Hammer No More the Fingers
Gig Seeker Pro

Hammer No More the Fingers

Durham, North Carolina, United States | INDIE

Durham, North Carolina, United States | INDIE
Band Rock Alternative

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Brooklyn Rocks"

Hammer No More The Fingers wrote their second LP, Black Shark, while playing over two hundred dates over the past two years in support of their debut full-length, Looking For Bruce. Again working with acclaimed producer J. Robbins (Jawbox, Burning Airlines) Hammer effortlessly mixes precise instrumental sparring with buoyant choruses and beautiful harmonies, rendering a more mature work that still retains the youthful quirks and charm that they’ve had since they were youngsters playing in the soil. Bryan Reed of the Columbia Free Times says Black Shark “boasts a smoother, more spacious and more arena-ready sound than its predecessors. It’s loaded with whip-smart hooks, the best melodic phrasings the band has yet put to tape.” - Brooklyn Rocks


"2011 Aquarium Drunkard Year in Review List"

Honing the exact playing of bands like Faraquet and the Dismemberment Plan, Hammer No More the Fingers created a classic sounding yet forward looking record. The album’s ten songs clock in at just under 35 minutes and provide engaging riff after lead after singing line. It’s a record of instant and long-term enjoyment. - Aquarium Drunkard


"Still Reeling"

Hammer No More the Fingers, oh, another long-ass silly name. But this gets shortened in many ways, to HNMTF, Hammer, Hammer No More, etc. These guys have been playing together for almost half their lives, and it shows. The guitar playing of Joe Hall is impeccable, his oddly, but so right chord progressions are never covered up by over-distorted pedal effects, just clean beautiful guitar notes. His huge hands look like spiders climbing up and down the neck, making it look easy. The tone is full and complements the melodic bass lines perfectly. Duncan's bass lines are both rhythmic, and catchy melodically, weaving together addictive fun pop songs with a rough crunchy edge. And this is all held together with the confident strong even drumming of Jeff Stickley, smiling wide the whole time. These guys create a perfect musical balance. Their performance is infectious, with the entire crowd singing along, jumping up and down. I felt the floor moving below me, and momentary concern that the Duke Coffeehouse might actually collapse. Joe contorts and bends so far backwards at times, it looks like he might hit the back of his head on the stage. They threw blown up rubber gloves at the audience, and these hands and fingers bounced overhead through the songs. After a rousing set, the boys of Hammer left the stage, and moved mid-floor with the audience for an acoustic version of "Concrete", with the entire audience joining in for the chorus.

Hats off to Hammer, they have created a giant momentum, and I expect to see them launched nationally over the next year. Don't miss their upcoming shows - no doubt they will not be playing these smaller, more intimate venues for long. Catch them while you can.

http://wallflync.blogspot.com/2007/11/still-reeling.html
- wallflync.blogspot.com


"SXSW 2010 Standout"

The weather was perfect and spring-like for the first three days of South By Southwest. But Saturday (the first day of spring, ironically enough) turned cold and blustery as a front blew in. Wind-chill temperatures plummeted down to the vicinity of freezing, turning every outdoor show into an adventure. So it was that Hammer No More the Fingers found itself battling the elements in an open-air club at dusk. It was the North Carolina indie-rock trio’s first time in Austin, and they’d kept busy with gigs at a series of parties. The group’s “official” showcase would be its last before heading home, so Joe Hall put his last set of strings on his guitar right before the show.

