Hands Wallis Bird SKU: 4532380 Barcode: 0602445323807 21.00 £21.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Mount Silver Records Released Date: 27th May 2022 Buying Format: 2LP Out of stock Back Order Add to your Wishlist Description Product Info The front cover of Irish born, Berlin based WALLIS BIRD’s new album features a black and white photograph of a hand. A cursory look might not reveal anything unusual, but it only takes a moment to recognise it’s no ordinary hand. In the shadows there’s a stump where the little finger should be, and something seems off about the other digits too. Some will understand its significance: they’ll have seen it strumming an upside- down, right-handed guitar, picking in unorthodox style, forming unconventional chords. The hand, you see, is WALLIS BIRD’s, and it’s there because, having spent much of her life trying to exist despite its restrictions, she’s reached a point where she recognises that, in many ways, it’s always been vital to her lived reality. With this has come a realisation of “who I am, what I am, and what I don’t want.” HANDS documents her subsequent process of change, and its consequences, with typically distinctive style, making it – hands down, naturally – one of the most honest albums you’ll hear at a time when honesty is at a premium. If 2019’s exceptional Woman represented an ambitious state of the world address, HANDS – also known as NINE AND A HALF SONGS FOR NINE AND A HALF FINGERS – finds BIRD turning the spotlight onto herself, raising issues that are sometimes far harder to confront, only to emerge optimistic and whole. Among these are issues of trust, alcohol abuse, stagnation, self-censorship and self-improvement, some addressed through personal recollections of crucial moments accumulated over the last two years. Each, however, is delivered by a voice uncommonly blessed with joy, ingenuity and empathy. Where its predecessor was bathed in soul music, HANDS adapts sounds from BIRD’s early childhood. Barring the intimately confessional ‘I’ll Never Hide My Love Away’, its songs are flushed with bright colours, many familiar from the 1980s and ‘90s. Its bookends are ‘Go’, whose smooth R&B inflections provide a neat bridge from the album’s forerunner, and ‘Pretty Lies’, its euphoric conclusion powered by forty chunky chord progressions. In-between, HANDS rarely pauses. The jubilant ‘What’s Wrong With Changing’ appropriates the rhythmic discipline of Janet Jackson’s Control, Rhythm Nation 1814 and janet., and ‘I Lose Myself Completely’ revels in Trevor Horn’s work, while the grinning ‘No Pants Dance’, written after witnessing neighbours celebrating lockdown’s end, would have delighted Prince, and ‘Dreamwriting’ – “a reminder to myself of one of my most favourite memories in recent years” – is full of warmth, lyrically and musically. ‘Aquarius’ dreamy chord changes and unexpected pedal steel, meanwhile, help unleash some of the prettiest instrumental sections 2022’s likely to enjoy, and there are pensive moments, too, not least ‘The Dive’, which describes a gesture BIRD treasures as “one of the most brave and romantic memories I own” and which wields a muted trumpet and Mediterranean guitars while its melody skips along dreamily as though through a summer meadow. If the sonic palette is different, then, HANDS is still defiantly, happily WALLIS BIRD. “HANDS for me is a symbol of humanity, connection and time,” BIRD elaborates. “Humanity because, as babies, a first sign of our knowledge of existence is through our connection when we grip another human’s finger. If we don’t have hands, are we lesser humans? No. Connection, because hands represent tactility and expression, a physical language that links our imagination and our reality with each other’s. Finally, time, because some of the first examples of civilisations were hand paintings on cave walls, some of those hands missing fingers, celebrating their story of existence.” HANDS’ themes, though, are obviously personal. “At 18 months old I fell under a lawnmower and cut all my fingers off,” BIRD states simply. “Four were reconnected. One was lost. This led me to relearn how to hold things, and, when the time came, to play the guitar differently. As a toddler, I remember seeing those cave pictures and being fascinated. What happened? How painful was that? This shaped me: I wanted to draw my heart like that, to celebrate time, scars, stories and humanity on a wall where others could too.” As 2019 came to an end, BIRD found herself with time enough to reassess her relationship with her hand – and indeed herself – so decided to take a rare break. She’s released six albums since 2007, for which she’s won two Meteor Awards, Ireland’s annual music prize – mostly recently for Best Female Artist – and a prestigious 2017 German “Musikautorenpreis” (Music Author Prize), not to mention two further nominations for the Choice Music Prize, Ireland’s equivalent to Britain’s Mercury Prize. In addition, she’s racked up over a thousand shows during the past decade, earning a reputation worldwide for passionate, energetic, good-humoured concerts. She began her sabbatical by quitting alcohol, a decision at the heart of ‘I Lose Myself Completely’, and four days later, she recalls, “I went to Philipp Milner (producer / musician, Hundreds)’s house to make some music, and my world opened up like an orchid.” Subsequently, she details, the album “was recorded in fifty weeks, primarily in Philipp’s farmhouse studio in Wendland, my studio in Berlin, and Marcus Wuest’s in Sandhausen, where I’ve recorded all my albums.” HANDS was completed with ‘The Power Of A Word’, a hushed showcase for shimmering synths and a notably ethereal vocal. At the heart of the track – as with so much of HANDS – is self-examination, change and acceptance. “Up until recently,” BIRD concludes, “I simply treated my hand as something additional, not primary to my story. But, during this pandemic, when everything in my usual life was scattered, I found myself wondering ‘Who am I? What am I? What story do I leave behind?’ My story had been one of stubborn ‘I can do it just as good as anyone’, but this new chapter in my life has been about letting go of over- controlling, handing things over to others, being comfortable with my surroundings and colleagues, and knowing I’m understood. Right now, I’m a passenger, a guest in my life, because the album has been so collaborative and so out-of-bodily written, almost hypnotically. And I love it!” And it shows. So let’s see those HANDS in the air. After all, there’s a lot to celebrate here… Artist Wallis Bird Genre Rock And Pop Label Mount Silver Records Buying Options 2LP Format 2LP Condition New Country UK Track Listings Side A 1 Go 2 What's Wrong With Changing? 3 I Lose Myself Completely 4 The Power of a Word 5 Aquarius 6 F.K.K. (No Pants Dance) Side B 7 Dream Writing 8 I'll Never Hide My Love Away 9 The Dive 10 Pretty Lies Side C 1 Go (Instrumental) 2 What's Wrong With Changing? (Instrumental) 3 I Lose Myself Completely (Instrumental) 4 The Power of a Word (Instrumental) 5 Aquarius (Instrumental) 6 F.K.K. (No Pants Dance) (Instrumental) Side D 7 Dream Writing (Instrumental) 8 I'll Never Hide My Love Away (Instrumental) 9 The Dive (Instrumental) 10 Pretty Lies (Instrumental) Share this On Facebook On Twitter Via Email More from Wallis Bird and more from Rock And Pop View Product Quick View Wallis Bird Woman Soul / Funk | Mount Silver Records | 1LP Released 27th September 2019 £19.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Wallis Bird Woman £19.00 Genre: Soul / Funk Label: Mount Silver Records SKU: MSR-24 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 27th September 2019 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Olivia Dean Messy Rock And Pop | EMI | 1LP Released 30th June 2023 £26.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Olivia Dean Messy £26.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: EMI SKU: EMIV2093 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 30th June 2023 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Christine and The Queens Redcar Les Adorables Etoiles Rock And Pop | Because Music | 2LP, Coloured Vinyl Released 11th November 2022 £27.00 - £29.00 Select options Christine and The Queens Redcar Les Adorables Etoiles £27.00 - £29.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Because Music Formats: 2LP, Coloured Vinyl Released Date: 11th November 2022 Read More Select options View Product Quick View Smog Knock Knock: 20th Anniversary Reissue Rock And Pop | Drag City | 1LP Released 20th September 2019 £20.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Smog Knock Knock: 20th Anniversary Reissue £20.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Drag City SKU: DC161 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 20th September 2019 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Daphne Guinness Optimist In Black Rock And Pop | Agent Anonyme Limited | 2LP, Coloured Vinyl Released 27th May 2016 £39.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Daphne Guinness Optimist In Black £39.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Agent Anonyme Limited SKU: VAAL01 Formats: 2LP, Coloured Vinyl Released Date: 27th May 2016 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Weatherbox The Cosmic Drama Rock And Pop | Topshelf | 2LP Released 18th September 2015 £22.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Weatherbox The Cosmic Drama £22.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Topshelf SKU: TSR1241PMI Formats: 2LP Released Date: 18th September 2015 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Mark Mulcahy Dear Mark J. Mulcahy, I Love You Rock And Pop | Fire Records | 1LP Released 26th June 2013 £17.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Mark Mulcahy Dear Mark J. Mulcahy, I Love You £17.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Fire Records SKU: FIRELP332 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 26th June 2013 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Birthday Party, The Prayers On Fire Rock And Pop | Drastic Plastic | 180g, 1LP Released 23rd December 2011 £22.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Birthday Party, The Prayers On Fire £22.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Drastic Plastic SKU: DPRLP14H Formats: 180g, 1LP Released Date: 23rd December 2011 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Yello Claro Que Si Rock And Pop | UMC | 2LP Released 28th October 2022 £47.00 Add to basket Reserve View Reservations Yello Claro Que Si £47.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: UMC SKU: 4562941 Formats: 2LP Released Date: 28th October 2022 Reserve View Reservations Read More Add to basket View Product Quick View 75 Dollar Bill Wood/Metal/Plastic/Pattern/Rhythm/Rock Rock And Pop | Thin Wrist | 1LP Released 7th October 2016 £27.