The Shaky Hands
From the verdant and carefree state of professional nonchalance comes The Shaky Hands. With moody guitars and folksy vocals, they keep it steady as they release their newest album with an interpretational message, Let it Die.
The Shaky Hands
(click photo at left)
Their music paints a picture. I see breezy motorcycle rides through the country. I see a bonfire on the rocky Oregon coast. I see a departure from my Manhattan high-rise. And that’s why I love The Shaky Hands. Full of musical cheer but with a hidden sadness that carries through the lyrics, unadulterated and pure. Nicholas Delffs’s unique vocals carry the same casual disposition of the state from which he hails. With Mayhaw Hoons on bass, Jeff Lehman on guitar, and Jake Morris on drums, this musical conglomeration began embarking on the creation of their third album.
Searching for musical purity and inspiration, Nicholas took off to India. He sang in the temples and wrote lyrics for the new album, which the band had already started writing, but took the longest break he’d ever taken from playing in a band.
“I feel like my trip to India had a profound effect on the album,” Delffs explains. “Because I wasn’t playing music with anybody and I was having this break, I ended up thinking about it a lot, on the verge of obsessing over things. A lot of the planning and lyrics were done out there, finishing some of the songs. I was really inspired by Indian music and I feel like it changed me, but I wasn’t inspired to make it. It almost inspired me to make straight forward rock for some reason.”
Following his eastern adventure, he jetted back home and was launched back into the rock scene immediately, played South by Southwest and toured back up to Portland. While on the road, the band continued developing their album and hit the studios upon their return.
The finished album, Let It Die, is a collection of eleven organic, impassioned rock songs that are happily unpolished and grounded. This disc is split into Side A and Side B to compliment the varying styles the songs on the record embrace, with Side A collecting more raucous, upbeat track and Side B offering hushed, mellower numbers. The standout, for Delffs, is the compelling “Allison and the Ancient Eyes,” a song he feels embodies both sides and their corresponding feelings.
Released last month, Let It Die is the musical product of a band on top of their game.
-bradley smith
