Hands and Knees
Thu 23 Apr 2009
Hands and Knees – Et tu, Fluffy?
7/10
Perhaps – and I hope! – directed at that cute little pink and white unicorn on the cover, Et tu, Fluffy? isn’t a question that looks like it will be answered throughout the course of this Boston four piece’s sophomore album, but that’s unimportant and probably impossible anyway, as unicorns can’t talk. The powerfully strong and throaty voice of Joe O’Brien immediately brings this album to life in the opening track, replete with jangling guitars and a sort of swaggering rhythm. Later, bassist Carina Kelly joins him with her sweet singing. The innate whimsical nature of Hands and Knees – from their cute cover art to their charming, indie pop songs to the very name of the band – conjures up memories of schoolyard songs: “Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes!” Together with this and the appropriately happy and rollicking songs like Hot Little Item the band brings a smile to your face. There’s a wonderfully ramshackle quality to songs like You Thought It’d Make You Feel Better, and The Pixies-like women vs man, call and response set up. Jittery and scratchy at times in sound quality, it’s almost as if it were recorded directly to tape and then transferred to CD again, though this gives it a nice, warm familiar glow. Certain songs strongly resonate, like the mournful Anywhere But Here, with its emotive, singular call. Do You Really Need A Drummer? is perfect in its imperfect jump-start, electric elocution, striking a special chord somewhere deep. But what really brings the whole record up is the beautiful, slow-moving final track, Whatever Happened To That Beautiful City? This band clearly likes posing questions, and they seem deeply connected to place and to each other; this much is evident in the swooning sighs of this song. Finger-picked guitar and stomping bass drums riddled with soft harmonies and harsh vocal calls like those in Wolf Parade, Les Savy Fav or even Collapsing Cities give this particular song a hardened, genuinely lived quality. If you appreciate honest, rich, raw indie pop you will most certainly enjoy the beautiful variety of Hands and Knees.
Sarah
