Oh, the world we only know beneath our feet.
The one that seems that makes sweet music for our tappin' souls.
These boys seem to do it right, some how...
Cut Off Your Hands seem to do just about that. This New Zealand 5-piece band (formerly a 4-piece. I miss the ol' guitarist) easily create their shiny indie sound, with sugarsweet and lovible guitars, vocals with howling lollypop echoes, an atmosphere so cheery and delightful like a Willy Wonka factory, yet once you take your first bit, your met with bittersweet lyrics for a long lost lover and long lost nostalgia of childhood memories of the girl you grew up with. When i first went to the record store to buy their album, You & I, i didn't really know anything about them; no expectation no idea what i'd get myself into at $12.99. It was something unexpected of me to do it, at the risk of buying something good, great, or something that I'll just keep in the back of all my cds, never to see again. Thank god, that i happen to be writing about this particular cd right now.
When i first pop in the cd into my computer, i get the welcome mat with "Happy As Can Be" with roaring echoes, war chanting drums, that could really seen as a melodramtic orchestra and when the vocals came at me, it got my attention that this band could really break out into the mainstreams. The next song, "Expectations" hard-hitting guitars, with lyrics a little less forgiving, but quite charming. After the groups first single, "Oh Girl" it seems that the album has reached its highest peak, but the real song that really broke out, was "Turn Cold" as it was like playing in the snow, as even though its ment to make your heart shiver in the cold, still you want to stay as long out because its really fun once your get into it. It's Stroke-ish guitars and a music video that's both playful and crafty, its one of those few songs where you actually want to dance when its trying to make you feel down. From there, the tension slows down, as the upbeat but overlooked "It Doesn't Matter" + the aching ballad "Heartbreak." After that, the album loses its beat for a while, as its seems both lost in religion and clubhopping. But suddenly, the listener reaches its peak again, as the sound becomes as delight and as heartfelt as it has on the entire album. "Still Fond" is probably my favorite song on the album as the riffs mirrors early Johnny Marr/ Smiths' riffs, with lush vocals and lyrics that suggest that even if your lover is far gone that one day you dream again that they will come back to you, with the words, "I'm still fond for you." The rest of the album goes back down and returns to slumber, where it once began, as in this stand point, this album as a feel of rise in the morning, enchanted by the evening dreams, and slowly builds during the day, until being wisked away into the night.
Produced by the uber-talented Bernard Butler, the album was release in 2008 + a tour around the western hemisphere, participating in such events like SXSW and touring with Foals up the Mississippi. Even though that got some pretty good review, still they didn't get the popularity they recieved in their native New Zealand or its close brother Australia. Still, these days its hard to find an album with two or three really good songs, yet Cut Off Your Hands were able to have an album with a handful of songs that don't go below the damn good level. By the next year, they are hoping to finish and release their 2nd album, and if that goes overlooked like the first, then by god, i'm really gonna cut off my hands. (^-^)
The one that seems that makes sweet music for our tappin' souls.
These boys seem to do it right, some how...
Cut Off Your Hands seem to do just about that. This New Zealand 5-piece band (formerly a 4-piece. I miss the ol' guitarist) easily create their shiny indie sound, with sugarsweet and lovible guitars, vocals with howling lollypop echoes, an atmosphere so cheery and delightful like a Willy Wonka factory, yet once you take your first bit, your met with bittersweet lyrics for a long lost lover and long lost nostalgia of childhood memories of the girl you grew up with. When i first went to the record store to buy their album, You & I, i didn't really know anything about them; no expectation no idea what i'd get myself into at $12.99. It was something unexpected of me to do it, at the risk of buying something good, great, or something that I'll just keep in the back of all my cds, never to see again. Thank god, that i happen to be writing about this particular cd right now.
When i first pop in the cd into my computer, i get the welcome mat with "Happy As Can Be" with roaring echoes, war chanting drums, that could really seen as a melodramtic orchestra and when the vocals came at me, it got my attention that this band could really break out into the mainstreams. The next song, "Expectations" hard-hitting guitars, with lyrics a little less forgiving, but quite charming. After the groups first single, "Oh Girl" it seems that the album has reached its highest peak, but the real song that really broke out, was "Turn Cold" as it was like playing in the snow, as even though its ment to make your heart shiver in the cold, still you want to stay as long out because its really fun once your get into it. It's Stroke-ish guitars and a music video that's both playful and crafty, its one of those few songs where you actually want to dance when its trying to make you feel down. From there, the tension slows down, as the upbeat but overlooked "It Doesn't Matter" + the aching ballad "Heartbreak." After that, the album loses its beat for a while, as its seems both lost in religion and clubhopping. But suddenly, the listener reaches its peak again, as the sound becomes as delight and as heartfelt as it has on the entire album. "Still Fond" is probably my favorite song on the album as the riffs mirrors early Johnny Marr/ Smiths' riffs, with lush vocals and lyrics that suggest that even if your lover is far gone that one day you dream again that they will come back to you, with the words, "I'm still fond for you." The rest of the album goes back down and returns to slumber, where it once began, as in this stand point, this album as a feel of rise in the morning, enchanted by the evening dreams, and slowly builds during the day, until being wisked away into the night.
Produced by the uber-talented Bernard Butler, the album was release in 2008 + a tour around the western hemisphere, participating in such events like SXSW and touring with Foals up the Mississippi. Even though that got some pretty good review, still they didn't get the popularity they recieved in their native New Zealand or its close brother Australia. Still, these days its hard to find an album with two or three really good songs, yet Cut Off Your Hands were able to have an album with a handful of songs that don't go below the damn good level. By the next year, they are hoping to finish and release their 2nd album, and if that goes overlooked like the first, then by god, i'm really gonna cut off my hands. (^-^)
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