We first discovered Open Hand with 2005’s You And Me (which made Metal Hammer’s definitive list of the “300 albums you must hear before you die”) around the time that Trustkill Records released it, and have kept their music firmly in playlist rotation ever since.
They’re quite the moving target, though. Their three full lengths and three EPs all sound pretty different from one another, and well over a dozen members have come in and out of a band that has performed in all kinds of configurations, from the simple three-piece holding things down currently, to the six-piece we caught at Lemmy’s favorite bar in 2010, to even bigger lineups here and there, I believe. Their special guests include Mat Talbott of shoegaze godfathers Hum, as well as Christopher Reid (“Kid” of Kid N’ Play); two artists who couldn’t possibly be more different from each other, and yet there’s only one song between the two on 2010’s eclectic (and solid) Honey.
This is what we’re here for: To bring better music to your attention, and, on great days, into the world.
Last Friday was one such great day, when we welcomed Open Hand into Swing House Studios to perform, well, whatever the hell they wanted. We had our lists of personal favorite songs, and we just kept them to ourselves as the band proceeded to give us new ones. First up is The Hand, an iron horse of a rock dirge from Honey, followed by two great cuts from You And Me; The Kaleidoscope, and an absolutely incredible version of album-closer Hard Night that brings the chills. But don’t take our word for it… see for yourself:
The Hand
The Kaleidoscope
Hard Night
If you’re already a fan of Open Hand, you hopefully know that they released a sprawling 10-minute long single entitled The Mark Of The Demon last year, complete with a pentagram on the album cover. And you’ll be delighted to hear from us that new material is in the works, and sounding great.
If you’re new to them, it’s time to catch up. Follow them on Facebook for updates. We’re with Metal Hammer – go get You And Me right now. And when you’re ready, set aside some time to dig into Honey. You can treat our review as Cliffs Notes. Son Of A Gun and So Far have found their way onto more than a couple Antiquiet road trip mixtapes.
And either way, they’ll be returning to the Rainbow very soon in L.A., and are currently putting together a Spring U.S. tour, followed possibly by some shows in the UK and Europe. We’ll keep you posted.
Special thanks to Swing House for hosting once again!
