Vampire Hands “Hannah in the Mansion” Review

With its opening slot on Wavves’ recent nationwide tour, Vampire Hands soared to the front of the pack in terms of becoming Minneapolis’ next “breakout” act. Now with its third full length album, Hannah in the Mansion, the band has refined its sound and has adapted its tribal psychedelic rock for a much wider audience.

The album begins with a short song titled “Snakes” that is both spooky and psychedelic. Like a soundtrack to a demented fun house, the music washes in and out with sporadic drumming and distant vocals. The song meshes nicely into darkly hypnotic “Eight Legs.” With vocals rising and falling alongside a melodic guitar line, the song builds as a marching snare beat is added to the mix part way through. The pace quickens for “No Joy,” which finds the band mixing some pulsing bass with some frantic drumming. The music, which sounds like a jeep ride through the desert on peyote, is mixed with chanting vocals that speak of “going out west.” The song melts into a re-working of one of the band’s older songs, “Me and You Cherry Red.” The track hearkens back to the band’s more krautrock-ish sounding songs found on its first two discs. Driven by the band’s duel percussion sound, “Cherry Red” is a shining example of how explosive Vampire Hands can be. “Bodies Alone” follows, finding the band taking a complete left turn with the mellow acoustic track. Its summery vocals are matched by guitar lines that sound like they were recorded underwater—a good example of the new sound the band has developed for this record. While it didn’t hit me instantly, the hazier, less in-your-face sound shows how the band has adapted its sound over the last few years.

[uncredited live shot via MySpace]

Things speed up slightly with the mid-tempo “In America,” before slowing down again “Invisible Stars.” While Vampire Hands’ sound is definitely more of a textured product, there are times on the record—and live—when the band’s vocals get buried a little too deep beneath the music; “Invisible Stars” finally finds the vocals being elevated in the mix however. The group goes back to a slower, more droning sound with “Annie” before speeding things up with the album’s closer “Funny Stories.” The song, with clunking keyboards and propulsive guitar lines, is as close to a pop song as the band may ever create, and is closes the album nicely.

The change in the band’s sound should not come as a surprise to fans who have been following Vampire Hands over the past year. Where in years gone by the band has been a loose and wild live outfit, in the last year or so Vampire Hands has developed a hazy (albeit more polished), restrained sound. At first this change left me missing the band’s more frantic work from previous albums, but over time it has grown on me. The album has a dark and mesmerizing feel that is enthralling and consuming (especially in headphones). While it may take a little longer to completely soak in, the results are seemingly well worth that wait as Vampire Hands continues to build on its strengths and evolve with Hannah in the Mansion.

Purchase | MySpace

Also: Interview with Colin Johnson of Vampire Hands