The Shaky Hands - Let It Die reviews
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| Pitchfork |
 The Shaky Hands are one of a million rock bands who cite the Beatles as an inspiration, but the influence runs deeper than just the swirly guitar solos, bouncy piano lines, and buoyant harmonies woven into their songs-- frontman Nicholas Delffs is probably one of the few Fab Four acolytes who can claim a soul-cleansing India retreat of his own. The effect of the trip was not so much musical-- rather than experiment with sitars, tablas, and eastern modalities, the Portland band's third album, Let It Die, is actually their most straightforward set to date. But amid Let It Die's ragged bar-band workouts, you hear a singer who's had time to peacefully ponder his place in the world, and question the predominant Western values of rat-race competitiveness and material acquisition.
Let It Die isn't dramatic enough to count as a midlife-crisis record, but the album is consumed with midlife stasis: references abound to aging, setting suns, and flames dying out. And yet, that the Shaky Hands opt to wrap these anxieties in unfussy, steady-as-she-goes rockers that suggest a certain shrugged-shoulder resignation, forsaking the jittery energy and textural nuance of 2008's Lunglight for more surface-level classic rock comforts. But while the laissez-faire quality of Delffs' raspy voice makes him an eminently likable mouthpiece, the Shaky Hands aren't an especially incendiary rock'n'roll band: Delff's title-track rant is backed by a standard-issue Rolling Stones strut that doesn't waver for four verse-chorus cycles; the cruise-controlled workout "Caught in the Storm" splits the difference between Haight-Ashbury 1967 and the Bowery 1977, but stops cold just as it seems to be accruing some force. Only on the piano-pounded stomper "Slip Away" does the band exude an intensity that matches the frustration heard in Delffs' lyrics....full text |
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| Blog |
| Portland, Oregon’s Shaky Hands are the kind of folk-rock band that can get a whole theater full of people who’ve never heard of them on their feet. Formed in 2003, they began self-releasing music the next year. Soon, their reputation and fan base grew, and by 2008, they were signed to Kill Rock Stars. Let It Die, the band’s second album for the label, attempts to emulate The Shaky Hands’ live power in the studio. Guitar-driven foot-stompers like the title track and “Caught in the Storm” are particularly successful at recreating the band’s onstage magic; “Allison and the Ancient Eyes” even incorporates hand claps. Singer and guitarist Nicholas Delffs — who, you may be interested to know, performs barefoot — has a gruff, textured voice that can do tenderness just as easily as rawk. And that’s why it works when the band decides to slow things down, on tracks such as “Don’t Fail Me Now” and “Leave It All,” a long, slow ballad that ends the album on a wheezy, wistful note. The Shaky Hands may be best experienced live, but Let It Die is surely the next best thing....full text |
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| Undertheradarmag |
| After the departure of their drummer Colin Anderson and frontman Nicholas Delffs' "soul-searching" trip to India, Portland's The Shaky Hands are back where we left them on their third release: making rootsy post-punk. Side A is the jangly upbeat rockers and Side B gets slightly introverted. Regardless of tempo, Let It Die is no-frills guitar pop. "Slip Away" claps and careens over Delffs' yelped rockisms and the title track takes a Cheap Trick riff for a spin. The back half sputters on some overly sentimental, Tom Petty-like numbers, but there's refreshingly little posturing on this classic rock-inspired album. (www.theshakyhands.com)...full text |
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