CROOKED HANDS

You know what they say, you should watch the quiet ones. In a heart-beat Crooked Hands can jump from wooing your ears with stripped back folky indie to erupting into a rich power pop.

In 2013 we had two solid releases from the Newcastle band. ‘The Stream’ is more a story than a song and reminds me of fellow newcomers Amber Run but in a darker vein. The other was ‘Under’, a dreamy soundscape with a large dose of heartbreaking piano and a captivating video to accompany.

Since then we’ve been eagerly awaiting new music from the Newcastle five piece and we now know May is their month. They’ll play at Evolution Emerging this year kicking off the immaculate Cluny line-up on the 24^th May, they also release their new Penitentiary E.P. on the 26^th of the month, which will be a free download on their bandcamp page. The lead single from this E.P. is called Fine, Now and you can watch the video below.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B-1xfTSLvk

‘Fine, Now’ echoes in with deep tribal drums and a sunny, blinding light in the form of the synth line. The main guitar riff, which has an Americana twang, comes in as a soft supplement to Christopher Brown’s cozy voice and together it feels like a morning glow, like light seeping into a dark room. The chorus is distinctly different, with Christopher’s vocals and the music merging into a layer of beautiful power pop. Gorgeously understated pieces of guitar squeal off in different directions through-out.

The video too is a treat, much like ‘Under’. It follows Christopher singing karaoke at a bar; “It bruised the skin, it bruised the bone, but I’m fine, now, I said I’m fine now”. When the chorus hits we’re led into the twist that he’s in-fact singing to a group of men with Unicorn’s heads. It’s obviously comic, but oddly nightmarish too.

Words by Scott Hastie

Crooked Hands play Evolution Emerging on Saturday 24th May