Labels: Eat A Book
Review by: Andy Malcolm
Human Hands is here to show UK emo kids that it’s ok to be heavy and ugly. And that’s just the band members. Ah ha ha! I’m sorry. I think they are not so large, and certainly not repulsive. Anyway, the music here is noisy and with a shit recording. It sounds a lot like what kids who do Kids Return now did before they did Kids Return, or do in Kids Return for that matter. All heart on the sleeve emoting, sobbing and guitar slaying. The recording is grim, but I love the slow, sad guitars that descend into twinkles, and the bass solo on “That Gives”. “Minutes” grooves and has an utterly spectacular twinkle part that climbs into the end of the world death spiral. Cliche, but executed to perfection. 5 minute long songs, it sounds like pain, like proper emo should. It’s some classic 90s style shit at a time when almost all the bands stopped doing this. Massive Yaphet Kotto vibe at times. Is it cheesy to tell a band via the medium of review that you’d help put a record out? It worked with Your Neighbour the Liar I guess.
Verme is from Italy and they offer 3 songs of messy emo-punk, of the kind you used to get once upon a time in the 90s but not so often now. It’s basically fast, melodic punk with strained vocals and a non-existant recording. Reminds me of shit like Cyan or other European bands that kind of had a go at indiemo and came up with their own, punkier version of it. Bands on Snuffy Smile were pretty adept at this sort of thing also. Bands like Screaming Fat Rat. It’s pretty cool, although I think it’d be more fun live. This sounds kind of dated (I know, I know). I dig the punchy drumming.