MP3 The Hands of the Wrong People - Proportions

This new 13 track CD by these Berlin based indie Rockers is their second full length release on Portland Maine's Peapod Recordings and features charateristic well-crafted and catchy songs with intricate and edgy guitarwork.

13 MP3 Songs in this album (49:33) !
Related styles: Rock: Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Pop: Pop/Rock, Featuring Guitar

People who are interested in Karate Sebadoh The Wedding Present should consider this download.


Details:
The Hands Of The Wrong People are a guitar, bass and drums 3 piece indie rock band originating from Belgium, Germany and Scotland and based in Berlin, Germany since 2004. With 2 Eps and one full length, the much acclaimed 'Spring Flakes', already under their belt, a new 13 track album titled 'Proportions', recorded in Berlin, Germany and in Portland, Maine, USA by producer Ron Harrity (Crystal Stilts, Brown Bird) at Forest City, is released on Portland based independent label, Peapod Recordings. 

Having previously written for and played guitar and bass with Idiot Half Brother (with experimental musician Harold Nono) and The Mutiny Strings (with Hugh Duggie of Foil and Okker) while studying at the art schools in Edinburgh and Glasgow during the mid 1990s, artist and songwriter Dominic Hislop has since jumped around European and North American cities, taking part in exhibitions and writing, recording and playing live with various other musicians under the name The Hands of the Wrong People. On settling in Berlin, the current line up is completed with Berlin native Pius Fox on bass and Belgian Jo Wetzels, long term member of Brussels based band COEM, recently replacing Robert Wiesner on drums.

The Hands of the Wrong People can't be directly compared to any particular band, but perhaps apparent in the mix of influences are traces of the post-punk âpseudo-Chic Postcard label funkâ, some US slacker indie rock and some Chicago style post-rock, blending a feel that is at times reminiscent of the energetic and emotional songwriting of David Gedge (The Wedding Present) or Lou Barlow (Sebadoh) with the more musically elliptical and restrained work of David Grubbs (Bastro, Gastr Del Sol), Geoff Farina (Karate) or Sam Prekop (The Sea and Cake). Hislop's songs âaddress relationships & politics in the same breath, conjuring poetic turns on everyday phrasings with an understated vocal delivery that evokes a compelling bitter sweet emotional resonance and becomes a subtle form of protest musicâ.

'Proportions' sees the Hands adding to an increasingly solid catalogue of intricate and well-crafted, catchy and melodic songs. The new release presents 13 new songs that vary in mood and character from the upbeat choppy dance rhythms of 'You're Not Singing Anymore' and 'Ceylon Fantasies'; the tender, atmospherics of 'Slack' and 'First Snow'; the darkly intense and abrasive 'Darklight' through to the distorted pop of 'Jaws of Victory' and 'Fluorescent Stars'. All executed with what local media have described as âthought-provoking, enigmatic lyrics over intricate instrumentation with bursts of edgy guitarworkâ. Of recording 'Proportions' Hislop has said:

âWe wanted to expand on the more stripped down acoustic sound we had on 'Spring Flakes' (PEAR011). We consciously tried to employ more effects, create a broader range of sounds and invited some friends to come in and play parts on songs so we could get a different angle on what we had up to that point. Also being able to get away from Berlin and do the final touches in Portland with fresh input from Ron Harrity - someone whose feedback and understanding of what we're looking for I trust completely - opened things up again and helped give the sound on this album a new more layered dimension.â

In the mix of guest appearances, London and Berlin based Jazz trumpeter Tom Arthurs, lets fly on 'You're Not Singing Anymore' and 'Broken Machinery', while former songwriting half of Herman Düne, Stanley Brinks â demonstrates his all round musical genius, lending his saxophone skills to the album's rocky upbeat opener 'One More Step' as well as the more post-rock 'Grid Down'. And Brooklyn based songwriter, Casey Holford (The Outlines, Urban Barnyard) has contributed additional guitar parts on 'Precarity'. Initial tracking was recorded in Kreuzberg, Berlin in 2009-10, with additional recording, editing, mixing and mastering completed by Ron Harrity at Forest City Studio in Portland Maine.

The elegant CD packaging features the collage work of Berlin based (and former Glasgow and Belfast art school trained) artist, Benjamin de Búrca. It depicts bloodsport practitioners in full regalia with horses and hounds traversing an abstracted bombed landscape while fighter jets emerge from the clouds high above (images taken from 'The Four Horsemen #3 & #4', 2009).

With stage experience in North America and Europe, the Hands of the Wrong People are an engaging and exciting prospect live. Despite being a 3-piece, they exploit the full dynamic range and maximum potential from an economy of means, powerfully rendering their songs with honesty, flair, energy and emotion. Signfilms recorded the band live during their recent show at Schokoladen in Berlin. You can see the footage from the band's homepage and on Vimeo.

Reviews of previous releases:

"Songs draw from such seemingly disparate genres such as Scottish post-punk pop, and US, Chicago style post-rock. Imagine the jazz-influenced rock of Karate mixed with the pseudo-Chic Postcard label funk of Orange Juice with its clean pop jangle and you begin to get a sense of the sound of The Hands Of The Wrong People. The lyrics address relationships & politics in the same breath, conjuring poetic turns on everyday phrasings with an understated vocal delivery that evokes a compelling bitter sweet emotional resonance and becomes a subtle form of protest music performed on the deceptively traditional lineup of guitar, bass & drums."
- Idea of North (Portland, USA)

"Their sensitive, atmospheric guitar rock owes much to a Scottish indie-pop tradition, but tense, hesitant rhythmic shifts and glints of '80s post-punk trebly sheen create a distinctive mood based around a limited palette of sounds - intricate guitar lines, irritable basslines and direct, affecting vocals."
- The Skinny (Scotland)

"Sunny, harmonic guitar pop... spiritually allied with the more literate corners of alt-folk."
- Dorfdisco (Berlin, Germany)

Discography:

Three Quarters EP, 2002, Self Released
Sunny Spells EP, 2005, Self Released
Spring Flakes, 2008, Peapod Recordings PEAR011
Proportions, 2011, Peapod Recordings PEAR034

Compilations:

V/A - Berlin Songs Vol 1, 2005, Olive Juice Distribution
V/A - Berlin Songs Vol 2, 2007, Olive Juice Distribution
V/A - New Year, 2008, Peapod Recordings
V/A - RCF, 2008, Peapod Recording

Availability:

'Proportions' will be available for purchase through band or label website (see links above) and selected independent record stores (please ask for details in your area), or as a digital download from i-tunes, Amazon, emusic etc.

Links:

Friend, stream and Like the The Hands of the Wrong People on the usual social media pages - myspace, bandcamp, soundcloud, vimeo and facebook.