New Video: Kissing Party - A Metal Hand
I'm not going to go on too much about how much I've struggled to motivate myself in recent weeks - that much should be obvious by the lack of consistent content. Writer's block is a bit of a cliche, but as everyone and a Golden Salamander knows (niche Netflix Morman forgery documentary reference) - the cliches are all true. They exist for a reason and that reason is to give someone like me something to cling to or avoid like the plague; delete where applicable. What do we want? Procrastination. When do we want it? Some time next week.
Something was needed to buck that trend and thankfully it was found in the most unlikely of places; well, unless you live there. Denver, Colorado is not an area of the U.S you would instantly think of as hotbed of musical creativity. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it has a plethora of talented songwriters of different genres producing great material - but it certainly doesn't get the fanfare of more celebrated cities like L.A, Austin, New York and Portland.
I almost missed the half-hearted Instagram message I received from guitarist Gregg of Kissing Party - there is a reason I ask for submissions through the Contacts section.. NAUGHTY NAUGHTY. They're a band I had looked at several weeks earlier to potentially add to the next Submissions Hold section of the blog, but for some reason I passed - on reflection, we all make mistakes.
Comprising of vocalist Deidre Sage, guitarists Joe Hansen and Gregg Dolan, bassist Lee Evans (not the British Comedian) and drummer Shane Reid; the band have been around in one form or another for several years. They were once described by Westword.com as 'douchebags and fashion victims' - which makes me warm to them before I've even listened to a note.
Considering the term 'indie' to be a useless descriptive term in the 21st Century, the band have daubed themselves as 'Slop Pop' instead; a self-deprecating nod to their D.I.Y roots.
'A Metal Hand' was written by Gregg before being taken into the studio, where the rest of the band recorded it in one take. Gregg suggests that this really "adds to the loose feel of the track". You can listen and see the video for 'A Metal Hand' below.
The sound of the song is stylistically similar to a raft of bands that straddle the No Man's land between Dream Pop and Shoegaze; the two that most prominently spring to mind in this case though are The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Cigarettes after Sex. If fits elegantly into that mould, but remains opaque and elusive enough - with added dissonance - to give an impression of a band with an well drilled identity.
Gregg offered some more insight into the meaning of the song and the significance of the title:
The title 'A Metal Hand' refers to someone when they're dead. The body is cold, stiff and emotionless - like metal. It's a metaphor for being dead to someone."
For such bleak subject matter, Kissing Party have managed to make it sound more alive than it should have any right to. With a new album in the offing later in the year, it's as good as time as any to pucker up and join on the party.
Follow Kissing Party on:
and buy from:
Comments
Post a Comment