there are a multitude of triumphs ("Developments," "Introduced Species," "Wisteria"), and the overall package is strong. Hands Like Houses has shown a true talent for songwriting, and will continue to raise expectations if this formula continues.
