HANDS ON HEADS are a quartet from London who stand up for premeditated sunshine punk. Finding inspiration in the unresting experimentation of groups like XTC and the Associates, as well as the no-nonsense approach of grunge, the group discovered a set of songs that uncover the surprise and revolutionary potential of our everyday lives through dysfunctional pop music. Drums leap, pound and skip allowing the hyper-melodic bass and organ lines to entwine. The vocals and guitar often double up and push and pull the songs around their haunted compass.

'TOUGH FUN'

Nervous Poison

UTR033 | Digipack CD | 13 tracks, 33 mins | 10 August 2007 | Buy

Second and final album 'Tough Fun' writes Hands On Heads' name in the sky with unlucky stars. It's a brilliant, oft-pop record and is also a fitting goodbye, as they are soon to disband because of oceans and new lives. 'Tough Fun' deals with a diverse subject matter, it looks at mismatched relationships, confused futures and desperate happiness all the time whilst beating a path through a wilderness of self control / doubt.

Some tracks like 'Nervous Poison' and 'Phantom Island' grab you by the hand and shake you awake, others like 'Rabbit Heaven' and 'Down Time' are more insular affairs, unafraid to ache and call to memory. Hands On Heads have made an album that unlocks the difficulties in all our heads and reminds us that nothing matters more than what happens next.sound.

'SPLIT W / THE STICKS'

Bark | Romantic Aorta

UTR009 | 10" | 17 tracks, 25 mins | 28 May 2007 | Sold out

Hands On Heads' debut release proper is this split 10" with their friends The Sticks. It's a meeting of messed up minds that documents a shared surpise at the expressive freedom pop music can yield, when it's adventurous and playful, and creating it's own thinking party sound.

The spooked lyricism and frantic spontaneity of Hands on Heads' music perfectly complements the heartfelt gooey blues of The Sticks, which leaks from the brake cables of this clattering runaway train of a record. These are two bands writing their own future in their awkward, instinctual, yet ever-involving compositions, and that daring bridge of kinship is the rationale for them to share these two sides of wax.

The split is released on green and red dipped vinyl, limited to 500 copies only, and housed within a hand-screened sleeve. The Hands On Heads side is also available digitally via eMusic Selects and includes Christmas bonus track "Witches & Lightning".