THE SHAKY HANDS
The Shaky Hands are a Portland, Oregon based rock group, formed in 2003 upon Nicholas Delffs and Colin Anderson's move from Mendocino, California. Portland musician Paul Culp joined soon after on bass. |
01. A New Parade
02. Loosen Up
03. Air Better Come
04. We Are Young
05. Neighbors
06. World's Gone Mad
07. No Say
08. You're The Light
09. Show Me Your Life
10. Settle On
11. Love All Of
12. Wake the Breathing Night
13. Oh No
-BUY-
01. Whales Sing
02. The Sleepless
03. Why & How Come
04. Maker Make
05. We Will Rise
06. Another World, Pt. 1
07. Another World, Pt. 2
08. I'm Alive
09. Sunburns
10. Host Your Day
11. Whirling Wind
13. Summer's Life -BUY-
Download Whales Sing for free here
"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".
23 October - Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, New York
24 October - Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
25 October - DC9, Washington DC
26 October - Local 506, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
27 October - Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, Charlottsville, Virginia
31 October - Mains d' Oeuvres, Paris
01 November - Prince Albert, Brighton
02 November - Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
03 November - The Ruby Lounge, Manchester
04 November - Captain's Rest. Glasgow
05 November - Fortuna Pop @ The Lexington, London
06 November - Last.FM presents @ Cargo, London
08 November - Atomic Cafe, Munchen
09 November - Rhiz, Vienna
12 November - 1. Stock, Basel
13 November - Treibhaus, Luzern
14 November - Swamp, Freiburg
15 November - NBI, Berlin
16 November - Molotow, Hamburg
17 November - 1000 Fryd, Aalborg
19 November - Garage, Bergen
20 November - Blaa, Oslo
21 November - Fritz's Corner @ Debaser, Stockholm
23 November - Loppen, Copenhagen
25 November - Klub 007, Prague
26 November - Tsunami, Koeln
27 November - Le Guess Who Festival, Utrecht
28 November - Patronaat, Haarlem
05 October - The Greek Theater, Berkeley, California
06 October - Santa Barbara Bowl, Santa Barbara, California
07 October - The Greek Theater, Los Angeles, California
09 October - Mesa Ampitheater, Phoenix, Arizona
10 October - Univ of NM - Popejoy Hall, Albuquerque, New Mexico
12 October - Mojos, Columbia, Missouri
13 October - Schubas Tavern, Chicago, Illinois
15 October - Beachland, Cleveland, Ohio
17 October - TT The Bears, Cambridge, Massachusetts
2009
22 April - Neurolux w/ The Thermals Boise, Idaho
23 April - Urban Lounge w/ The Thermals Salt Lake City, Utah
24 April - The Marquis Theater, Denver, Colorado
25 April - Slowdown, Omaha, Nebraska
26 April - Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis, Minnesota
28 April - High Noon Saloon, Madison, Wisconsin
29 April - The Bottom Lounge, Chicago, Illinois
30 April - Blind Pig, Ann Arbor, Michigan
01 May - Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, Ohio
02 May - Big Orbit's Soundlab, Buffalo, New York
03 May - Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, Ontario
05 May - Pearl Street, Northampton, Massachusetts
06 May - SPACE Gallery, Portland, Maine
07 May - Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge, Massachusetts
08 May - Bowery Ballroom, New York, New York
09 May - Bowery Ballroom, New York, New York
11 May - Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York
12 May - Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
13 May - Black Cat, Washington, Washington DC
14 May - Local 506, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
15 May - The Pourhouse, Charleston, South Carolina
16 May - Masquerade, Atlanta, Georgia
18 May - Bottle Tree, Birmingham, Alabama
19 May - Hi Tone Cafe, Memphis, Tennessee
20 May - Revolution Music Club, Little Rock, Arkansas
21 May - The Loft, Dallas, Texas
22 May - Mohawk, Austin, Texas
23 May - The Warhol, San Antonio, Texas
26 May - Rhythm Room, Phoenix, Arizona
27 May - Los Angeles-Troubador, Los Angeles, California
29 May - The Blank Club, San Jose, California
30 May - Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, California
31 May - Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, California
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.
