I would bet money that these guys are going places. They deftly blend indie rock, metal, and stoner rock, and float melodic vocals over the mix. The stoner influences come from the fuzzed out guitars, but they play faster than most stoner bands, keeping the tempo fast enough to allow a nice groove to develop. They have a bit of a Queens of the Stone Age thing going for them.

Quite a leap forward form the band's punk rooted debut for Trustkill a few years back. Open Hand in 2005 sound more confident, mature and a helluva lot like the Queens of the Stone Age at times. Punchy chords and snaky leads are offset by hip shaking rhythms, though there is no shortage of heavitude here. The opening track "Pure Concentrated Evil" is a fuzzy blast of Kyuss/Trouble stoner doom while "The Ambush" takes a wicked, Sabbathy dirge and runs it aground on the shores of some long forgotten Yes album. A few guest appearances from female vocalists also shake things up, particularly on the crushing "Take No Action". YOU AND ME is quite the diverse and, at times, psychedelic album. It bounces from mind expanding melodic drones to thundering waves of drop-tuned guitars, sometimes within a song. However, it's done with surprising cohesiveness. Everything that's drawn together is done so with skill and acumen. No easy task to be sure.

On their heavy-handed, guitar-busting debut Open Hand embraces the bombastic and futuristic as it sets out to smash whatever lines are left separating indie, prog, garage, stoner, hardcore, classic rock, and postgrunge. By way of their exceptional musicianship, melodic know-how and killer multi-layered arrangements, this LA outfit achieves its lofty goals and then some. Sure the Black Sabbath, Jane’s Addiction, Smashing Pumpkins influences abound, but roping in a female vocalist to duet on three of the wildest cuts (the pulsating “Tough Guy” and “Take No Action,” and funky punky “Waiting For Katy”) is simultaneously daring and brilliant. Singer/guitarist Isham deals the knock-out punch in “Trench Warfare,” a mighty ballad worthy of Depeche Mode or Pink Floyd in their respective heyday. Open Hand’s open mind serves them well.

This ain’t your papa’s Open Hand. Frankly, it’s not even your Open Hand. After a series of successful EPs, compiled and released by Trustkill as The Dream, things began to fall apart for Open Hand. By the time it came to a record a follow- Up, the only member left standing was Founder Justin Isham. Retooling every- thing about the band’s sound, Isham emerged with a new line-up and a new record, dubbed by label promotions as an “epic masterpiece.” While often such claims represent huge hyperbolic exaggerations on the part of marketing departments, the term may truly apply in the case. Once a metalcore outfit with excellent melodic abilities and wonder- fully fast and technical drumming, Open Hand are now a melting pot of genres and sounds, bringing together metal, hard rock, emo, stoner rock, hardcore, and occasionally a little Motown flavor in one wonderful mix. The band allow their many influences to exist side by side, fusing them into a single unique sound, rather than forcing them into separate songs or parts. In the chorus of the title track, one can hear the drone of a Kyuss-inspired riff as heavy metal drums crash in the background, and sweet, falsetto vocals float over it all. This is truly original, inspired music making. Did you ever consider changing the name? Bassist Mike Anastasi: The first thing I said to Justin when I heard it was: “These are some great songs. Open Hand is over. Let’s start a new band.” He said, “You put a lot of time and effort into this Name, other guys who have helped out all have. I don’t want to let it go. The kids are going to hopefully understand” Is there any sense of this being an important record? I don’t know. I’ve heard people saying a A lot of good things about it here and in Europe. I would hope that it would be an important record for Trustkill. Josh Truskill is a great, great guy, and a good friend of the band. He hung in there for those two years that Open Hand was down. What has the reception to the material Been like live? Our live performance, like last time, is a little harder than the recordings. We’ve been off the road for almost two years, so a lot of people think that the band is defunct. So we’re coming into town and kids are like, “Holy shit, I couldn’t even believe I saw your name on the bill.”

