Geoff Halliday, Ryan Sweeney, Sean Hess and Alex Staniloff make up Hands, a four piece making from L.A, making swirling indie/ electro. Hands started as a two piece and new comers to the L.A. scene before Halliday and Sweeney brought the bass and drums to the band. They quickly made a mark on the scene and immediately started to play packed shows across the USA, including SXSW, supporting Maps and Atlas and headlining Echo Park Rising.
Synesthesia is Hands debut album, building on their massive Control EP of 2012.
Opening track ‘Trouble’ starts out with an awkward groove of synth and drum but as the guitar work and Halliday’s vocals are brought in it melts away to an indie electro sound, close to that of early MGMT or Klaxons if they were clean cut guys. The chorus brings the band to life, hi-hats are worked into a danceable beat, the guitar work becomes more prominent and spiky. All this happens as eerie organ sounds float in underneath and the vocals become stronger.
The bridge shows another, started with a vocal solo the psychedelic tinged side to Hands is shown, pulsating snyths, the drums become more animated as the bass drives the hole with along.
The latest single from Synesthesia, ‘The Game Is Changing Us’, firmly grounded in the electro pop genre, the summery vibe is provided by guitar and bass which is the driving force for this track as well. The synth gives jumping riff’s and piano rolls, all with a big dollop of simmering electro. The track shouts festival dancing and could easily see Hands being the new Foster The People for the 203 summer.
Other highlights of Synesthesia include ‘Videogame’ ‘Brave Motion and ‘Lonesome Body’. The latter being a track of glittering indie electro with a underlying theme of loneliness.