self-titled - no. 3 - (Page 31) E P Tip p i n g P o i n t CUT OFF YOUR HAN D S HAND Fear not. New Zealand’s power-pop trio doesn’t want to hurt you. et’s play a word-association game. We say, “Cut Off Your Hands.” You say, Bloodthirsty? Painful? Clap Your Hands Say Yeah? The answer is none of the above. So in the interest of managing expectations, meet New Zealand’s Cut Off Your Hands. Sample song title: “Oh Girl.” Sample lyrics: “So glad I found you / And you’re mine.” The band’s music has some octane, sure—power pop that’s 60 percent power and 40 percent pop—but these guys aren’t violent. They’re in love. So wait, whose hands are we cutting off? And what the hell goes on in New Zealand? The act began as Shaky Hands, but another Shaky Hands (based in Portland, Oregon) called dibs. So the guys—lead vocalist/guitarist Nick Johnston, drummer/vocalist Brent Harris, bassist/vocalist Phil Hadfield— settled on Cut Off Your Hands, the title of their first EP. The phrase came from a newspaper headline about a New Zealand kid who, on speed, cut off his friend’s hands with a samurai sword. “That was the closest to our original name,” Johnston says. “It’s terrible, but most names are pretty bad, really.” Macabre monikers aside, the group tints power pop with hardcore influences such as Fugazi and At the Drive-In and vocal R&B (“Anything Phil Spector got his hands on”). The result is the band’s full-length debut, L You & I (Frenchkiss), an album of short, slightly prickly pop songs—like the group in That Thing You Do! if those guys had done some lines, then discovered the Smiths. “It’s reflective of what I’m listening to,” says Johnston, the band’s primary songwriter. “We’ve likened ourselves to a group like the Buzzcocks. We’ve taken basic pop songs but applied our energy.” Girls (specifically Johnston’s girlfriend) are a popular topic. Aside from a few tracks—such as the delicate “In the Name of Jesus Christ,” inspired by Johnston’s childhood—You & I is a lyrical interpretation of their relationship. “It’s all well and good when it’s throwaway, Beach Boys-style lyrics, but there’s cynicism [on the album], which perhaps I haven’t been able to address in real life,” says Johnston before recounting his lady’s reaction to hearing the songs. “It was an awkward first few listens with her—and subsequent conversations.” If all goes according to plan, Cut Off Your Hands will spend this year touring the United States and finishing a second album, for which Johnston might get inspired by his latest musical obsessions, notably Deerhunter, Fuck Buttons and Department of Eagles. “I’m excited [to] start from scratch,” he says. “There are no rules. I can do what I want.” COURTNEY BALESTIER http://www.myspace.com/cutoffyourhands http://www.myspace.com/cutoffyourhands http://www.myspace.com/cutoffyourhands http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That_Thing_You_Do http://www.myspace.com/shakyhands
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of self-titled - no. 3 self-titled - no. 3 Contents Titus Andronicus A.C. Newman Los Campesinos! Zombi Arthur Russell Gentleman Jesse Circlesquare Oneida Cut Off Your Hands Frances and the Lights School of Seven Bells and Free Blood ...Trail of Dead’s Conrad Keely cLOUDDEAD self-titled - no. 3 self-titled - no. 3 - self-titled - no. 3 (Page Cover1) self-titled - no. 3 - self-titled - no. 3 (Page Cover2) self-titled - no. 3 - self-titled - no. 3 (Page 3) self-titled - no. 3 - self-titled - no. 3 (Page 4) self-titled - no. 3 - self-titled - no. 3 (Page 