Open Hand have made their art from combining many a musical form. Concealed among the whopping seventeen track offering,which strangely involves a bonus track in the middle of the album, are songs that can be defined as garage rock, rock n roll, indie and post hardcore. “Her Song” offers a lot to bands like incubus. The radio friendly riff and mellow tunes makes this song the ultimate relaxing single. “tough Girl” adds a little bit of rock a la Queens of the Stone Age but with a definite main stream hook, and this is only the beginning. From there take a journey into Weezer-esque quirky rock on “Tough Girl” and a little dirtier rock with “Waiting for Katy” and “Take No Action”. Vocalist Isham has a velvety voice. On the back an album structured on stretched out riffs and melody. Isham’s voice works perfectly. In fact, this is a summer album. Regardless of where the genre may wander, the albums heavily melodic and highly accessible sound makes it the perfect relaxing rock album. Nothing more proves this more than such tracks as “Trench Warfare”. Putting pen to paper at Trustkill Records means Open Hand are now part of a renowned hardcore family. On “You and Me” the band doesn’t strictly explore those roots but does however have a big enough talent to give them a good chance of mainstream success. Their album may unite fans of numerous genres but at the end of the day it may be in danger of drowning in its own need to be genre defying. Only time will tell for the Hollywood outfit.

The first time I played this in the car Hannah was with me. She actually said that this was interesting and much better than the rubbish that I normally listened to! What is interesting is that although underneath there can be a powering attack, the vocals can be quite different. My first thought was that this was a stoner rock band that had been listening to plenty of QOTSA, but the more I got into the album the more I realized that this is much more than just a one trick pony. Stoner rock is the main thrust, but there are also elements of hardcore, metal, garage and just maybe some touches of prog. They have also used some female singers to duet on three of the songs, which gives them a very different feel to the res. The vocals are softly sung, rarely forced and this gives the music a very relaxed feel, especially on the distorted fuzzed guitar of "her song". This isn't an album that powering along driving the adrenalin, but something that in its own way is more uplifting, something to set you up while also relaxing at the same time. Each song is very different from the next, many of them somehow having a commercial edge, while retaining certain common themes. Overall a very enjoyable album.

After a near breakup of Open Hand, they're back. This time with You and Me. The new record is very genre defying to say the least. Every song has its own feel to it. The band's first effort The Dream gained masses of recognition oversees, and in the US. To say the least Open Hand is well off in the music business. The band has a ton of talent. Thus they deserve every bit of attention they have received. I personally wouldn't say they were one of my favorite artists out there, but I would say they are very talented individuals who make original music. The new album is right along the same lines as the old one, aside from now the band morphs their style of music into "genre crushing" indie rock. Songs like "Tough Guy" the counterpart to the band's single "Tough Girl" have salsa esque rhythms, and jazz entwinement. Other songs like "Jaded" have a Cave In feel to them. This is due to the fact that this song is really spaced out, and the musicianship is excellent. The album features female guest appearances on their single "Tough Girl" which has a swing feel to it. My favorite track would have to be "The Ambush" some of the guitar crunches are groovy. This song has an excellent solo in it. This band really knows their instruments. Even the more mainstream songs like "Trench Warfare" has very melodic breakdowns, and very sappy lyrics. That is the one thing I really don't like about this band. The lyrics aren't my thing. However the music is excellent, for a melodic emo-ish band, they are talented. The style of music they apply to it is lacking in bands like them. Open Hand are some of the best musicians in any heavy band today. The music is not really my preference, and the lyrics suck. I wish this was instrumental, the vocalist is good as well, and the lyrics are all about the same things. I would give this 12 out of 10 on music, and a 1 on lyrics. The band's truly atmospheric sounds are key. If you are looking for talented, different music, you will enjoy Open Hand.

