Danny Handes
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Music
Press
If you're of
a certain age then perhaps you are looking for something that will your
interest in modern music. Perhaps something that will end your need to
keep buying reissues of albums that you've already got. Something like
these songs by Canadian Danny Handes.
Classic rock song writing underpins things here. Sure, there are
elements of folk and a pleasing psychedelic undercurrent to some of the
songs - like "Fast As You Can" but the themes of the songs continually
remind us that there is a rock musician hiding underneath it all. Not a
modern rock musician - now there's a sad breed - but a classic rock
musician in the seventies style. The songs sound big and grandiose and
Danny Handes shows a suitably strong emphasis on melody and harmony to
reinforce that feeling. "Hearts Again", for example, sounds rounded and
smooth like a track from a Journey album. Best track is the mournful
yet elegant "Long Road".
You can tell a lot of work has gone into this release. Even though
Danny Handes does most everything musical here, he manages to avoid
making things sound like an escaped demo. There is certainly promise
here. All Danny Handes needs to do is rough it up a bit and convince us
that he can actually sweat. - BluesBunny.com
Discography
The Asterisk Eye 2009
Photos
Bio
Danny Handes is a singer songwriter from Toronto, Canada. The debut album "The Asterisk Eye" is the result of months of recording sessions and writing. After playing hundreds of shows in other bands in the past, the itch to make a more intimate album was ready to be scratched. The idea for the album was to make a simple group of songs using basic instrumentation and minimal percussion. Although not every song on "The Asterisk Eye" sticks to this formula, the bare essentials idea was the theme throughout the recording process. All sounds except for the drums on "Little Dog" were performed by Danny Handes. Not having access to a drum set, the percussion mainly consists of boxes, brushes, shakers, tambourines, and even knitting needles. The album contains everything from hard country to psychedelic instrumentals. It also contains a version of the seldom heard Ramones track "Questioningly", complete with Beach Boys style harmonies. "Hearts Again" features a pulsating beat and driving acoustic guitars set to lyrics inspired by a real life letter read on the evening news by a person trying to locate a missing loved one. Definitely an album meant to be heard on headphones, Danny Handes "The Asterisk Eye" is sure to please anyone who craves melody and sonic sound rolled into one.
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