Cut Off Your Hands

BY Cam LindsayPublished Jan 23, 2008

From January 14 to 25 I will be counting down the ten new acts I expect big things from in 2008. As always, it’s tough to predict just who will break through and who will fade into obscurity once the year ends, but really, the point of this exercise is to get you pumped about the artists I’m pumped about. Enjoy reading, and don’t hesitate to point out how right or wrong I was to us when 2009 comes around.

Auckland isn’t a city we hear enough about in music. Considering the history that lies in New Zealand’s capital… oh wait, Wellington is the country’s capital, and yeah, all of that history actually comes from Dunedin (the Clean, Straightjacket Fits, the Verlaines) and Christchurch (Bailter Space, the Bats). Oh well, Auckland’s still got Cut Off Your Hands, a no frills indie band that put frantic melodies ahead of anything. In a world obsessed with instant gratification and disposable singles, COYH can win with both sides, stuffing their songs with memorable melodies that coldcock you upon introduction. Formerly named Shaky Hands before a Portland, OR band of the same name threatened to cut off their hands, a threat of bodily harm that inspired their new name (actually, that threat’s a complete lie; the band switched to the name of the EP), COYH made the rounds on the net last year for their highly addictive EPs, the obviously named Shaky Hands, originally released on Speak n Spell Records and then IAMSOUND (who also boast the wonderful semi-Canadian Sunny Day Sets Fire on their roster), and last year’s Blue On Blue, produced by Bernard Butler (Suede). Like a young hyper Supergrass or a rave-less Klaxons trying to learn some Wedding Present tunes at faster tempos, COYH are rampant yet cool, and destined to blow up in 2008 (though not literally I hope).

Cut Off Your Hands "You and I”

Cut Off Your Hands "Oh Girl”

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