The first thing that greets you with this album is the ridiculously cool packaging: die-cut, colorful, and foreshadowing with its psychedelic sixties feel a little of what the music will be like; leaping through prog rock, classic rock, and metal with ease. The standout aspect is the guitar work, which really drives the record all the way through, having the arrogance to float all over the tracks with a classic rock attitude and the talent and dexterity to pull it off. The 60s/70s classic sound is reinforced with the fuzzy, overdriven guitar tones, overall moderate tempo, and the vocal effects calling on Zeppelin's No Quarter sound. It also gives a grunge feel, calling to mind early Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age at times in the faster songs, and the pacing of the record reflects better the way grunge records were arranged, with a distinct ear for following ballads with faster songs and breaking chunks of like songs into interesting pieces by keeping the line up diverse. The drum-work stands out as well, complementing the intricacy of the guitar lines well by never being completely predictable and basic. Often, it fills the songs out nicely by taking on more ambitious work while still staying solid enough to allow for an improvising guitar style without breaking down the structure and flow of the song. The vocals are sung in a soothing, often effects-laden voice, reaching for a high note slightly out of range to give it a trill and with lots of harmonizing effects and overlaying voices to keep it engaging. At times the vocals become slightly monotonous, where it seems like a hint of a scream or some strain or crack on the voice would help to break up the similarity song to song. Instead, a guest female singer is included on three tracks interspersed well on the record. Unfortunately, this includes the grating eighth track, "Take No Action", which stands out like a sore thumb along with the single "Tough Guy:" bouncing, poppy, and unconvincing songs that fortunately get drowned in the ambiance of the rest of the record. Overall, I really like this album and think it will be persuasive to most people ready for a slower, stoner-rock journey. A couple of the songs maybe would have been better cut off the record entirely, but the rest makes up for them. I recommend this.

The situation Open Hand's Justin Isham has dealt with over the past couple of years is one you hope no frontman will ever have to experience. To watch your band crumble around you at the first sniff of success just doesn't bear thinking about for most young hopefuls, even more so when it's because your fellow musicians have given up on something you believed was their lifeblood. But that's exactly what happened in 03 when, just as debut release 'The Dream' was beginning to make an impression, the guitarist, bassist and drummer all upped and left. Ask Isham why he thinks this happened and he'll hint vaguely at things like the band members' increasing greed for money and the corresponding lack of it. Listen to latest offering 'You And Me', however, and you'll probably decide that it had more to do with fate. In classic every-cloud-has-a-silver-lining fashion, Isham has triumphed against the odds to make Open Hand better than we ever hoped they could be - at once more accessible and more dangerous, more melodic and more aggressive, more coherent and more complex. It was already evident from 'The Dream' that Open Hand were no ordinary hardcore act. For a start, words such as melody, pop and experimentation dominated their vocabulary. Then, when heavyweights Poison The Well brought them to our shores in the spring of 03, they were the support act that provided the light to the headliners' impenetrable shade. With its Smashing Pumpkins-style grandiosity, 'This Is The End' carried the early signs of an ambition that centres on the epic, while the curiously incoherent 'Radio Days' and 'Never Alone' quietly dipped their toes into prog rock territory and found the water to be very nice indeed. And so it is that 'You And Me' expands on those initial sparks of promise and increases them tenfold. Having created a sterling backing band by re-recruiting original bassist Michael Anastasi and former guitarist Sean Woods, adding drummer and new vocal force Paxton Pryor (previously of The Vacation) and guest vocalist Hayley Helmericks (Monofog), Open Hand is now a truly unstoppable operation. From the bomb blast opening of 'Pure Concentrated Evil' through to monumental closer 'Hard Night', this is an astoundingly powerful album. Isham's voice has a new found confidence that enables him to judge the songs' twists and turns - both sonic and thematic - and ride them effortlessly, be it in the silky smooth majesty of 'Her Song', or the muted vocal swagger of highlight 'Tough Girl', where the singer battles it out with Helmericks to great gender-bending effect. Together with book end 'Tough Guy', and the record's third duet 'Take No Action', these songs mark an edgier and altogether ballsier approach for Open Hand, one that puts them up there with 'Antenna' era Cave In, but still screams innovation. That's not to say that Isham and co have abandoned their talent for dreamy melodies, and creations like the title track, 'Jaded' and the divine 'Trench Warfare' fly the flag for a kind of QOTSA lite. Open Hand have succeeded in making a record that defines them, by finally creating an audible identity while still ensuring boundaries are continually reinterpreted. They've also achieved that feat of feats - making sure that if you weren't convinced the first time around, you'll be helpless to resist them now.

