New Zealand’s acclaimed indie pop-punk band Cut Off Your Hands have announced the release of their much anticipated second album Hollow; produced by former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, which is released on 15th July. After a two year hiatus following a gruelling set of tours across the US, UK and Australia – including appearances at St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival in 2009 – the band are back with the successor to 2008’s You & I. Front man Nick Johnston says “Our first record was pretty eclectic, both lyrically and sonically…we were unsure of what we wanted to achieve with it, so we needed a producer like [former Suede guitarist] Bernard [Butler] to tie it all together. With Hollow, we knew exactly what we wanted to achieve.”
The record references 60s artists like The Byrds and Bob Dylan, as well as 80s Kiwi heroes The Bats and Bird Nest Roys. The band have cocked it down a notch sonically, leaving their “speaker-bludgeoning, post-punk tendencies” at the door and replacing them with a more nuanced, dynamic sound, heading down the power pop road with “jangly guitars and a driving pulse – it’s not all moping and moaning”, Johnston says.
The band are heading out on a short East Coast tour in anticipation of the release of Hollow, before they head up to Woodfordia to play the Splendour In The Grass Festival.
CUT OFF YOUR HANDS EAST COAST TOUR 2011:
Brisbane: 16th June @ Alhambra
Sydney: 17th June @ The Gaelic
Melbourne: 18th June @ Northcote Social Club
Woodford: 29th Jul @ Splendour In The Grass
