The Shaky Hands: Bittersweet In The Jangle
Sep 30, 2008
Words by Michael J. Dammers
Illustration by James Turek
Sticking it out in the great Northwest, where getting anywhere requires one long airport stopover, should earn any band trying to make it a small-ish trophy. Especially in Portland, where the scene is insular and it’s quite easy to get caught up in the scene of being in the scene. ("Just where did the last five years go?") But the upside is simple -- you have to work to stay in the industry loop. Add in the combination of people coming from all over the fucking place to live there, and you get some very interesting combinations of folks in various band settings. Take the Shaky Hands for instance. Toiling away within the Portland scene for some four years, the band slowly built a following, found a sound and through hard work and networking have risen ever so slightly above the indie din.
On _Lunglight_, the band mixes late 60s Britpop, toss in the often tapped Velvet Underground and some of the green that grows on the hills outside of PDX and carve out a sound that can be called their own. The fortitude that is The Shaky Hands owes as much to Dave Edmunds/Nick Lowe’s Rockpile as they do to the Strokes. The production is paper thin in scope but in a way, this is what gives the record its urgency and intimacy - even with its nod to the party scene this record is quite personal. There’s no need to get all deep dude about this release. It’s uptempo, feel good, sometimes the bitter lyrics are hidden behind the jangle. Expect more good things to come.
"Kill Rock Stars Records":http://www.killrockstars.com
"Shaky Hands Daytrotter session from December 2007":http://www.daytrotter.com/article/1104/the-shaky-hands