All was well with the group’s jittery, push-pull hooks bouncing across Jeff Stickey’s drumming — until the fifth song, “Nitro,” when Hall broke the high-E string on his guitar. He had no replacement. So the band muddled through two more songs before calling it quits, 15 minutes short of their allotted 40 minutes. “I guess the cold weather must’ve done it,” Hall sighed afterward. “That just never happens. Strings are usually good for at least five or six shows before anything busts. It was pretty random and unfortunate, but we got through it all right.” Immediately after the show, the band bid farewell to the 30 or so people in attendance, packed up, hit the road and drove 22 straight hours back home.
- New York Times


"LP Review in Rock Sound Magazine UK"

Hammer No More The Fingers are a new band made up of old, old friends. The trio spent years knocking around in local bands and the shared memory of practice, gigs, writing and hanging around has clearly helped shape this savvy, witty and sharp debut album of indie rock gems. ‘Looking For Bruce’ plays like an old friend, it is lo-fi without being pretentious, sharp without being elitist and hooky without sounding dumb. A solid set of songs made better by the guiding hand of producer and all around legend J Robbins, Hammer No More The Fingers are a new band worth their weight in hype.
For fans of: We Are Scientists, Archers Of Loaf, Minus The Bear

Andrew Kelham - Rock Sound Magazine


"Spin.com 25 Must-Hear Artists of CMJ"

HAMMER NO MORE THE FINGERS

Hometown: Durham, NC
Sounds like: It makes us feel old to say it, but this power trio is a throwback to '90s college rock -- great guitar hooks, fuzzy riffs, and easy-to-remember choruses.
Recommended if you like: Weezer, Superchunk
You should know: The guys have been friends since age 10, when they formed their first band and played all originals, save for one Archers of Loaf cover.

LISTEN: Hammer No More The Fingers, "Radiation"


10.23.09 6:12 AM
- Spin.com


"10 NC Bands You Should Hear Right Now: EAR FARM"

Hammer No More The Fingers have already gotten their due. No need to tell anyone about this band; I mean, surely any band hyped as a Band to Watch by Stereogum in 2008 is already either past their prime, headlining festivals, retired and rich, or all three… right? Such is the bizarrely insular world of indie-rock fandom these days, where people mistake burgeoning press on a couple of music blogs as “making it big.” Well, Hammer No More The Fingers has gotten some attention from the right places, but for the majority of the listening public outside of North Carolina they’re still largely unknown. A crime of musical oversight, if you ask us. The beauty is that there’s still ample opportunity to get with it: Hammer No More The Fingers just released their debut LP Looking For Bruce this year and are touring the Southeast in support of it. If there’s another modern band from the Triangle that fits more perfectly into the family tree of Chapel Hill indie-rock history, we don’t know them. - earfarm.com


"Interview w/ HNMTF Destroy Before Reading"

North Carolina’s Hammer No More The Fingers have been credited with revitalising the Chapel Hill glory days when Polvo and Archers of Loaf reigned supreme. They are currently touring their J. Robins (him of Jawbox) produced debut “Looking for Bruce” but were kind enough to find time in their busy schedule to talk to Andy Maddison about their eagerly awaited debut and more…

Andy: The North Carolina area has a long and impressive musical history, are all of the band members local and why do you think it is that this particular area is so musically fertile?

HNMTF: Jeff, Joe, and I are all from Durham, NC. Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh make up the “Triangle” region of NC. Durham has always been known as the gritty, blue collar step brother to Raleigh and Chapel Hill. Raleigh is the big city, more conservative, but getting hipper everyday. Chapel Hill is the smaller college town with a big indie music scene. Durham is really coming into it’s own though. There are a lot of bands and music venues opening up in the area. I think one of the reasons this area is so musically fertile is because all three cities have large universities. Kids come from all over the country. There are a lot of transplants from New York and California. Many students just stay here after they graduate. Almost everyone plays an instrument, runs a venue or a label, or is a big time show goer. All three universities have great radio stations. WKNC 88.1 at NC State (Raleigh) is very proactive in the local music scene. I think the DJ’s are required to play a certain number or local music on the air per day. UNC (Chapel Hill) has a student paper called Diversions, which promotes local music like no other. WKNC and Diversions work together on a lot of projects. Durham is the city where a lot of younger artsy people move, because Raleigh and Chapel Hill have become fairly expensive. But all three cities work together to make one big scene. It’s an exciting place to be for music and art

For those not familiar with the sound of HNMTF, how would you best describe it and what are your influences?