5) self-titled - no. 3 - self-titled - no. 3 (Page 6) self-titled - no. 3 - self-titled - no. 3 (Page 7) self-titled - no. 3 - self-titled - no. 3 (Page 8) self-titled - no. 3 - self-titled - no. 3 (Page 9) self-titled - no. 3 - self-titled - no. 3 (Page 10) self-titled - no. 3 - self-titled - no. 3 (Page 11) self-titled - no. 3 - self-titled - no. 3 (Page 12) self-titled - no. 3 - Contents (Page 13) self-titled - no. 3 - Titus Andronicus (Page 14) self-titled - no. 3 - Titus Andronicus (Page 15) self-titled - no. 3 - A.C. Newman (Page 16) self-titled - no. 3 - A.C. Newman (Page 17) self-titled - no. 3 - A.C. Newman (Page 18) self-titled - no. 3 - A.C. Newman (Page 19) self-titled - no. 3 - Los Campesinos! (Page 20) self-titled - no. 3 - Los Campesinos! (Page 21) self-titled - no. 3 - Los Campesinos! (Page 22) self-titled - no. 3 - Zombi (Page 23) self-titled - no. 3 - Arthur Russell (Page 24) self-titled - no. 3 - Arthur Russell (Page 25) self-titled - no. 3 - Gentleman Jesse (Page 26) self-titled - no. 3 - Gentleman Jesse (Page 27) self-titled - no. 3 - Circlesquare (Page 28) self-titled - no. 3 - Circlesquare (Page 29) self-titled - no. 3 - Oneida (Page 30) self-titled - no. 3 - Cut Off Your Hands (Page 31) self-titled - no. 3 - Frances and the Lights (Page 32) self-titled - no. 3 - Frances and the Lights (Page 33) self-titled - no. 3 - School of Seven Bells and Free Blood (Page 34) self-titled - no. 3 - School of Seven Bells and Free Blood (Page 35) self-titled - no. 3 - School of Seven Bells and Free Blood (Page 36) self-titled - no. 3 - School of Seven Bells and Free Blood (Page 37) self-titled - no. 3 - School of Seven Bells and Free Blood (Page 38) self-titled - no. 3 - School of Seven Bells and Free Blood (Page 39) self-titled - no. 3 - School of Seven Bells and Free Blood (Page 40) self-titled - no. 3 - School of Seven Bells and Free Blood (Page 41) self-titled - no. 3 - School of Seven Bells and Free Blood (Page 42) self-titled - no. 3 - School of Seven Bells and Free Blood (Page 43) self-titled - no. 3 - School of Seven Bells and Free Blood (Page 44) self-titled - no. 3 - School of Seven Bells and Free Blood (Page 45) self-titled - no. 3 - School of Seven Bells and Free Blood (Page 46) self-titled - no. 3 - School of Seven Bells and Free Blood (Page 47) self-titled - no. 3 - School of Seven Bells and Free Blood (Page 48) self-titled - no. 3 - School of Seven Bells and Free Blood (Page 49) self-titled - no. 3 - ...Trail of Dead’s Conrad Keely (Page 50) self-titled - no. 3 - ...Trail of Dead’s Conrad Keely (Page 51) self-titled - no. 3 - ...Trail of Dead’s Conrad Keely (Page 52) self-titled - no. 3 - ...Trail of Dead’s Conrad Keely (Page 53) self-titled - no. 3 - ...Trail of Dead’s Conrad Keely (Page 54) self-titled - no. 3 - ...Trail of Dead’s Conrad Keely (Page 55) self-titled - no. 3 - ...Trail of Dead’s Conrad Keely (Page 56) self-titled - no. 3 - ...Trail of Dead’s Conrad Keely (Page 57) self-titled - no. 3 - cLOUDDEAD (Page 58) self-titled - no. 3 - cLOUDDEAD (Page 59) self-titled - no. 3 - cLOUDDEAD (Page 60) self-titled - no. 3 - cLOUDDEAD (Page 61) self-titled - no. 3 - cLOUDDEAD (Page 62) self-titled - no. 3 - cLOUDDEAD (Page 63) self-titled - no. 3 - cLOUDDEAD (Page 64) self-titled - no. 3 - cLOUDDEAD (Page 65) self-titled - no. 3 - cLOUDDEAD (Page 66) self-titled - no. 3 - cLOUDDEAD (Page 67) self-titled - no. 3 - cLOUDDEAD (Page 68) self-titled - no. 3 - cLOUDDEAD (Page 69) self-titled - no. 3 - cLOUDDEAD (Page Cover4)
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