Withered Hand 'Heart Heart' (Fence Records EP, 2012)

'And I think to myself, what a wonderful world'

- Louis Armstrong (and The BMX Bandits, of course)

It's been touch and go as to whether I'd ever get round to 'doing a blog' again, I've loads of things I've been meaning to write about but life, events and whatnot have rather got in the way, made all this seem trivial, perhaps even pointless

And perhaps it still is pointless (keep reading though, I'm going somewhere with all this) but doing this blog anyway rather than not doing this blog at all seems like the best way forward, for now

Minding my own business, clicking around on the internet after work yesterday afternoon I was delighted to chance upon a link to the video of Withered Hand's new single 'Heart Heart' (Thanks, Lynsey)

It's a corker... perhaps I don't need to tell you that, perhaps rather than wade through all this guff you've watched the video, cut to the quick because you felt like I did, all excited, all a-quiver... something along the lines of that old Pickled Egg records 'it's fun as well as food' ad with the three pictures of the chap holding a pickled egg, biting a pickled egg, enjoying a pickled egg with the words 'anticipation, acclamation, realisation' accompanying each of the images... perhaps it was like that in those three stages?

'Heart Heart' is a mighty immense POP! hit (HIT!) with a charming giddy video

I first heard this song at Indietracks last year and I said this about it:

"an instant floorfilling footstomping punch your fist in the air POP! hit"

So, it's definitely a POP! hit (HIT!) because I'm now on record as having said so twice 

The single is released as part of Fence Records’ Chart Ruse E.P. Series. Fence Records say: Sign up to Chart Ruse today! 

Dan Withered Hand is currently on tour with King Creosote and I'm very much looking forward to seeing them both in Nottingham on Tuesday, a complete list of the tour dates are here

If you're in or near Warwick (tonight) or Cambridge (Monday) do get along, further dates are in Norwich, The Shepherds Bush Empire in that London, Brighton, Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool, Lancaster and Leeds

And there's a launch do for this Chart Ruse E.P. series in Dalston (also in that London) next Friday, the 3rd February (the day after the Shepherds Bush Empire gig)

Withered Hand are salve for the soul and right now, at the arse end of a miserable January, with this Government and all the other shite in the world 'Heart Heart' seems something of an anthem for the likes of us... us rag tag and bobtail mob of misshapes and ne'erdowells who don't have a hard on for Public Sector cuts or doffing our caps to the boss class or smarmy 'we're all in this together' backslap

But aside from all this easy fiery 'underdog' prosetylising I love this song even more now than I did when I first heard it last summer -and feel emboldened and animated by it- for very personal reasons... my Dad died before Christmas and music has given me a great deal of solace and comfort since... this song, for example, so vividly and so perfectly encapsulates and makes crystal clear so many unnameable feelings I've been feeling and gives me a profound sense of hope and of life and of living

Apologies if that makes you embarassed or if you think that's cheap for me to mention something so personal... you don't have to have experienced a major life event to appreciate this song nor will it make things all better if you have but for me, where my head and heart are now, 'Heart Heart' is a pure shot in the arm- incadescent, iridescent, pure succour for the soul

Sometimes music means more than just background, more than just a soundtrack to your wannabe hip life, it compels you to do things (beyond just typing, what I'm doing now), to join in, participate, to keep on keeping on, music can be close to magic, it's transformative, it gives you strength, hope (and if not hope than at least a sense that you're less alone, less at odds with the universe), music can make you feel a sense of belonging

"Hardcore, hardcore! Listen to the crowd roar!

I can feel the dancefloor fill with expectation
... I can never meet"

Sorry, I can be a bit overemotional/uncool... you know, when I'm moved sufficiently