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders 75 Dollar Bill Wood/Metal/Plastic/Pattern/Rhythm/Rock £27.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Thin Wrist SKU: TWJ Formats: 1LP Released Date: 7th October 2016 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Red Hot Chilli Peppers Return Of The Dream Canteen Rock And Pop | Warner Records | 2LP, Coloured Vinyl, Gatefold Sleeve Released 14th October 2022 £30.00 - £36.00 Select options Reserve View Reservations Red Hot Chilli Peppers Return Of The Dream Canteen £30.00 - £36.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Warner Records Formats: 2LP, Coloured Vinyl, Gatefold Sleeve Released Date: 14th October 2022 Reserve View Reservations Read More Select options See more in Rock And Pop Start again
View Product Quick View Wallis Bird Woman Soul / Funk | Mount Silver Records | 1LP Released 27th September 2019 £19.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Wallis Bird Woman £19.00 Genre: Soul / Funk Label: Mount Silver Records SKU: MSR-24 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 27th September 2019 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders
View Product Quick View Olivia Dean Messy Rock And Pop | EMI | 1LP Released 30th June 2023 £26.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Olivia Dean Messy £26.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: EMI SKU: EMIV2093 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 30th June 2023 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders
View Product Quick View Christine and The Queens Redcar Les Adorables Etoiles Rock And Pop | Because Music | 2LP, Coloured Vinyl Released 11th November 2022 £27.00 - £29.00 Select options Christine and The Queens Redcar Les Adorables Etoiles £27.00 - £29.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Because Music Formats: 2LP, Coloured Vinyl Released Date: 11th November 2022 Read More Select options
View Product Quick View Smog Knock Knock: 20th Anniversary Reissue Rock And Pop | Drag City | 1LP Released 20th September 2019 £20.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Smog Knock Knock: 20th Anniversary Reissue £20.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Drag City SKU: DC161 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 20th September 2019 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders
View Product Quick View Daphne Guinness Optimist In Black Rock And Pop | Agent Anonyme Limited | 2LP, Coloured Vinyl Released 27th May 2016 £39.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Daphne Guinness Optimist In Black £39.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Agent Anonyme Limited SKU: VAAL01 Formats: 2LP, Coloured Vinyl Released Date: 27th May 2016 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders
View Product Quick View Weatherbox The Cosmic Drama Rock And Pop | Topshelf | 2LP Released 18th September 2015 £22.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Weatherbox The Cosmic Drama £22.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Topshelf SKU: TSR1241PMI Formats: 2LP Released Date: 18th September 2015 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders
View Product Quick View Mark Mulcahy Dear Mark J. Mulcahy, I Love You Rock And Pop | Fire Records | 1LP Released 26th June 2013 £17.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Mark Mulcahy Dear Mark J. Mulcahy, I Love You £17.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Fire Records SKU: FIRELP332 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 26th June 2013 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders
View Product Quick View Birthday Party, The Prayers On Fire Rock And Pop | Drastic Plastic | 180g, 1LP Released 23rd December 2011 £22.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Birthday Party, The Prayers On Fire £22.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Drastic Plastic SKU: DPRLP14H Formats: 180g, 1LP Released Date: 23rd December 2011 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders
View Product Quick View Yello Claro Que Si Rock And Pop | UMC | 2LP Released 28th October 2022 £47.00 Add to basket Reserve View Reservations Yello Claro Que Si £47.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: UMC SKU: 4562941 Formats: 2LP Released Date: 28th October 2022 Reserve View Reservations Read More Add to basket
View Product Quick View 75 Dollar Bill Wood/Metal/Plastic/Pattern/Rhythm/Rock Rock And Pop | Thin Wrist | 1LP Released 7th October 2016 £27.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders 75 Dollar Bill Wood/Metal/Plastic/Pattern/Rhythm/Rock £27.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Thin Wrist SKU: TWJ Formats: 1LP Released Date: 7th October 2016 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders
View Product Quick View Red Hot Chilli Peppers Return Of The Dream Canteen Rock And Pop | Warner Records | 2LP, Coloured Vinyl, Gatefold Sleeve Released 14th October 2022 £30.00 - £36.00 Select options Reserve View Reservations Red Hot Chilli Peppers Return Of The Dream Canteen £30.00 - £36.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Warner Records Formats: 2LP, Coloured Vinyl, Gatefold Sleeve Released Date: 14th October 2022 Reserve View Reservations Read More Select options