The Velvet Hands have returned with ‘Sucker Punch’, the Cornish rocker’s sophomore album and follow-up to ‘Party’s Over’.
Despite beginning with a short riff similar to that of Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Sleep Now in the Fire’, The Velvet Hand’s opening track becomes a busy get-together of typical indie-rock progressions of today with The Jam-esque delivery of yesterday. Propagated by catchy guitar riffs, a neck-jolting baseline and satisfying open hi hats and an equally catchy chorus, in which loneliness is challenged and angst is subdued, ‘40 up 40 down’ is as flamboyant as it is enjoyable and sets the tone for The Velvet Hands’ sophomore album as a fun rock n roll experience. ‘Holiday in my head’ continues The Velvet Hand’s exploration of Britain’s escapades into rock and roll by again mixing the provocative attitudes and delivery of The Jam and The Clash with a guitar arrangement that could have appeared on Bloc Party’s seminal work ‘Silent Alarm’. As they demand the listener to “give me some emotion” on ‘Emotion’, The Velvet Hands also mimic the steadfast approach of the Sex Pistols with the one love sentiment held by IDLES. To quickly divert from this British punk tangent I’ve been going down, ‘Emotion’ also reminded me of Jello Biafra’s unapologetically demanding demeanour and for whatever reason that was, it quickly become my favourite track on the album.
Thanks to this successful blend of a punk-rock with indie rock, the versatility of the vocals on the album really shines. For instance, on ‘Telephone Love’, they flourish, as The Velvet Hands navigate their way through various floor tom heavy patterns, baselines and quick riffs that are reminiscent of The Strokes’ very best. In doing so, the lead singer at times takes on some of Julian Casablanca’s’ brazen charm while resorting to a distinctly British delivery akin to Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand for a familiar yet uplifting chorus. Midway through the album on ‘Over it Now’, heartfelt lyrics are delivered by melodic lead vocals and harmonies alongside an equally melodic instrumental. Here, The Velvet Hands sound more like Interpol than they do a British Punk outfit and I welcome their decision to do so at this point on the album. On the title track, ‘Sucker Punch’, The Velvet Hands again mix punk progressions with the melodies found in indie-rock choruses. This is done to terrific effect, as the highs and lows of an addict’s life and those around them are equated to a boxer fighting in the ring.
‘The Devil’s Tail’, which closes the album, is slow yet enticing. On the track, the lead singer describes a life which has gone off the rails and while the instrumental intrigues the listener to a mellow end of an energetic album, deception is quickly revealed and The Velvet Hands return to the same unapologetic rock n roll that is often present throughout. As the energy once again mounts, the lyrics became the most thought provoking on the album, with the narrator hinting that his problems are his own and he will deal with them how and when he pleases, while the listener leaves them in the havoc of screeching guitars and crashing cymbals.
While the components of ‘Sucker Punch’ present nothing new to the rock n roll table, The Velvet Hands’ sophomore album is a joyous listen and to me serves as evidence that a lack of originality doesn’t have to impede a record’s value. It demonstrated a skilful blending of punk and indie-rock, with well-crafted lyricism that managed to get me pumped and make me think. As such, I’d give this a solid 8/10.