HANDS

TAKING their debut’s name from the perceptual condition of mixed sensations- LA-based band Hand’s sensational Synesthesia does exactly what it says on the tin. Taking you through a magical journey of audio and imaginative visuals, their sound is best placed bang in the middle of electro and garage rock.

The latter a big deal in LA, where they have honed their craft, with the likes of Deap Vally making a monumental wedge in the scene across the globe over the past few months.

“It gets you in the audio, it gets you in the visual. You want to  taste our music, but you can’t. After we had pressed the album, I realised that we should have done scratch and sniff, man how I wish we had included scratch and sniff on the record. I didn’t even think of it at the time.”

And hindsight truly is a wonderful thing for a band. Originally hooking up as a duo, Hands multiplied into their current four-piece and they know now, that’s how Hands should be.

Playing their first UK gig in London on the birth of the month of May, Hands are here in the UK to really make a dent. Tenement TV catch up with the band during Liverpool’s Sound City Festival.

“The London gig man, it felt really good. You could tell that some of the crowd knew us. But they maybe didn’t know our tracks. That didn’t matter.

“This is our first debut as a band with the album, anywhere outside the states. We are very, very excited.”

With the album released on 6th May,  Hands are enjoying the prospect of traveling around: “We hope to come to Scotland soon, a big part of the reason we are here now is to start seeding some of our ideas, letting the people who are working with us get excited about seeing us live.

“We have a Scot driving us around just now, he’s ginger- it’s perfect.”

Signed to the Kill Rock Stars label, Hands have already been picked as one of The Guardian’s New Band of the Day and performed a celebrated set at SXSW this year : “Kill Rock Stars are amazing, they are super relaxed. They are an awesome pedigree, it’s crazy to be on the same label as all these amazing people. And they are all handsome to boot.”

The band get side-tracked with their most recent claim to fame, playing at the same venue in LA just days before The Rolling Stones: “We played the Echoplex last week, The Rolling Stones just played there. We played the Thursday and The Rolling Stones played the Saturday. They didn’t even tell the staff who worked there that The Stones were playing.

“I wish we had known so we could of left him a note in the green room”

“I hope they were like wow, Hands played here on Thursday.”

Perhaps a coincidence, Hands most favourite band at the moment have a familiar name: “Body Parts are a LA based band who are rising fast, their music is kind of like Prince, Talking Heads- we would love to bring them with us on tour they are the nicest people.”

With an endearing LA-energy that’s exclusive to west coasters, Hands are a glimmering light on stage. Their enthusiasm is set to rocket their tracks into your ears and shake you around with their spectacular sound- just how Tenement TV like it.

By Nadine Walker