Shaky Handz – Sick Later
You know what I love? Any song that includes the sound ‘mmmmm’ as a lyric. I want you to stop everything and listen to this. No seriously, before you continue, just press play.
Shaky Handz make my favourite lo-fi bedroom recordings, handz down. This EP (released THIS VERY WEEK) seals it for me. And I know it’s really cool to say that you’re in a lo-fi band, but here’s the thing: if the bass mix sounds awesome and Triple J are playing it, (and you actually recorded it at your mate’s studio) then chances are the tunes aren’t really lo-fi. You know why? Because lo-fi sounds like this:
Seriously. That vocal distortion tone he pulls is like hydrochloric acid being sprayed into my eardrums. The drums sound like they were recorded in a bedroom with a 15 year old $40 mic from Dick Smith (in the best possible way). And obviously, the lo-fi aesthetic isn’t enough in itself to make a great release. But what makes Shaky Handz stand out are the killer melodies and inventive chord changes. These are songs with MOMENTS that you can hook into and savour, and then repeat the track and listen again.
After great melody, chord changes and creatively raw sounds, you know what just wraps it all up like a perfect little gift? Lyrics that walk the line between sincere and sardonic. Like the pitched-down vocal in ‘SICK LATER’ singing ‘I wanna be left alone/I wish I was joking/this time I ain’t joking/I wanna be left alone.’ The whole thing drips with self-awareness. Also it’s that old Shakespearean rhyming pattern where you rhyme ‘alone’ with ‘alone’ and in the middle you rhyme ‘joking’ with ‘joking’. Perfect.
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