Shaking Hand

Description

Debut album from Green Man Rising shortlisted band. Part of the new Manchester scene inc. Westside Cowboy, TTSFU, Dove Ellis and Formal Sppeedwear.

A Trio of clean lines, meticulous planning, and comprehensive visions So Young

For Fans Of: Yo La Tengo, American Analog Set, Slint, Pavement.

Somewhere close to Manchesters ever changing city centre, as the sun fades and peeks through the newest glass facade, youll find Shaking Hand. One part in shadow, the other basking in prisms of light as they sketch out their own sonic landscapes in the dusty redbrick mill they call home. One that is just about clinging on from the encroaching developments that surround them.

Against this back-drop where buildings are constantly torn down & built back again, the three piece craft away. Pulling from early post-rock, and 90s US alternative rock, crafting their own brand of Northwest-emo. Assembling something new, yet nostalgic. Looking ahead towards the transforming horizon. Shaking Hands music is built on tension and release quiets that stretch, louds that overwhelm. Repetition that feels both hypnotic and destabilising.

The bands musical DNA runs through experimental guitar outfits like Women, Slint, Sonic Youth, Pavement, and Ulrika Spacek, balanced with the melodic sensibility of Big Thief and the dynamic intimacy of Yo La Tengo. Their compositions push against structure: sudden jolts of tempo, polyrhythms that almost fall apart, and riffs that unravel into something fragile or ecstatic. Yet, as Ellis notes, theres an underlying warmth too: Like walking through an empty city late at night but catching flickers of life in the buildings you pass.

Early ideas like Night Owl and Sundance grew out of Georges lockdown bedroom years, where new tunings (open E, drop D, and stranger Pavement-inspired set-ups) opened up uncharted textures. Later, in grim rehearsal rooms, the murky epic Cable Ties and the hypnotic Mantras absorbed the gloom and grit of the bands surroundings.

The album was recorded with producer David Pye (Wild Beasts, Teenage Fanclub) at Nave Studios in Leeds, housed in a converted church. The live room was huge and perfect for capturing our sound, says George. Determined to bottle their onstage energy, the band tracked the foundations live, layering vocals and guitars later. Soviet-era microphones, odd mic placements, and even phone-recorded demos fed into the mix. Youve got to watch out for David though, Freddie laughs. He made me play four tambourines in one hand, really hurt, man.

Lyrically, the record drifts between abstraction and lived moments. Georges words often spill out instinctively, words falling into place before their meaning becomes clear. A lot of the lyrics look like theyre buried in abstraction, he says, but when I look back I can see what they were about whether thats an emotional response at the time or just an observation of what was happening around me. Theres contrast at the heart of it all optimism vs. doubt, the lightness of youth vs. the monotony of work, a city in constant redevelopment vs. the people drifting through it.

The album artwork is taken from unused plans for the 1970s redevelopment of Los Angeles by architect Ray Kappe, entitled People Movers. Hypothetical buildings for real people, it feels a complement to the bands own constructions. One things for sure, Shaking Hands debut is built to last.