I Am Not Lefthanded
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I Am Not Lefthanded

Dublin, Leinster, Ireland | SELF

Dublin, Leinster, Ireland | SELF
Band Alternative Rock

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"iCon Recommended"

"A band to watch in 2009" - Cathal Funge, iCon, PhantomFM


"Dedicated single review"

I am not lefthanded have obvious alt-country leanings; Dedicated also has a fantastically dark Mazzy Star feel to it though and it's certainly surprising and very welcome to hear some beautiful female vocals on an Irish record. Aside from the Tycho Brahe and Playground Psychotic, female vocals tend to be under-utilised by Irish bands, but fortunately I am not lefthanded seem to have found themselves a very talented temptress in the form of Kathryn Williams.

Closing track Rooftops in the Rain is the highlight, and midway through it changes from a tightly knit understated lament to a delicately melodic, almost upbeat chorus as the male vocals (which incidentally could be used more generously perhaps, I am not lefthanded seem to have stolen half the gifted vocalists in Ireland!) add balance to the warmth of Kathryn Williams' voice. I am not lefthanded might benefit from adding some different textures to the music at times, but otherwise Dedicated is a very promising single.

Review written by Michelle Dalton


- eclectichoney.com


"Losing Today Review"

Another of those rare things that at only five seconds in you know instantly your going to fall headlong in love with, the bitter sweet cruise controlled drive timing
Persuade Yourself smoulders its way into your affections in a way that these days only Kirsten Hersh manages to do.

I am not lefthanded which incidentally I am - are a young London based trio who whilst at school cottoned on fast to the worthiness of turning up to Chemistry lessons because what they don't know about the art of slight of hand pop alchemy probably isn't worth knowing.

Five quietly alluring gems feature here - a feast of gently caressing intertwining pastoral chimes that weave succulent hypnotic mosaics all the time enriched by a meltingly breezy and nimble folk pop lilt, emotionally tugging and soft to the touch, these achingly faraway stone rippling beauties are all at once passive and passionate recalling elements of a youthful Suzanne Vega and less obviously Judie Tzuke.

Each cut here listened in order betters the last from the skipping subtle stateside Californian buzz of the tigerish Rushing to the reflective and mellowing Endline - Choose Nothing though for us Dedicated frantically pushes the buttons leaving you swooning in its immeasurably beautified winter cast. - www.losingtoday.com


"Bull and Gate gig of the month Aug07"

When a simple musical idea is done exceptionally well it instantly leaves the dabblers and wannabes in the shade. I am not left handed does just that - effortlessly, gracefully and with an indisputable beauty. An absolutely flawless, touching, rich chocolate sauce voice over not much more than a well seasoned guitar or piano, no battling elements here just a smooth natural flow with touches of the gentle confident styles of Suzanne Vega, Natalie Merchant and Joni Mitchell - bullandgate.co.uk


"Low Slung Podcast featured song"

Next up I'm going to play you a trio who go by the name of I am not lefthanded, with a song that exudes an undeniably warm glow, and it's called Endline and it's a really, really special tune... I'm not normally into making comparisons really, but it's got a certain something about it, a certain spark which reminds me of the early stuff by bands like jj72 and Mazzy Star, it's definitely very uplifting - Charlie Ashcroft


"Long Goodbyes Review"

I'm finding it very hard right now to find songs that fit. The ones that pull me are creased through with darkness - like love letters powdered black, they leave a fine, smudged residue that mottles my face and hands. I'm doing fine, but my listening material betrays me with ash on my fingers. It streaks through whatever I touch. I'm surprised, too, by the blackness.

While it lasts, it lasts. Songs like 'Long Goodbyes' bring me back again. The song invites the bleakness in, then pours it out again, filtered in fight and colour.

The power and pain is still there, but it feels more bearable, something transformed. It is knuckle straining against skin, a whitened face in a pool of light. It takes all that emotion, gripped so tightly, and casts it into the sky. All that is grit and grain becomes soft earth once more, scattering gently as it falls. Line by line, the song has ground it down, until the emotion itself is grounded: safe now, earthed, returned to loam. Earth to earth, and ashes on my fingers no more.