I think our sound is reminiscent of the early days of Chapel Hill indie rock. Bands like Archers of Loaf and Superchunk are big influences. As are Pixies, They Might Be Giants, Deerhoof, Outkast, Foo Fighters, etc. We’re a three piece; guitar, bass, and drums. We try to make the backbeat as steady, punchy, and funky as can be. Then the guitar and vocals takeover the melody. Sometimes we get intricate, and sometimes we keep it simple. Sometimes we’re energetic, and sometimes we’re spacey. But basically we write three minute pop punk songs. It’s the Hammer version of pop, whatever that is…



You recently played with Superchunk at The Cats Cradle in Carrboro, how was that?

Opening for Superchunk was a blast. Probably my favorite show of the year. We practiced our asses off. They were on fire. They tore through their set, oldies and newies, and ended up playing three encores. They’re the nicest people too. I hadn’t seen them live in years before that. It was so cool to open for them at their home base, The Cat’s Cradle. Definitely an experience for us.

Your latest release ‘Looking For Bruce’ is packed with abstract, off the wall songs with titles such as ‘Mushrooms’, ‘Concrete’ and ‘Automobiles’. Who writes the songs and where does the inspiration come from?

All three of us write the songs in some form. Joe will write the music for a verse. I’ll write the music for a chorus, or vice versa. Jeff will determine the speed and feel of the overall song. We definitely piece together the songs in band practice. We’ll jam on one part for hours until it starts sounding right. Then we’ll jam on the next part, and try to piece everything together. Sometimes it works beautifully, and sometimes it doesn’t work at all. Then it’s back to the drawing board. We’ll play a song live long before it’s complete, just to figure out what we need to change. I’m usually the main lyric writer. Jeff and Joe have a lot of input though. I usually just write about anything that I’ve been reading about or hear on the radio. The song “Radiation” is about a girl who rides her motorcycle through Chernobyl. I went through a big “urban decay” phase; “Automobiles” is about dying Detroit, “Fall Down, Play Dead” is about homeless people in LA, “Concrete” is about a homeless friend of ours in Durham. I went through a big John Lennon phase as well, the lyrics to “Poison Apple” are about him. “Mushrooms” is definitely about mushrooms. I try not to write about girls, although occasionally I have to. Maybe I should keep all this a secret though.



In the current musical climate and with the style of music the band plays, do you sometimes feel that HNMTF are swimming against the tide a little?

As far as local shows go, it couldn’t be better. This is a great area to be a band. We definitely feel like we’re swimming against the tide of musical trends though. You just don’t - destroybeforereading.com


"LP Review on the Fire Note"

Hammer No More The Fingers hail from Durham, NC, and on their debut, Looking For Bruce, the trio showoff what some early hype has been all about. HNMTF have a solid driving angular rock that is simple and clear, as the trio knows when to speed up and when to slow down. Looking For Bruce was recorded with J Robbins (Jawbox, Burning Airlines), which was the perfect choice considering the bands style and with one quick listen you will agree. HNMTF do possess pop sensibilities that immediately grab you, while they have hard edged riffs and slower rhythmic shifts that combine with precision killer melodies and will keep your feet tapping all the way through!

Key Track: "Shutterbug"

Band With Similar Fire: The Dismemberment Plan
- thefirenote.blogspot.com


"Hammer On"

Hammer No More The Fingers' CD release party at Duke Coffeehouse Saturday night stands as one of local music's best moments this year. A perfectly executed four-band bill with consistent energy and an eager shock of fans from start to finish, Saturday night's show left an overflowing coffeehouse covered in sweat and smiles. The Future Kings of Nowhere managed to get the crowd going before Red Collar hit the stage, pushing its usual regimen of kinetics - speaker climbers, crowd surfers, audience singers - to the limit without stealing the bill from its celebratory Power Team Records labelmates. Hammer's fan base proved itself a devoted one, recognizing songs from the first few chords and cheering loudly, but singing louder. Hammer's next-generation Triangle rock was preternaturally tight, locked rhythms popping hard beneath Joe Hall's guitar crackle.

