Handle are a 3 piece Manchester band formed in part from the Castle Face signed 7 piece Manc post punk group DUDS. Bassist Giulio Erasmus and drummer Nirvana Heire are joined by self-described genderqueer multidisciplinary artist Leo Hermitt to form Handle: one of the newest and most intriguing post punk and no wave groups to come out of the UK. Fittingly signed to the experimental underground London label Upset the Rhythm, Handle’s debut album – In Threes, boasts an experimental art / post punk sound whose immediacy and urgency of sound and percussion demands your full attention from the get go.
Within the first few seconds of the opener track Vocal Exercise, Handle’s unusual use of rhythm and intense percussive sounds first shows itself. The song meanders along a loose tribal drum beat accompanied by the disorienting groans and ‘vocal exercises’ of the lead singer, while they incorporate a dissonant range of noises, guitar tunings and other electronic sounds to give the listener a taste of the kind of music to expect from the rest of the album. This track is definitely just used as a sort of musical muscle exercise, preparing the audience for the chaotic nature of the album to come, and it’s sound left me wanting more.
Following this is the track Punctured Time, which bursts into a attention demanding syncopated drum beat and the urgent sounds of an electronic organ as the vocals shout ‘Bicycle Wheel’ hypnotizingly repetitively. The vocals on this song, a trend that can be noticed on the rest of the album, are mixed quite lowly and roughly while the rest of the music, (drums, bass, cowbell and electro organ) are mixed and produced incredibly well and placed at the fore of the mix, creating a futuristic experimental sound but with the anxious vocal style of something that could be recognised on a piece of underground 80s no wave music. This combination is excitingly novel and one of the main attractions of the sound of this album for me. The lyrics are also equally peculiar as they shout obscure poetic language over the disjointed angular rhythm of the song. Being an album that’s only just under 25 minutes long, none of the tracks overstay their welcome and are usually finished within 2 minutes or less, with only a single song on the track list being above 3 minutes in length.
Following this, we are hit with the minute and a half banger What it Does, utilising the novel sound of the cowbell mixed with the deep but directing bass, the hyper sounding organ and the hypnotising repetitive drum pattern, this track is another example of how the disjointing and angular percussive sounds of the album work so well together. Despite being an unusual combination of sounds, the fast paced nature of the music alongside the intricate math rocky rhythms, everything seems to find its own place amongst the chaos and it works out really well.
The fourth track Lifes Work, is probably the most conventional post punk song of the bunch, with a riff that sounds worthy of something on a Minutemen album. The vocals on this track are much more audible than on the previous tracks, with less experimental instrumentation and less of an experimental arrangement drowning them out. This works really well, and the bass driven riff really creates a hypnotising effect, with the cowbells making a tasteful appearance in the final 10 seconds of the track.
The next track Coagulate, marks a slowing down of the albums pace with a much more spacey abstract sound which is much more like a classic no wave track than post punk. There is practically no rhythm or melody to this song, with a cacophony of experimental noises and the clattering of instruments while lead vocalist Leo reads out spoken word poetry which sounds classically no wave. While this track is one of my least favourites on the album, it’s change of pace is necessary for the album to slow itself down and for the audience to appreciate the nature of the groups sound without them coming at you full pace.
In direct contrast to the previous track, the next track Sunday Morning is a minute long art punk banger with the same concoction of ingredients. These ingredients being the deep driving bass guitar, the frantic cowbells and the impressively mesmerising drum patterns, and although the album uses these same ingredients on essentially every track, they manage to create a new and exciting sound every time that you are able to distinguish from the rest immediately. My favourite thing about this track is that due to its short length, it never attempts to create a chorus or something to fall back on that would give the song space to extend, instead it powers through 30 seconds, slows down slightly and then returns right back with the instrumentals sounding even more assertive and domineering than before with the vocal work having the perfect amount of spoken work energy to blast through the remainder of the song.
The next song Mhmm, has another perfectly angular futuristic post punk sound with another impressively syncopated drum pattern and sax passages whose time signatures will overwhelm your brain if you attempt to stay in time with them alongside the occasional complimentary cowbell. Hermitt’s charismatic performance on this track is another highlight.
The following track Rubber Necks fantastically harsh and jagged drum tempo accompanied with the anxious shouting of “CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!” and the swirling background of noise makes for another energetic and experimental banger.
Another highlight is the experimental and futuristic sounds of an electronically modulated bass or electric organ passages during the song In Tension. Much like many tracks on this album, Handle has a way of incorporating sounds and noises into their songs in a way that makes a listener wonder what instruments are being used, how these sounds were even created or thought up, yet manage to create a really interesting sound which I haven’t heard the likes of before. This is mainly due to the brilliant nature of the production on this album which sounds like no other post punk group around these days.
Step by Step is the penultimate track, and wasting no time, they follow through with their formula of these fast paced repetitive geometric drum patterns, which takes the fore on this track while the bass and cowbell take a backseat. The explosive organ that splutters around 30 seconds in sounds like something from an ESG album, but if ESG were a firing squad using these space age dance punk rhythms to kill. This track is another highlight with a meaty noisy and percussive sound, there is no space amongst the chaotic percussive cacophony of noise for any weaknesses and the strength of the mixing of the vocals on this track really does it a lot of favours.
The final track Describe brings the pace right back down again with a stripped back sound of lowly mixed spoken word poetry of Leo Hermitt and a tinny drum pattern in the back and the slow sludgy bass. This track is much like the song Coagulate in the sense that it gives a little more clarity to the chaotic madness that unfolds throughout the album. I think the inclusion of these slower tracks are incorporated very tastefully given the length of the album, giving the listener some room amongst the claustrophobia of the frantic post punk surrounding it, with the first track being a slow but unnerving use of sound manipulation, followed by Coagulate in the centre of the track list and then 5 tracks and 10 minutes of mayhem later we get the final slower track which is the longest track here. I think the album ending in a slower and more focused way brings it to a nice end so you are able to reflect and appreciate everything that has unfolded in the previous 20 minutes or so.
Overall I would say that the albums strengths lie in the novel combination of intricate fast-paced drum-driven post-punk and awesome futuristic production which updates these old sounds of 80s post punk and no wave and grants it a new lease of life. My only criticism would be that although the tracks are all distinguishable in their own unique way, I would like to see some more variety on the track list with a wider range of song styles, however for a 25 minute album with not a minute wasted this is a very minor grievance. The tightness of the instrumentals really works wonders for this album whose sound would arguably not be achievable without the brilliant drumming, tasteful use of frantic cowbells and other elusive other-worldly electronic instrumentals.
Overall this marks a fantastic debut for Handle, crafting a cohesive and focused album which boasts an incredibly unique and unpredictable sound which I have not heard anything like before, marking themselves out amongst the UK post punk scene. Appropriately self-described as a ‘collection of frenetic sounds for frenzied forms’- I look forward to hearing what Handle next have in store.
Favourite Tracks: Punctured Time, What It Does, Lifes Work, Sunday Morning, Mhmm, Step by Step
Least Favourite: Coagulate, Vocal Exercise
Judenell Social Blog 