Greenstick - The left hand of darkness

Greenstick 

The Left Hand Of Darkness
self-released; 2013

3.7 out of 5

By Eva Cantillo

Greenstick is an acoustic guitar duo out of South London. They construct beautifully simple ballads in their album Left Hand of Darkness. The sound of the album is a kin to folk music and is decorated with very poetic lyrics that are incredibly metaphoric. Each song illustrates a different sentiment that may be positive or negative.

The song with the same name as the album is an upbeat folk song with plenty of simple percussion. “Left hand of darkness, lord it's a-tugging on my sleeve,” even though the song illustrates “darkness” the song is light and has a positive air to it. The track “Your Last Stand,” is compelling from the get-go and has a very jumpy and catchy beat that explains a “last stand” and the confusion of someone who can’t quite make up their mind; “deaths by indecision… it’s your last stand, final throw of the dice” After the chorus, a deep guitar riff brings the drama of the song into fruition as the beats continue to swell and build.

“Stars” is a song quite literally about the stars in the sky and the beautiful metaphors that make them relevant to life. The lyrics enlightens points like how we can’t touch stars or quite understand them, yet they are so dear to any star-gazer; “Starlight in my eyes, stardust inside me, I use the night… to hide me.”

The voice of the lead singer is mellow-dramatic and has the perfect amount of depth to withhold and balance the tracks on this album. He sings poetic illustrations of life and there is pleasant harmonization. The album is well produced and the recording is high quality. This would be a great duo to catch at a live venue as their music seems so real and pure that hearing it live is the only way to give their style complete justice.

Become A Fan

twitter