Trustkill finally does it! They put out a rock band that is good! And this isn't just good, this is fucking awesome. What happened to this band? They have always been decent, but this just blows away all their previous material. Maybe because the overall sound on this record is so much more akin to bands like Kyuss and Queens Of the Stone Age... heavy doses of rock powered by vintage amps and powerful vocal deliveries just blast a hole in your idea of what a rock record should be... is something this cool (take the Santana-esque percussion of "Her Song", the Hum-like dirge drone of "Jaded", or the near math-metal slow melodic death of "The Ambush") supposed to not only be original but also this easy to get into? This definitely threw me for a loop and made me a happy fellow upon listening to it. The only songs that I really wasn't as into were the ones with the Pat Benetar-ish female vocals (mostly because her lyrics are cheesy). But shit, if the music doesn't get you the die-cut design on this (just like their last outing) is simply unreal. A fantastic release from start to finish.

Open Hand's Trustkill debut shares little in common with most of the label's releases. Sure, it's dark, heavy and powerful; but unlike your average Trustkill act, this band offers an eclectic blend of guitar rock, swaying from slow to fast and hard to soft. Sans screaming, You And Me combines overproduction with raw, edgy grit. On Tough Girl, bent guitar hammers away while vocal melodies argue amongst each other. Singer Justin Isham's melodic croon ducks and dodges deep instrumental accompaniment in Tough Guy, adversely submitting to raw drumming on Jaded. If Isis got drunk and knocked up the Smashing Pumpkins, the offspring might look and act something like Open Hand. Spits of metal appear throughout You And Me, intertwined in a garage rock chassis. From time to time, comfortably complex solos connect slow, dark melodies. Open Hand's unique blend of rock from every points on the spectrum is a breath of fresh air in a stolid musical environment. A forty-minute barrage of subdued anger and tragedy, You And Me will not fall in line, not for a second.

There aren't many ways to say it other than You and Me is what could be considered a "missing link" album. By that I mean that almost every song on this album sounds as if it could be a (or the) missing link between a couple of other bands, however similar or disparate. Whether this is a testament to this record's sweeping range, or the power of journalistic reaching, my fucked up ears, or onpen hand's musical archeology remains to be debated upon. Well, probably not, but let it be known that much in the way of musical connectivity can be found here. It starts even before the music does as the cover art- and that fucking floating hand- is eerily similar to breather resist's new one, but its warmth is right out of something like sunny day real estate. The first song, "Pure concentrated evil," sounds like something that could bridge the Metallica of old with Diamond Head. "Her Song" is the Sabbath sounding tune the Mars Volta will probably write in three years from now. Ever wondered about the relationship between Lush and Soundgarden? Check out "Tough Girl," "Tough Guy," and "Take No Action," which act as the bridge between My Bloody Valentine and any swedish garage rock band whose name starts with "The". The tounge of Kiss and the hair of Coheed and Cambria meet in "Newspeak" while Cathedral meets reality in "The Kaleidoscope." This litte monster really does act as the connective tissue between stoner rock, punk, grunge, alt-rock, indie, and metal. If that makes sense to you then you're probably pretty fucked up, but you'll also probably like this alot.

