Review: Vampire Hands - Hannah In The Mansion
*MP3: Vampire Hands - “Me and You Cherry Red”
Vampire Hands
Hannah In The Mansion (St. Ives, 2009)
Grade: B+
If nothing else, neo-psychedelic quartet Vampire Hands know the value of diligent craft. As with 2008’s Me and You Cherry Red, their previous effort, Hannah In The Mansion begins with an ominous sounding, but strangely inviting track. Like “Statuette,” Red’s musical red herring, “Snake” uses helium-voiced harmonies and dissonant guitar tones to create an intriguing musical world in which listeners can’t help but become wonderously lost.
Unlike “Statuette,” the melodic motifs in “Snakes” segue into the cool, calm arpeggios of “Eight Legs,” which are in turn obliterated by the distorted latin fuzz of “No Joy,” which morphs perfectly into a whirring, pulsating re-working of “Me and You Cherry Red,” which itself is then upended by…
You get the idea. As listeners might guess by repeated listens, Mansion works best as the musical equivalent of a russian nested doll. Each bit pulled away reveals something new and exciting that builds upon the previous layer. But here’s the thing: some layer of Mansion peel away better than others.
After an astonishing run of songs (re-read the previous paragraph, if you dare), Mansion hits a stagnant patch once the band dabbles with folk and country stylings (“Bodies Alone,” “In America”). As essential as they are to the whole, these parts aren’t quite as memorable as what came before. Luckily, the songs still advance the musical plot enough for Hannah to reach a strong conclusion, with the haunting “Annie” bordering on soul, and psych-pop “Funny Stories” skipping along merrily to an effervescent bop.
In crafting an album where every musical bit is as important as the next, Hannah and the Mansion shows that Vampire Hands has a sense of virtuous, tortoise-like patience and trust in their listeners (and themselves) that is essential to many great acts. At the same time, though, more of the Hare’s urgency wouldn’t have hurt either. But ultimately, the corridors of Mansion are always worth exploring.
Vampire Hands celebrate the release of Hannah In The Mansion tonight at the Turf Club.
(Jon Graef)
Posted 2 years ago
