No Hands
No Hands “Free For All” Review in Exclaim!
December 07 2004
This is a new band with a lot of history. Formed out of the remaining member of Assemblage Point, No Hands put together this EP earlier in 2004. As Assemblage Point, (who fell apart after the death of their drummer Smitty) were heavily influenced by Jawbox, Sonic Youth and Nirvana, you can expect these tracks to be wonderfully guitar-laden. Though it’s sometimes hard to feel a band out in only the length of four songs, that theory doesn’t exist in this case. No Hands has developed a sincere, razor-sharp brand of rock’n’roll. It is steeped in a moody darkness and pulsates erratically. This is some of the edgiest music to make such an impact in such short time. It’s a surprisingly stunning effort that regards creation as highly as it does noise, and this balance results in a damn good EP.
Liz Worth
No Hands “Free For All” Review in Vue Weekly
May 6 2004
Wow! This little four-song EP is simply Stunning. Every sentence shall end with an exclamation point! Seriously! Knife fight guitars, spastic blitz drumming and 11 minutes of the finest rock this dump has ever produced! Jeepers!"
No Hands show preview in Vue
July 20 2006
TWO DRUMMERS, TWO EPS, BUT STILL NO HANDS
When it comes to Edmonton-based suicide rockers No Hands, it seems that the only predictable
marker is, well, unpredictability. Over the course of their two-year career, the band has chewed
through two drummers, one drum machine and a sound that has ranged from straight-up guitar rock
to experimental electropunk, still managing to release two well-received EPs.
However, the latest incarnation of No Hands seems to have found a degree of stability,
stability that has led them into the studio in their quest for a full-length record. With the
addition of drummer Tim Rechner of Champion, Alberta and bassist James Stewart of the Last Deal,
No Hands frontman Clayton Skinner is feeling pleased about the band’s foray into yet another
genre-bursting effort. “[Stewart] brings a handsome, sexual swagger to our suicide-rock and
[Rechner] kicks back on the kit and grooves like a hot Papa,” he raves. “To me, they make the songs
sound natural.”
According to Skinner, the new full-length effort, due out some time this fall,
will feature yet another facet to the No Hands sound, venturing into “raucous death-country.”
Produced by Graham Lessard, this record will feature “almost entirely real drums and much more
rocking” than their last EP, Roughing it in the Bush, says Skinner.
With this new record’s imminent release and the band’s newfound stability, it seems No Hands will
stick around and continue to be a part of the city’s unique scene for the foreseeable future,
as opposed to ditching E-town for the supposedly greener pastures of Vancouver or Toronto like some
of their contemporaries (cough, All Purpose Voltage Heroes, cough).
“Edmonton is out of the way enough that people really seem to appreciate indie artists, but it's big enough to have a large fan base for a lot of musicians, too,” Skinner explains.
“Our fanbase here is definitely the strongest.”
JOEL KELLY/joel@vueweekly.com
