Gaffa Tape Sandy : Hold My Hand God Damn It
One of the nice things about the internet (a sentence that is becoming increasingly harder to think of an ending for) is the effect that it’s had on diminishing the tribalism of music scenes that, once upon a time, regarded the tarring and feathering of poseurs and sellouts as just as important an activity as the enjoyment of the music itself. These days, though, when any song from any genre is so easily accessible, there’s not really any space for this kind of toxic possessiveness to take root—artists are now able to push boundaries or try something different far earlier in their careers than they would once have otherwise been able.
Gaffa Tape Sandy’s last release, the Family Mammal EP, was infectiously danceable (and exceptionally good) indie-punk more or less throughout. So it’s rather nice to see that on the band’s newest outing and full-length debut, Hold My Hand, God Damn It, they’ve already begun to push the boat out a little. It might not be full-on genre-hopping, but there’s certainly an appreciable amount of genre-holidaying here—tweaking the dials to showcase some previously unexplored sounds and dynamics while remaining loyal to a couple of tentpole attributes that define the band’s approach to music; namely, a spectacular skill for crafting beautifully fun, snappy melodies alongside a lively and exciting garage rock influence.
The album is home to both the gentlest and the heaviest songs the band has ever written, ranging from the airy, hypnotic, folk-tinged “Holding Hands” to the crushing, pummelling choruses of “Devour (Rosemary, Pt. II),” which feature the kind of impassioned screams, skittish drumbeats, and desperate, discordant bleeps courtesy of some high-end guitar work that would sound quite welcome in a song by the likes of Slipknot or Disturbed, never mind Gaffa Tape Sandy. Meanwhile, the verses of “Devour” play out in impressive contrast to its choruses; they sound playful and groovy, dominated by a cool, nodding bassline that recalls reggae far more than metal. “Queasy,” the closing track, also ranks among the heaviest of the band’s repertoire, though it approaches the sound from quite a different angle to “Devour.” It’s slow, and gloomy, yet also dreamy and atmospheric; it evokes the feeling of a world viewed from a distance, or through a barrier, that is both painful and peaceful, sleepy yet sleepless. It’s disconcerting and disarming in equal measure, and it’s an intriguing choice for the album’s final song, suggesting more of an odd, lingering spookiness than anything in the way of an emphatic conclusion.
It is important to mention, of course, that the band’s classic style has gone nowhere; quite the opposite, in fact, with Hold My Hand, God Damn It’s opening track being a roaring blast of pop punk that launches us into the record trebuchet-style and hits quite a few integral points on the genre’s bingo card (singing about your friends and throwing in a few “da-da-da’s” for good measure) along the way. “Dead to Me” and “Split” are a few more of the joyful, raucous, dirty punk tunes that the album has to offer, and tracks like “Get Off” and “Energy” follow similar templates at more measured, subdued levels.
When the band release songs like this, they’re not reinventing the wheel, but there’s a bursting, thunderous, vibrational excitement that resonates from each and every note that they play, allowing for the clear communication of a sweet fact; when these guys perform their songs, you can tell they’re having an absolute fucking blast. So, in other words, who even needs their wheels reinvented when Gaffa Tape Sandy are doing such an exemplary job of taking them for a spin as they are?
Label: Counter Intuitive
Year: 2024
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