Old Hands is an artist from Chicago and he recently released Illinois. This isn’t a cover of the Sufjan Stevens album. The man behind the project was doing comedy and once the pandemic hit he needed to find a new outlet which happened to be music. I have to give him some kudos. I myself have been a musician for around twenty-five years and went to school for composition, have been in countless bands and still find there is more to discover.
This release is primarily shoegaze but it also felt an artist who is just getting started and is in the embryonic stage of development. The EP begins with “it couldn't be done” and it really felt separate from the other songs. There is some sort of sample and music which sounds similar to the fantastic group Broadcast. On that note there isn’t any of the aesthetics such as distortion, warm fuzz and more which define most of the other songs. The record starts to bloom with “games on yourself” which feels like early ’90s somewhere between The Smashing Pumpkins and My Bloody Valentine. It’s pleasant and I liked the vocals. The song revolves around major and minor chords, some fuzz and a 4/4 beat. He opens a little bit musically on “you're still you” which veers more to classic My Bloody Valentine. The lyrics are somber and fairly hopeless in all honesty. He does some more lamenting on “feeling young” about things getting a little warmer “nothing but me.” The highlight might be “garden of guilt” if for no other reason then it was catchy. He gets his darkest on “always tired” which has some Joy Division vibes. This release has almost all the common issues I hear with other home recordings. There isn’t much separation, phase issues and an unneeded amount of treble and concentration of frequencies within 5k to 7k. It also has its charm which is the honest and earnest way in which it’s delivered. The biggest strength to me on this release was the catchy melodies and vocal delivery. This felt like a solid start especially for someone who hasn’t been solely focusing on one art. I hope this is just the beginning and wish him luck in his evolution.
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