Dispensing rock n’ roll clichés with sardonic irony is just one of Cut Off Your Hands’ endearing qualities. Their photo shoot is nothing short of parodic excellence.“We just wanted to look real ‘60s in it, sorta like real pretentious and wear skivvies,” singer Nick Johnston says on the phone from Sydney. Shot in the Datsuns’ hallway, the pictures take a deliberate swing at post-modern poser bands who take themselves too seriously.
Talking about their recent trip to England, Nick cites the culture clash. “Just being over there you realise how seriously people take that kind of stuff. We just laugh at it, that’s kind of a joke for us.” This friendly naturalism is reflected in their latest EP, Blue On Blue, that they’re touring for this month.
Landing “a whole bunch of excitement, um, interest from really cool UK labels”, it seems the band’s tireless work ethic is paying off. “It’s nice to see things coming into place now. I don’t know many bands who can say that they really love their label. They [Speak and Spell] work really hard for us... If it weren’t for them it’d be a completely different story.”
The band’s sound has definitely evolved over the course of these changes. “I think it’s a bit boring to just stay still. We wanna keep pushing, and changing what we sound like.” 'Closed Eyes' exemplifies this newly foreign sound, reminiscent of Scandinavian post-punk; it’s a blissful melting pot of ideas and also reflective of the band’s sprawling hometown, Auckland.
“I think [fame] has affected us in a good way, because there’s a level of expectation every time you play, so we can’t just go out there and have a bad one. Which is a good thing because we kind of pride ourselves on wanting to play it brilliant every time.”
But he says it’s different when they’re writing. “When no one gives a shit about what you’re gonna release, or no one knows who you are, then you can do whatever you want. But as soon as you’ve got the expectations on you, it definitely affects the way you write. You know it shouldn’t, but subconsciously you’re thinking, ‘well what if people don’t think of this…’ It’s annoying; I try to black that out. Even though it’s just a little deal, like how many people know about us anyway, you know?
Apparently quite a few. Lauded by NME for their catchiness, praised as almost-perfect by Drowned in Sound, and craftily compared to jello by Pitchfork, the band are deserving of every compliment. And crazed fans abound, “Fuck a me dead, the Cut Offs, she is beautiful, I love hims. She is great... Banging”. Fortunately the band’s steadfast passion lives on.
“There’s this great band in England we played some shows with called Pete and the Pirates. They’re new like us, but they did this really beautiful melody-based approach to writing, and the singer has this really fragile voice, and it’s cool, like that part in the breakdown of “Oh Girl”, I just kind of like thought ‘oh, what would he do then?’ and just sang like him.”
Cut Off Your Hands will never be one of those self-serving poser bands; their integrity is evident in their nonchalant prose and post-everything pop. You better believe the hype.
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