Taking its inspiration from the rowdy, gaudy variety shows of the 60s and 70s, the inaugural “Amateur Hour, Variety Hour” features rock band Invisible Hand, funk band No BS! Brass Band, and popular folk/jazz singer-songwriter Devon Sproule in short sets, followed by painfully investigative interviews and interspersed with experimental sketch comedy segments.
Watch the “Amateur Hour, Variety Hour” auditions here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci9YsRTkg4M.
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More About Invisible Hand
Adam Smith and his Invisible Hand have been producing some of the best punk-laced pop gems to come out of Charlottesville, VA for the past four years. Musically, the band cites influences from decades past, including Velvet Underground, The Box Tops and The Kinks. With big choruses and fretboard theatrics, Invisible Hand is more reminiscent of Born To Quit-era Smoking Popes coupled with the calm, collected lyrical desperation of The Wrens.
Standout tracks include “There’s Room In My Will,” (MP3) which could of easily have been left on the cutting room floor during The Replacements looser glory days and the lumbering haze of “Coy Trap” (MP3) which feels like it could fall apart at any moment amidst a mountain of starts, stops and guitars. Alienation, regret and anxiety are all expressed throughout the album but the Hand is skilled at glossing over the sordid with the sugar. The album offers 12 addictively timeless songs; boasting a dreamy voyage through youthful hopefulness and longing.