-Grayson Currin - Independent Weekly


"Came to do it - HNMTF EP Review"

Growing up in the Triangle in the 1990s is a sure-fire way to imbibe more than enough indie rock to influence the outcome of any musical endeavors you might embark on. It certainly seems to have worked for Hammer No More The Fingers. On its self-titled debut, the trio of Triangle natives, channels indie rock forbears, but without ever feeling like a rehash. Instead the record sounds more as if it could have been a Merge or SST release some 15 years ago — one of the ones that retains its relevance even to today.

Wayward guitar lines craft melodies that travel in unexpected directions, that create an off-kilter catchiness unique to Hammer. The band’s songs, which range in topics from work and isolation to sex and drugs, dart in and out of listeners’ expectations shifting in dynamics to create variation within standard song structures.

The EP is the type of record that is immediately catchy and memorable in its uniqueness, but offers recurring rewards as the songs become more and more familiar.

-Bryan Reed - The Daily Tar Heel - Diversions


"The Triangle's best songs of 2007"

Hammer No More the Fingers, "O.R.G.Y."

Durham's Hammer No More The Fingers serve up Sloppy Joe power pop all over their self-titled debut, but "O.R.G.Y" is the noticeable standout. Loaded with noodly, slipshod verses and one hell of an earworming chorus, it's maybe the most anthemic song born in the Triangle this year. A lot like all of the record's high-points, this one is smartly penned, rambunctious and emphatic. But the falsetto twirks in the sing-along section are like silver slippers, some real this-is-exactly-how-this-band-should-sound stuff. It's incredibly easy to forget that this time last year Hammer didn't really exist.

-Robbie Mackey - Independent Weekly


"Dive Picks: 2007's best EPs"

Good things come in small packages - including some of the best songs a year has to offer. This baker's Top 10 of fun-size records all are well worth the listen.

Hammer No More The Fingers: indie rock

Whether you're listening to the sarcastic revery of "O.R.G.Y." or the poignant goodbye of "Bossman" HNMTF hits hard with a sound that kicks you in the gut and makes sure you know what hit you. - Daily Tar Heel - Diversions


"BAND TO WATCH"

We heard some members of the Durham/Chapel Hill trio Hammer No More The Fingers have been playing together since they were ten -- circa 1994, reportedly rocking all originals minus an Archers Of Loaf cover. If you do the math, that puts them in their earlier twenties and currently making '90s-sounding NC indie rock that evokes the Archers in some sense, but has shades of various sorts merging in the mix. Their self-titled debut EP came out on Power Team in in mid-November -- after the jump we have two standouts from it: "Fall Down, Play Dead" and "Vodka Grasshopper" -- and they're planning to record a full-length in May with J. Robbins. Guitarist/vocalist Joe Hall, vocalist/bassist Duncan Webster, and drummer Jeff "Stick" Stickley already create a big sound for three, so we're intrigued to see what happens under Robbins's watch. (As an aside, man Jawbox were great.)

See the simple energy at "Fall Down, Play Dead"'s close? That's what we're talking about: College rock in that best old-school, early '90s sense, though it goes some place else with it, too. - STEREOGUM.com


Discography

"Black Shark" - LP
April 5th, 2011, Churchkey Records
April 5th, 2011, Inhaler Records (UK)

"HNMTF vs Voo" - 4 song split
February 7th, 2011, Inhaler Records

"Looking For Bruce" - LP
April 7th, 2009, Churchkey Records
February 2nd, 2010, Inhaler Records (UK)

Selft Titled 7 Song EP on Power Team Records
Release Date - November 13, 2007

Photos

Bio

Pink is the worm of the night that moves up through the drain, into your brain. Catchy and fun at the base level, Hammer No More the Fingers' music grows more interesting and intricate after each listen.

