Smooth Hands Drop Debut Album ‘Smooth Hands’
Photo Credit: Ben Kessel
Phoenix-based funk-rock group, Smooth Hands, have released their self-titled debut record, Smooth Hands, on July 31st, 2021. The group released three singles, “A Love So Easy (feat. Lofty Lyn)”, “Butt Rock”, and “Lies” prior to the release of the debut. The singles prove as great taste-testers to the rest of the album, bringing hypnotic, and often energetically unabating, melodies to indulge.
First single, “A Love So Easy (feat. Lofty Lyn)” fades in with a mesmerizing guitar line, accompanied with confident, cool vocals from James Halley marching the song along, ending with a vibrato-heavy psychedelic-esque guitar solo to wrap it up. The second single, “Butt Rock”, flaunts an up-beat, groovy tune that picks up speed, slows down for a breakdown, picks back up, and cools back down back and forth, keeping the listener on edge for what the next section may bring. The third single, “Lies”, fittingly begins with an emotional, distant-sounding guitar line that transforms into a colorful tune, with synth additions and a captivating drum beat by Mario Castillo, guiding the song through its mountains and rivers of song progression.
On Band Camp, Smooth Hands share their experience making debut album Smooth Hands:
“This whole album has been a huge DIY project for us. It was recorded in a shed we sometimes call "Desert Cove Studios" aka Tony's house. A bulk of the recording was done during the summer of 2020. We had a lot of tough days recording drum tracks in the heated shed that only has one little AC unit. Tony and I (James) acted as producers and mixers for this album. We set dem mics up and mixed those songs. It was our first time working together as a mixing team and it was super fun. We spent many long days mixing and remixing our songs over and over again. Mario being our fresh set of ears, helped to keep us from getting too wild with our mixes and gave us much-needed critique. This album is also the Fourth Finger's (aka Lenny Calamari or just AJ) first time doing recording for Smooth Hands.”
In the midst of the debut album release, Smooth Hands have been healthily active with the rock scene in Phoenix, promoting efforts with other local bands such as George Washingtub, Vintage Clothes, and Pop Icons. The group has announced venue shows indoors, to even jamming in impromptu venues set in backyards, with their latest gig taking place at Chopper John’s in Phoenix on Sep. 27th. They will be playing alongside Pop Icon to support the group Church Girls, traveling from Philadelphia for the show.
Smooth Hands Tracklist:
1. Dirty Breakdown
2. A Love So Easy (feat. Lofty Lyn)
3. Good Song Never Dies
4. Lies
5. I Wanna Yell
6. Nature is Nurture
7. Butt Rock
8. P-diddy
9. Give Me Strength (feat. Vella Sounds)
10. Fill it In
11. I'm So Sick
Give the self-titled album Smooth Hands by Smooth Hands a listen by clicking HERE!
Stay in touch through their social media for more updates and future releases!
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