''Anon'' (stylised as ''-Anon.'') is the fourth studio album by Australian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Hands Like Houses Hands Like Houses are an Australian rock band from Canberra. Formed in 2008, the group is currently signed to Hopeless Records and UNFD. Their debut album, ''Ground Dweller'', was released on 13 March 2012 and charted at number 141 on the Bil ...

, released on 12 October 2018 by

UNFD UNFD (pronounced as an initialism ˈjuːˈenˈefˈdiː/ is an independent record label based in Melbourne, Australia. The label is home to a number of Australian artists including Thornhill, Ocean Grove, Hellions and In Hearts Wake, and int ...

and Hopeless Records. It was produced by Colin Brittain, Mike Green, Alex Prieto, and Erik Ron at Steakhouse Studios in Hollywood.

Background

''Anon'' is a quasi-concept album that ventures beyond the band's personal experiences. Hands Like Houses wanted to tell a different kind of narrative with their fourth album, wanting to tell the stories of other people through their music, ranging from a tale of self discovery, to relationships or politics. It was made to be relatable to anyone who listened to it.

Promotion and singles

The album's first single, "Overthinking", was also released on 26 July 2018. The single's accompanying music video was also released on the same day. The album's second single, "Monster", was released on 13 August with its accompanying music video being released a day later. Their third single of the album, "Sick", was released on 22 January 2019, alongside its accompanying music video. Hands Like Houses performed a national six-date tour to promote the album for February 2019. They played across the major capital cities. Playing as support for the band was Ocean Grove, Endless Heights, and RedHook.

Critical reception

The album was met with generally favourable reviews. Megan Langley of ''KillYourStereo'' in an 85/100 review, praised the band's new sound citing it as "an evolution for the Aussie locals." Maximo McKinnon from SputnikMusic, criticised the band for not staying true to one particular style, and noted how so far all of their albums have sounded completely different from each other. He did however, praise tracks such as "Overthinking", "Half-Hearted", "Tilt" and "Bad Dream." Michael Parente of Wall of Sound in a 7.5/10 review, noted that the album sounded different from their previous album '' Dissonants'', but it was a welcomed change. The album peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Charts on 20 October.

Track listing

Track listing adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic. ;Hands Like Houses * Trenton Woodley – lead vocals, keyboards * Matt Cooper –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

* Alexander Pearson – rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Joel Tyrrell –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, backing vocals * Matt Parkitny – drums ;Production * Colin Brittain - additional production, composer, mixer, producer, programming, synthesizer * Erik Ron - composer, producer * Brendan Collins - assistant engineer, guitar technician * Jonathan Gering - additional production, programming, synthesizer * Mike Green - composer, producer * Leeanna James - composer * Mike Kalajian - mastering * John Nicholson - drum technician * Callan Orr - additional Production, composer, programming, synthesizer * David Peters - assistant engineer * Ryan Potesta - assistant engineer * Alex Prieto - additional production, engineer, mixing, producer, programming, synthesizer * Anthony Reeder - engineer * Erik Ron - composer, producer * James Paul Wisner - mixing

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2018 albums Hands Like Houses albums UNFD albums Hopeless Records albums Albums produced by Colin Brittain Albums produced by Erik Ron