Newcastle upon Tyne-via-Leeds duo lots of hands (Billy Woodhouse and Elliot Dryden) release their debut album ‘into a pretty room’ via Fire Talk Records on 17 January 2025. It’s a thoughtful collection of songs that cover everything from tragedy to triumph, taking in grief and growing up along the way.
‘Alive’ opens the record with glitchy electronica gliding across piano notes in gently experimental fashion. This continues through to the Postal Service-esque ‘Barnyard’ and more acoustic jam, ‘Game of Zeroes’ – a song that has words we can all relate to: ‘I need a chance to sleep’.
‘in b tween’ is a beautiful slice of bedroom pop featuring Mage Tears, while ‘The Rain’ comes across as something akin to Pavement covering Grandaddy. ‘Perfume’ has Los Camp-esque sensibilities as the duo sing about watching dumb cartoons and trying on each other’s clothes when looking back on times spent with a loved one: ‘I find it hard to keep the secrets I can’t hide’.
‘Fun and Loving’ is a glitchy, almost drone-like 2 and a half minutes while the closing ‘Helen’s Song’ has a baroque Broadway feel with its into that morphs into something more neo-classical. It’s a wonderful trip that perfectly complements what has come before.
When you’re welcomed into lots of hands’ pretty room, you won’t want to leave.4
