In the organizer's words:
*into a pretty room*—lots of hands’ debut on Fire Talk Records—is set in the tear-stained early mornings of adolescence, just as the sun first appears over the horizon and thoughts of the night before begin to fade. A collage of reworked demos, standout tracks from free-wheeling sessions, and snippets of instrumental electronics,*into a pretty room* emergesas lots of hands’ most thoughtful work to date. Solemn yet hopeful,*into a pretty room* occupiesthe space between moments of tragedy and triumph, offering a touching reflection on grief and loss, growing up, and letting go.
Billy Woodhouse and Elliot Dryden, the core duo behind lots of hands, first met in a school music program in Newcastle at age 16. At that point, Woodhouse had been experimenting with lots of hands as a solo musical project, self-releasing music on SoundCloud and quietly beginning work on 2020’s*mistake*. Shortly before that album’s release, Dryden officially joined lots of hands, an endeavor that was quickly derailed by global circumstances beyond anyone’s control. Separated by geography and global chaos, Woodhouse and Dryden began working on lots of hands remotely, exchanging demos online to craft what would become 2021’s largely instrumental*there’s someone in this room just like you*, and 2023’s cult favorite*fantasy*. *into apretty room* marksthe duo’s first truly collaborative effort, with Dryden often trekking through the vast northern English countryside to write and record in Woodhouse’s bedroom studio.
Between pints of beer and rounds of Fortnite, the two slowly chipped away at*into a pretty room*, whose name is taken from a pair of demos recorded and released in quick succession throughout November 2023. The earnest tenderness of these tracks—“into a pretty room” and “the rain,” which appear here newly re-recorded for the album—served as a guiding light as the duo self-engineered the rest of*into a pretty room*. Alongside these newly recorded songs are Dryden’s unearthed demos, mined and reworked by Woodhouse. The lead single “game of zeroes” puts Dryden front and center in a Hank Williams-inspired ode to falling short.“Iplay a game of zeroes,” he sings over acoustic guitar, piano, and digital embellishments,“Everyone but mewill always win.” Elsewhere, “masquerade” explores defense mechanisms through electronic-tinged indie folk that is both jaded and joyful.
Dryden’s tracks appear alongside Woodhouse’s own songs, which range from touching instrumentals written for family—intended to help them navigate a period of profound loss—to whispered ballads sung with loved ones.“All of my friends agree, you’re in my head,” Woodhouse intones alongside close collaborator and former roommate Mage Tears,“in myhead with me.” On the understated late-album stunner, “run your mouth,” he imagines a lost loved one as“a bunch of stars,” and ends the song fixated on“thoughts and memories of us.” Woodhouse’s contributions across*Into a Pretty Room* achewith loss, yet settle gracefully into sparkling ambient sounds that propel the record along its path of self-discovery and acceptance.“Death is just a word,the feelings a reminder of past nights in the cold,” he sings through pitch-corrected vocals on “the rain,” before sighing a resigned“oh well.”
These individually conceived tracks were passed back and forth between the duo as they ventured into their first moments of writing together in the same place at the same time. “backseat 30” is the duo’s first joint venture and the most immediate song in their discography, transforming youthful anxieties into an explosive anthem.“I don’t wanna waste my life away,” Woodhouse declares over layers of twangy and kinetic instrumentation,“hitting the backseat 30, talking with the dogs andthe birdies, getting my nails all dirty.” An early centerpiece of the album, “barnyard,” marks another true collaboration on the record, with Woodhouse and Dryden’s vocals intertwining and reflecting a quiet sadness as looped guitars swirl in a pool of sparkling instrumentation:“I’ll brush your hairthrough a nightmare,breathing in the country air.”
Having recently relocated from Leeds to their current home in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, *lots of hands* is anchored by the duo’s friendship, which shines through across the album’s 14 tracks. Although conceived during painful moments of growth and grief,*into a pretty room* isa decidedly hopeful effort, crafted by two friends who have spent most of the last decade supporting each other through life’s challenges.
