#tropo

[LINK]

Tropo- “turning”, pertaining to somebody whose romantic or sexual feelings are directed at people who identify as genderfluid; enables people outside the gender binary to clearly state orientations without self-referencing through hetero- or homo-.

Hands Like Houses - Tropo - EP

Hands Like Houses used to be one of my favorite bands, especially when I was still heavily into post-hardcore and metalcore, and when their debut album came out in 2012, they had a lot of potential. They released a few solid albums, but starting with 2018’s Anon (which was their last album), they started to go downhill. Not at a dramatic speed, mind you, but the quality has dipped. These guys began as a progressive-ish post-hardcore band, existing in the same space as Circa Survive, Saosin, I The Mighty, Hail The Sun, and plenty of other acts that were big in the early to mid-2010s that had that style. With Anon, they switched labels and went for a more hard-rock and alt-rock sound, and it was fine. I didn’t like the album at the time, but I’ve gone back to it since and have softened on it. It’s nothing spectacular, but I enjoy it.

They released a self-titled EP a couple of years back, which would eventually prove to be former vocalist Trenton Woodley’s last with the band, but that EP was… Interesting. It was a weird pivot into indie-rock, and it was fine, but it was bland beyond belief. Losing Woodley (which seems like it wasn’t his decision to leave, by the way) proved to be a big mistake for these guys, partially because his voice is one of the best in the metalcore scene, and a really solid lyricist (well, on their few albums). They got a new vocalist, whose name is Josh Raven according to Wikipedia, and after hearing his debut single with the band, “Heaven,” I was not impressed. The song is fine, but in a “this is a song you can listen to” kind of way. That song sounds like every other hard rock band you’ve ever heard, and it’s not offensive, but it isn’t anything special.

They just dropped an EP, entitled Tropo, and I thought I’d listen to it, just to see what they’re doing now. What’s weird is that this thing is four songs long, and there are guest features on three of them. Why? Are they not confident enough in their new vocalist? I sort of think that, because this EP isn’t that good. It’s not the worst thing ever, but this is so bland, it hurts. I wish I liked this more, because a couple of the riffs are cool, but that’s it. Their new vocalist sounds the same on each song, and while he can sing rather well, his lyrics are forgettable and he isn’t anything special. Woodley was a wonderful vocalist, and this guy is honestly a downgrade. The guest features are okay, too; the only one of note is Underoath’s Aaron Gillespie featuring on a song, and he doesn’t really do anything, but the other guests don’t, either.

My latest radio blog post @g4mcu.net

It seems the Sporadic E season is pretty much over, and it has been a fairly poor one, as even 50 MHz enthusiasts are saying. Anyway, here is my mostly 2 metres DX summary for June and July 2023. Sporadic E 5.6.23              HA8AR          KN06                         LZ2LY            KN13                         HA3KZ           JN97 13.6.23            LZ1ZP KN22                        …