THE SHAKY HANDS

In their hometown of Portland, Oregon, The Shaky Hands are the one band that virtually everyone agrees on. Respected throughout the underground for their basement show origins and complete lack of ego, critically adored for their instantly recognizable, earthy-meets-explosive sound and loved by the general populace for putting on really, really good shows-they represent the essence of Portland, one of America's most creative music cities.

The band's reputation was cemented in 2007 when the group won Portland's Willamette Week's annual Best New Band poll, an honor previously bestowed on experimental pop acts Menomena and Talkdemonic and electronic electronic dance sensation Copy. The Shakies' victory seemed a foregone conclusion to most involved in the local scene: The Shaky Hands had been a band on the tip of Portland's collective tongue for well over a year thanks to a handful of sweaty, packed houses and a standout performance at the 2006 installment of Portland's PDX Pop Now! festival.

The Shaky Hands' self-titled debut, released in 2007 on local label Holecene, was a fantastic snapshot of the energetic young band discovering itself. Nick Delffs' vibrato-infused, homespun vocals and bobbing acoustic guitar strums complement Colin Anderson's organic, driving percussion while Jeff Lehman's own guitar rockouts remind listeners that The Shaky Hands were, after all, a rock band. The album approximates the irresistibly frenetic Shaky Hands live experience, which finds frontman Nick Delffs stomping and galloping across the stage, occasionally running directly into bassist Mayhaw Hoons' wildly swinging curly red hair.

But The Shaky Hands were not content with being everyone's favorite good vibe summertime rockers. The now-quintent (Nick's brother, multi-instrumentalist Nathan Delffs, officially joined the band shortly after the full-length was recorded) went swiftly back into the studio to record Lunglight, a record that proves them to be evolving with remarkable speed.

Where the Hands' debut was jangly and upbeat, prompting visions of long summer days spent lounging on the front porch, Lunglight lives in a slightly darker space. Tracks like "Neighbors" and "Love All Of" add a sheen of Doors' psychedelia to The Shaky Hands' early Talking Heads-influenced sound, with Nick Delffs looking increasingly inward for lyrical inspiration. On "World Gone Mad," perhaps the darkest and most driving Shaky Hands song recorded to date, Delffs sings "See it coming/ In his eyes/ You better stay where/ You can hide," and feedback flies like shrapnel around the verse. For a second there, The Shaky Hands get scary.

But that's not to say that Lunglight is a downer. Brighter numbers like "Air Better Come" and "Settle On" keep The Shaky Hands' trademark head-bobbing, multi-rhythmic rock intact, and even in their darkest moments there is a reluctant optimism in Delffs' lyrics and the band's instrumentation. To the contrary, Lunglight's complexity is its biggest strength. In a world of throwaway pop, this quintet has built itself from the ground up, naturally and beautifully. It's just that instead of being the quintessential summertime rock band, the new Shaky Hands are a band for all seasons.

LUNGLIGHT - OUT NOV 03 2008

A New Parade
Loosen Up
Air Better Come
We Are Young
Neighbors
World's Gone Mad
No Say
You're The Light
Show Me Your Life
Settle On
Love All Of
Wake the Breathing Night
Oh No

THE SHAKY HANDS - OUT NOV 26 2007

1. Whales Sing
2. The Sleepless
3. Why & How Come
4. Maker Make
5. We Will Rise
6. Another World, Pt. 1
7. Another World, Pt. 2
8. I'm Alive
9. Sunburns
10. Host Your Day
11. Whirling Wind
13. Summer's Life

Video for Why & How Come here

Download Whales Sing for free here

Press

Josh Modell, SPIN:
"This Portland band’s debut should satisfy those flummoxed and/or disappointed by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s sophomore slumper. Both groups capture early R.E.M.’s breezy jangle and give it a twisted sideways glance, but the Shaky Hands reduce the bark and play up the loose-limbed folk vibe" Refreshingly uncluttered tunes like "The Sleepless" and "We Will Rise" bring a relaxed, back-porch quality to typically uptight indie-rock".

Magnet:
"Occupies that lush space between M. Ward’s sleepiness and Devendra Banhart’s freakiness".

Gorilla vs. Bear:
"But the reason we’re talking about the Shaky Hands here is that we can’t get their insanely infectious tunes out of our head lately. I imagine if you’re a fan of warm and fuzzy hook-laden rock of the Tapes ‘n Tapes and/or CYHSY variety you’d really enjoy this, and if not, lighten up already".
Obsever Music Monthly ****
"The Shaky Hands' obvious reference points - the second and third Wilco albums, from the days before Jeff Tweedy started trying to be Thom Yorke, much-loved debuts by the Go-Betweens, REM or the Violent Femmes, Camper Van Beethoven's 'Take the Skinheads Bowling' - might not seem like the stuff of rock'n'roll satori. And yet the freshness and vitality with which the band put these familiar influences together cannot be gainsayed".

Touring

5 Oct 2007 The Greek TheaterBerkeley, California
6 Oct 2007 Santa Barbara BowlSanta Barbara, California
7 Oct 2007 The Greek TheaterLos Angeles, California
9 Oct 2007 Mesa AmpitheaterPhoenix, Arizona
10 Oct 2007 Univ of NM - Popejoy HallAlbuquerque, New Mexico
12 Oct 2007 Mojo’sColumbia, Missouri
13 Oct 2007 Schubas TavernChicago, Illinois
15 Oct 2007 Beachland, Cleveland, Ohio
17 Oct 2007 TT The Bear’sCambridge, Massachusetts