There is no neatly packaged description for Hammer’s sound. You could shoehorn them into a 90s indie rock revival thing, but it’s a little like putting a squid in a sweater. Perhaps the fact that Joe Hall, Jeff Stickley and Duncan Webster have been playing music together since 1994 conjures nostalgic feelings of a sound developed and perfected over the past two decades. Hammer is a continually developing exploration of the music these guys were born to create.

Recorded in the Durham home of Jay Murphy, the 2007 self-titled EP catapulted Hammer into the Triangle music scene. After touring the release, the band received national recognition, most notably as a Stereogum Band to Watch. The band took their next batch of material to producer J Robbins to create their first LP, Looking for Bruce. Working with one of their heroes proved to be a defining moment for the band. J Robbins has fronted and produced many bands that were huge influences during their formative years. Hammer returned to work with him in 2010 to record Black Shark, their most recent full-length release. The second LP explored the use of strings and keys, adding a new dimension to Hammer’s ever-evolving sound. Touring both releases extensively in the US and UK, Hammer has found a growing population of die-hard fans.

Recently, the guys have explored side projects and solo work, revealing a new sense of purpose. The projects have inspired each member to bring more eclectic ideas to the table, creating an endless well of material. Hammer just recorded a 5-song EP with Black Mountain honey bear BJ Burton of The Love Language. They took a more stripped down approach to this recording, revisiting their enthusiastic beginnings of jumping around on couches during marathon practices. As always, the band’s favorite album is the one they’re working on.

- 2011 Aquarium Drunkard Year in Review List
- New York Times 'Standout' at SXSW 2010
- Spin 'Must See Artist' at 2009 CMJ
- Stereogum 'Band to Watch' 2008

- - - - - - - - - - -

Quotes from the Press:

"Honing the exact playing of bands like Faraquet and the Dismemberment Plan, Hammer No More the Fingers created a classic sounding yet forward looking record. The album’s ten songs clock in at just under 35 minutes and provide engaging riff after lead after singing line. It’s a record of instant and long-term enjoyment."
-Aquarium Drunkard

“The hooks and harmonies of Hammer No More the Fingers are one thing, but the way the trio writhes around crazy chords and builds from inventive bridges to addictive choruses puts them alongside Oxford Collapse or No Age - that is, in the upper echelon of young, essential indie rock.” --Grayson Currin

"It makes us feel old to say it, but this power trio is a throwback to '90s college rock -- great guitar hooks, fuzzy riffs, and easy-to-remember choruses."
- spin.com - 25 Must-Hear Artists from the CMJ Festival (2009)

"See the simple energy at "Fall Down, Play Dead"'s close? That's what we're talking about: College rock in that best old-school, early '90s sense, though it goes some place else with it, too."
- Stereogum.com - Band To Watch

"Hammer No More The Fingers' CD release party at Duke Coffeehouse stands as one of local music's best moments this year."
- Independent Weekly

"Think Pixies, Pavement and Polvo, and you're in the general neighborhood. It's unabashedly retro, but the songs are way too catchy and fun to be dismissed as mere nostalgia or tribute-like."
- Creative Loafing - Charlotte

"Surrounded by the crowd, the band seemed almost like prophets revealing some hidden truth to its audience. It was an incredibly intimate moment and perfect ending to the best show I've seen all year."
- The Daily Tar Heel

"Durham's Hammer No More The Fingers serve up Sloppy Joe power pop all over their self-titled debut, but "O.R.G.Y" is the noticeable standout. Loaded with noodly, slipshod verses and one hell of an earworming chorus, it's maybe the most anthemic song born in the Triangle this year."
- Independent Weekly

"Their sound is just straight up indie rock that's laced with energy and dipped in a vat of pure catchiness."
- sideonetrackone.com

"These guys create a perfect musical balance. Their performance is infectious, with the entire crowd singing along, jumping up and down. I felt the floor moving below me, and momentary concern that the Duke Coffeehouse might actually collapse."
- wallflync.blogspot.com