Shaking Hand by Shaking Hand

For fans of Slint, American Football, Explosions in the Sky, the atmosphere of those classic slacker rock records, and that sinking pit in your stomach when you no longer recognize your hometown, Shaking Hand by Shaking Hand takes an experimental, guitar-driven approach to the analysis of unstoppable change. These songs bring a mathy writing style without devolving into excessive showmanship, the flowing guitar tones instead here painting an icy aesthetic which remains open and approachable. Every aspect of the record portrays the narrator as a spectator, as someone subjected to change around them and fundamentally unable to steer that change in any direction. Melodic arpeggios tumble naturally as if by the force of gravity alone, absurdist lyrics struggle to keep up with and make sense of the environment, and dreamy vocals reveal the speaker’s presence as secondary to the unfolding of the scene. However, the persistence of a rock-solid post-punk rhythm section and generally affirmative lyrical themes inspire us to continue our radical act of survival, keeping art alive in corporatizing cities by our stubborn refusal to move along.