There's something suitably sweet about the title of Open Hand's second album. 'You and Me' - a sincere call for a little one-on-one time with the listener, yet a determined statement of solidarity from the plucky performers. For the fledgling Trustkill names in waiting have lost two of their four original parts (guitarist and bassist) and returned afresh - a core duo now swelled by new members, full-time and part-time alike - with a sound far removed from their label mates' metalcore tendencies. But then, Open Hand where always an anomaly in such surroundings. Sprightly and spunky with a definite pop core, their early EPs (collected in debut longplayer 'The Dream') shone through the usual Trustkill crowd of screamers and shouters with such intensity of emotion and such careful of craft. They were far from the finished article, but the potential was there for all to see. So what now they've lost two of their line-up? Simple: they've decided to become the Queens of the Stone Age. Actually, that's a bit of a lie - they don't mind having a stab at the Foo Fighters and Jane's Addiction too, thank you very much. With bells on. Such is the transformation that you almost double-take the stoner overload of opener 'Pure Concentrated Evil' for a sloppy PR and a misplaced CD. But once the juggernaut riff gives way to singer Justin Isham's recognisable cry, you're darn tooting it's Open Hand. And, fuck, they rock like a stone-clad Sabbath jamming in a quarry. But despite the blatant sidestep in sound, rather than seeming second-rate or mere mimicry, 'You and Me' sounds vibrant and vital. It's focused and rewarding, unravelling around immediate hooks both Josh Homme and Dave Grohl would off a band mate for. Yet it's not all radio-friendly unit shifters: the female-assisted trio of Soulwax salvo 'Tough Girl', the urgent staccato stomp of 'Waiting for Katy' and the overblown garage-rock of 'Take No Action' may have "Top 20" stamped all over them, but elsewhere Open Hand are a band overflowing with more esoteric ideas. The brooding bass eulogy of 'Her Song' courses with regret, the telling line "all the dreams have dried up and gone away" pointing, possibly subconsciously, to their almost unrecognisable past. 'The Kaleidoscope' trades off unashamed psychedelia with pulverising guitars as effortlessly as Kyuss once mustered. But the real deal is, rightfully and appropriately, the title track, perched somewhere between Nine Inch Nails' insistent proto-prog crunch, Jane's Addiction's multi-layered dream-like dabblings and the laconic fuzz of early Smashing Pumpkins, yet with a personality completely of its own. It sounds of the Earth, as hippy-dippy as that may sound, the heavily reverbed vocals transcending the wall of sound behind. Sure, it's most definitely trying for the epic, but you can't deny that it hits the target with faultless precision. Isham is undoubtedly a star. His voice is hypnotic, something beguilingly personal about its range, like all the Beach Boys merged into one: touching yet forthright, full of character yet broad enough to be appreciated across the board. Ultimately and undeniably, Open Hand are ready for the big time. 'You and Me' often recalls Incubus casting off their nu-metal shackles and venturing into the major league of 'career' musicians, taking the Chili Peppers as their template, knowing full well that scenes come and go but widely appreciated 'rawk' is where the crowds are. However, whereas Incubus faded into dull drive-time AOR hell, Open Hand sound positively bursting with energy, inventiveness and a thirst for the future. Certainly ones to watch for you, me and everyone else.

The accompanying promo blurb screeches about this record "obliterating the boundaries between indie rock, stoner rock, metal, emo and garage rock." Such boasting will always ignite a search for the contrary. Trouble is, there's truth in that hyperbole and it's actually more work attempting to poke holes in Trustkill's hypothesis that it is wrapping your head around the stunning musical journey this album takes you on. From Metallica to Lush to The Mars Volta to Sabbath to Kiss, together and back, it's all here and working as a whole.

Formed in 1999, this is the first full-length album from this Hollywood based four-piece. The blurb that accompanied this CD describes it as a "bold, genre-destroying album", and unusually it lives up to its press. This album is not like anything I've heard before. Bits of it are reminiscent of Smashing Pumpkins and Jane's Addiction but associations with other bands are fleeting. The artwork is interesting and doesn't draw you into any genre assumptions and track one is definitely a surprise. 'Pure Concentrated Evil' is certainly concentrated at only 1.31min. I like the way they put the heaviest track on the album first then follow it with 'Her Song', one of the mellowest, it putting any listener off their guard. 'Tough Girl' is one of three duets on the album. With heavy licks and additional vocals this song has loads of depth to it. 'Tough Guy' is the most radio friendly track on the album and deserves to get a lot of airplay. Songs like 'Jaded', 'Newspeak' and 'Trench Warfare' have a deliciously epic sound about them. Other standout tracks from the album are 'Crooked Crown', 'The Kaleidoscope' and 'Elevator' which all have a Jane's/Pumpkins vibe about them. 'Hard Night' starts off with a deceptively quiet single guitar. This may lead you to turn up your stereo up because you think it's playing up. Don't be fooled into doing this because when the song kicks in with a huge roar from singer Justin, it might make your ears bleed. With multi-layered guitars, smooth vocals and captivating music this album is a veritable selection box of tasty treats. There is no coffee cream left when this album is done so whatever your musical poison, sit back and indulge.

