What exactly are sex hands? Is it like sex face? A grapple? A clasp? Wanking? Do I even want to know? The press release informs the instantiated journos that their ‘influences include The Clean, Pixies and Weezer. Sex Hands are not a garage pop band, they have never practiced in a garage. They never practice.’
At least that last statement is probably true. An explosive, jolting riot of noise reminiscent of Truman’s Water at their wildest opens the album and nicely sets the tone for an album that’s varied and staunchly uncommercial despite boasting some great hooks – the breezy indie pop of the title track draws on 60s psych and drowns the harmonising vocals and jangling guitars in a cavernous reverb.
A ‘Friends’ theme runs through the song titles - ‘Hug ‘n’ Roll’, On a Break’, ‘Chandler in a Box’ and ‘The One Where the Stripper Cries’ for example. Whether or not it’s ironic or because the members of this nutbag Manchester-based foursome genuinely adore ‘Friends’ is unclear (although they’d have had to have watched a fair few episodes to make the references. In my defence, my wife is a fan of the show and it was the ubiquitous cultural backdrop of the 90s and the first four years of the new millennium).
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It’s also not entirely clear if ‘Gay Marriage’ is for or against or neither, but the blissed-out wall of treble and feedback is an upbeat romp of a tune. ‘In 1994 / some people fell on the floor’ is about as much as I can decipher of the lyrics on ‘Hairdo’. Things really step up a gear on the cymbal-heavy rock freneticism of ‘Hot Cheddar’. The aforementioned ‘On a Break’ is a fast-paced deluge of grunge-pop guitars, and ‘The Curse’ is a rush of harmonious treble-topped psych pop.
Spontaneous, riotous and positively effervescent, ‘Pleh’ is an instant cult classic.
Sex Hands Online
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