How To Love is the first new album by Withered Hand the band led by Dan Willson for 9 years, during that time Dan has faced his demons and sobered up, the new album takes a long cold hard look at the trauma that brought him to where he is today. The album was recorded with a 9-piece band at Castle Of Doom Studios in Glasgow and is produced by Tony Doogan.
The album opens with feelings that isn't a cover of the saccharine hit single, this is brass led indie pop, with downbeat redolent vocals as he tries to kill the bad feelings, he has without killing himself.
Waking Up opens with an organ line before the slow cry for redemption gets going and the brass section works to punctuate the emotions Dan Willson is singing about as he hopes to wake up inside his dream.
Crippled Love is slowly reflective song of hidden emotions, things left unsaid, as you watch someone spill their guts for strangers, but unable to share those emotions with those closest to them.
How To Love had a dark reverb heavy intro to this tale of life travelling hoping to find a way of escaping the clutches of the devil both within and chasing you around, as you finally figure out the only real way forward is learning How To Love life and each other.
Serenity Prayer is a downcast plea for sobriety, clarity with a route towards paradise not strewn with pain or trauma, over a slow carefully played semi acoustic song that's a bit Elbow like.
Misery And Company is the most upbeat sounding song on the album, even if the lyrics keep with the down at heel feel of the lyrics, this sounds hopeful for better days ahead as they seek to banish all the misery with choral backing vocals with delightful brass weaving in and out of the guitars, the trumpet in the outro has echoes of Honi Soit era John Cale.
Give Myself Away re-works The Rolling Stones most famous backing vocals to good effect as the song built around them has reflections on the things you want to leave behind, before it's too late, as soon enough you'll be no more.
Still Quiet Voice is the one that shows you the way to reach the light, a new dawn coming, the voice you ignored through all the drugs, drink disasters, finding your voice through cleaning up so you can find joy together as the guitars sparkle as the organ sustains.
Comedown isn't easy, no matter how gently this caresses the subject matter is torture from within, hurt, heartbreak in a malaise partially of your own making, this is a redemptive anthem.
The album closes with two radio edits for songs that I didn't notice anything remotely unsavory in the original mixes so that the clean version of Waking Up gets to seep in some more sounding like late period Diamond Dogs and needs to be heard on the radio and elsewhere while having 50 seconds edited out. While the version of Crippled Love is 3 minutes shorter, so feels tighter and more focused.
Find out more at http://witheredhand.com/ https://witheredhand.bandcamp.com/album/how-to-love-album-2023 https://www.facebook.com/witheredhand