There is no band that better exemplifies the broad scope of Trustkill Records than Open Hand. First making a bold musical statement with their debut, The Dream [Trustkill/2003], You And Me sees the band throw away almost all of its hardcore roots. Where as The Dream was much more akin to the brand of emo that was more popular two years ago, here Open Hand has seemingly "matured" into their sound. Showing an affection for the poppier side of classic rock as well as the slow drudgery of stoner rock while harboring a ton of 90s space-rock influence (Failure, Hum, etc.), You And Me is, if nothing else, an extremely brave record. With so many different influences, it does have its moments of confusion, but when done right, as in the opener "Pure Concentrated Evil" (which gains the band points for the Family Guy reference) and the title track "You And Me," it's very affective. The chorus' and melodies provided by Justin Isham is the glue that holds this epic soundscape together, and is so smooth in fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see Open Hand picked up (or attempted to be) by a major label. Still, with songwriting and artwork this grand in scope for a still young group, it's obvious that Open Hand is a band we will be talking about again.

Who Are They? Second album from self-confessed LA screamo “pioneers.” Open Hand look set to invade the rock airwaves with hook heavy first single Tough Girl. Any Good? Hell, yeah! One of the few bands around at the moment who manage to sound original while taking their blueprint from established rock acts. Clearly not afraid to experiment, You and Me tempers frenetic riffing with sumptuous melodies, complex instrumentals and a finely honed sense of sense of dynamics to sound like Black Sabbath, Smashing Pumpkins and Massive Attack rolled into one. There’s something for everyone in this album. Must Hear? The Fender Rhodes and conga heavy Her Song, and the elastic riff of Pure Concentrated Evil with its breakneck pentatonic reminiscent of Soundgarden’s Rusty Cage. Could there be a better opening to an album. Why Buy? Open Hand are one of rock’s brightest hopes for 2005. judging by this album, we could be seeing a hell of a lot more of them.

Stoner pop: a fantastic burst lights up the sky. It's called "Pure Concentrated Evil" but it's juiced up with so much positive energy that it makes you feel like you're on top of the world. Then without warning, you're lovingly pulled down through a patch of quicksand by the magnetic central guitar line of "Her Song". Another fragment of this loopy dream, "Tough Girl" yanks you out of your sleep and there you are, awake and inhaling the exhaust fumes of Fu Manchu's boogie van. Giving new meaning to the phrase "expect the unexpected" Open Hand embraces pop, stoner rock, and otherworldly textures to create a meaningful tapestry of sound. Heavy in a nice, inoffensive way (think Hum meets Queens of the Stone Age) YOU AND ME is an assortment of gleaming rock tunes that, thanks to the radio friendly vocals and extra thick coating of candy. But the sweetness recedes when the guest female vocals stop by to inject some power into "Take No Action" and aforementioned "Tough Girl". However, if you aren't down with mean spirits or sweetness, try the ever-escalating "Jaded" or the title track, two spaced out numbers in which Open Hand conquers the final frontier.