A song to hold to yourself, to sing to the north-east wind until the dust is out of your eyes. - www.fabulist.org


"I Am Not Lefthanded - Yes Means No Review"

The debut LP from the mainly Irish, London-based three-piece I Am Not Lefthanded is brimming with infectious and irresistible songs that instantly bury themselves in your head, pushing their melodic roots all the way into your brain and effortlessly flourishing. Effective and lullaby-like piano melodies are carefully structured around simple and honest guitar-based compositions that draw you in with their soulful and uplifting reassurance. Honey smooth and yearning vocals, courtesy of Kathryn Williams, trickle over proceedings and drench them in a lyrical wonderment. From the opening track ‘Long Goodbyes’, with its nudging bass and spritely sing-along chorus, to the rumbling anthemic crescendos of ‘Boatsbutnottheocean’, there are few tracks on this all-too-brief collection that fail to chill the spine and warm the soul, much like a more low-key and intimate Snow Patrol might do. An album to usher in the lighter nights with. - Alternative Ulster Magazine


"Live Review: I Am Not Lefthanded"

The mainly Irish, London-based three-piece I Am Not Lefthanded finally took to the stage in what seemed like an all-too brief evening of sublime music. Exhibiting a warm and engaging stage presence, singer Kathryn Williams and bassist Daniel Frazer shared anecdotes and good-natured banter with one another and the audience, and this went some way to making a collection of already deeply personal songs, that little bit more so. Awash with catchy, sparklingly irresistible compositions, I Am Not Lefthanded performed a collection of the kind of uplifting and melodically soulful songs they are fast becoming famed for.

Opening with the illuminating and chiming 'Endline (Choose Nothing)', the tone of the remainder of the night was set: quietly resplendent, self-assured and shimmering sweet pop tunes. Highlights included the jangling 'Long Goodbyes', the bass-heavy 'The Place That Won't Take Me Back', and the delicately sobering but beautiful 'Lifelines' - a raw and discreet subversion of the usual 'break-up song'.

The band closed with the appropriately anthemic and uplifting crescendo of an updated version of 'Boatsbutnottheocean', with its rippling piano, shimmering guitars and a welcome extended segment of increasingly pounding drums; ensuring shivers whispered down the spines of all those present. An acapella rendition of Deathcab for Cutie's 'I Will Follow You Into The Dark' did just that, as the night came to an end and the audience began to trickle out into the balmy night with the sounds of the impending summer still ringing irresistibly in their ears.
- BBC.co.uk


"Talented Three-Piece on the Rise"

A unique and endearing sound that is as gripping and emotional as it is sparkling and uplifting - you won’t be help to yourself from falling under their captivating spell. - Limerick Independent


"EP Review: I Am Not Lefthanded"

They have a great understated, delicate honesty to their approach to a song. Beautifully arranged, leaving each instrument room to breathe. A pitch perfect offering - it makes for simply great post grungy music that I think is very rare nowadays - The Mutation


Discography

2008 Yes Means No released on Letterbox Records, with tracks Long Goodbyes and Persuade Yourself played on 6music, Xfm and NuSound Radio in London, Original 106FM in Aberdeen and PhantomFM in Dublin, as well as extensive podcast play and blog reviews.

2010 Time To Leave released on Rhinosaur Records. Received coverage on music blogs across Ireland and Europe and radio play on BBC Radio Ulster, PhantomFM, 2FM, FlirtFM, Dublin South FM, Live95FM, Dublin City FM, WLR FM, played on Podcasts across the world Ireland to Germany to Texas to Australia, with laudatory reviews from several music blogs, culminating in IANL being named as number 6 in Ireland's top 50 bands by one of Ireland's most prolific music writers:

http://2uibestow.blogspot.com/2010/04/top-50-irish-acts-part-5-1-10.html

Currently recording their debut full-length with $11,000 raised through fan-funding website SliceThePie.com

Photos

Bio

Fiercely independent, mostly-Irish three-piece, I Am Not Lefthanded are known for their homemade, quirky videos as much as their lyrical, evocative music. Described as sounding like ‘Natalie Merchant fronting Death Cab for Cutie’, they’ve toured around the US, the UK and Ireland alone and as special guests for Irish and English luminaries such as Duke Special, The Rumble Strips and The Answering Machine.

Kathryn (from Ballina, vocals, guitar, piano) and Daniel (from Belfast, vocals, bass) met in Dublin in 2000, while playing in several different bands, separately and together. After a stint in California, Kathryn moved to London where Daniel was living and they started playing together again. Recruiting former All About Eve drummer, Benji (from Cornwall), the trio have been playing as I Am Not Lefthanded since 2006.

2010 saw them release their sophomore EP, Time To Leave, 5 songs of swift exits, burnt bridges and mended hearts, with extensive Irish touring, earning them effusive praise online and in print and receiving radio play across Ireland (BBC Radio Ulster, PhantomFM, 2FM, FlirtFM, Dublin South FM, Live95FM, Dublin City FM, WLR FM). In September, they headed to the US for a 15-date tour across 10 states, making new friends and picking up new recipes along the way.

The band also partnered with fan-funding website SliceThePie.com and raised $11,000 to record their debut album. They're currently holed up in the English countryside and are writing and recording it now, expecting to release it into the wild early 2012.