Hands of Anne Boleyn - Twenty Years of Sleep

​Hands of Anne Boleyn

Twenty Years of Sleep
​self-released; 2022

By Jamie Funk
​

Scott Hain aka Hands of Anne Boleyn is an artist from Seattle, Washington who recently released In Every Disaster. Hain is a self-taught solo artist who has been playing music since he was a kid and seems to be influenced by similar artists I have looked up to as well. He mentions “My first recording was a cover of the Pixies "Where Is My Mind" on an old reel to reel recorder that I got at a garage sale when I was 10 years old.”

The first song is entitled “Attraction of Pieces” and revolves around jangly guitar chords, 4/4 beats and a steady bass. The drums have a pulsating rhythm and I thought the guitar work was well done. I would say the ’90s aesthetic was fairly overt. There really isn’t much of a lead. You could make an argument for the guitars. I kept on thinking I was going to hear vocals come in.

“Translucent Myopi” has a more haunting quality but seamlessly transitions into something more epic and even motivational sounding. Hain explains “it is a song that I wrote in the late ‘90s and played live in bands.” The piano and guitar work coalesces well here and I thought the transitions were well done.

“The Healing Hurts” was a cool sounding song. Something about it reminded me of being by the seashore and relaxing your mind but with an undercurrent of pensive thought. The guitar work in particular was great. Hain hits a lot of the right notes with the lead guitar but the unique strumming patterns also added a lot.

“Lover Song” is a very different sounding song. This is led by synth, the drums are programmed to sound more electronic and it’s really atmospheric. The song also contains glistening piano notes. This song felt the most cinematic out of the songs I heard. “Atypical Depression” is the arguable highlight. This song felt more post-rock inspired and one of my favorite band's Mogwai came to mind.  Last up is “Gift of God” which is a somber sounding song that seems to revolve around a single guitar.

As an engineer my only slight critique was the recording aesthetic. The mixing was solid but sometimes the drums in particular had a little too much of that in the box quality instead of making it feel like it was a band playing live in a room.

There’s a good amount of variety and also a lot to appreciate with this release. Hain is definitely an impressive songwriter.Take a listen.

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