Despite all the clamor that OPEN HAND has been negotiating with the prog-rock devil, and that You and Me somehow has ties to the stoner rock scene, no amount of genre-oriented labels can distort the fact that this disc is an incredibly smooth, atmospheric offering of rock from start to finish. Vocalist, guitarist Justin Isham has shaken free from anything aggressive in developing a delivery that's resoundingly fluid and subtlety convincing. It's like a droning whisper that never falls out of tune, and it bridges together the big, pompous drumming, and crafty guitar efforts. Wanderous guitar leads permeate most tracks, and stack up against fat, chunky riffs that operate in the background. The heavier riffs populate the latter tracks of this release, and culminate in the bang-your-head thunder of the final track, "Hard Night." You and Me is blessed with no shortage of catchy moments - the most obvious coming from their single "Tough Guy," with its opening line, "I feel like I've lost trust in everyone / They say deception is the key." OPEN HAND additionally revel in a few post-hardcore stabs (here we go with the genres again...), especially on the blistering starter track, "Pure Concentrated Evil," which feels like the result of mating QUICKSAND with its part-offspring, RIVAL SCHOOLS. Too bad the song cuts itself short in about two minutes. The seventh track, "The Ambush," is another breakout tune, with crashing guitars, and all-over-the-place drumming. The jagged, off-beat nature of the track does give credit to an obvious QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE influence, but it's a fleeting thought as the band grooves into the following song, "Take No Action," a guilty-pleasure romp of rhyming words, and fist-in-the-air chants of "Take No Action!" Silliness aside, this track helps You and Me slip out of its sometimes-too-serious demeanor. The packaging to this release sees the band returning to a booklet with die cut features, akin to those seen on their previous disc, The Dream, and it's beyond beautiful. The element helps complete the visual aspect to an album that already plays off many illuminating tendencies. After all the membership turmoil that OPEN HAND has tackled over the past couple of years, it's no small feat that You and Me has come together with such a focused vision. Put this on the headphones, close your eyes, and just be taken away by the music...

I was never really big into Open Hand just like most Trustkill bands for that matter. Recently though, I had been experiencing a good deal of journalists telling me how good this band was and how evolved this band was compared to most bands on the label or even with most bands in general. So I checked out their latest e-card for the new album YOU AND ME and found myself saying phrases such as "Why haven't' I listened to this before?" and "I really need to take other people's advice more often." It was a blast into a new experience as I listened to the least hardcore band on the label whose blend of rock varied from many different artistes this was new and so I was determined to listen to the entire album. The first track is a rock outfit that while it's completely fast paced; it ceases to taken the form of hardcore or punk rock style. The album takes a completely different turn the next track. "Her Song" is a much softer track with a dominating drum and bass beat. While it shows to be one of the weaker songs on the album, the great part about the song is really it's placement in the album and how it sets up for another faster song. The faster song is also the single off the album; the song "Tough Girl". The song almost has two parts in a sense because shortly after "Tough Girl" will "Tough Guy" which shows as more of the ending to the story of the tough guy and girl. In between these two tracks is one of the stronger songs on the album though called "You and Me" which displays the new element of rock that Open Hand have developed which is a mix of soft and hard rock. The album is an experience as each song has completely different feels towards it as songs like "Crooked Crown" and "Waiting for Kathy" show a more atmospheric side to the band. The album ends on a perfect note for Open Hand as "Hard Night" is the last track to the album and perfectly sums up the rock aspect that the band have derived in this album. In case you haven't noticed, I really enjoyed experiencing this album. I really didn't want to spoil the entire album as I think it's all a complete masterpiece and it's an album that you must listen to in its entirety to fully grasp. To me, it's a breakthrough in the way that many people could look at rock and is almost the future of what rock should and could be. While musically it's great, it is not the most played album in my play list due to the fact that there are simple no stand out tracks and that it's really an album to be listened to in its entirety.

I'm sure the guys in Open Hand are nice. Even though many of the songs feature big guitar sound and heavy percussion, there is a lingering sensitivity that pervades the lyrics, and vocals that are alternately breathy and beautiful. A track like "Take No Action" says it all. Lyrics like "I don't wanna break your heart 'cause it's oh so wrong - I don't wanna waste your love 'cause it feels so strong" pour like milk and honey over a hard guitar line. __Still, one has to be very careful when they promote their release as "an epic masterpiece" - a line that appears on a sticker on the case of the CD and is repeated on the band's website. A statement like that begs an argument, and while the latest Open Hand release is poignant at times, I'm not sure it's a "masterpiece." __Most bands can be classified into one of two categories: those who play for other musicians and/or music nerds, and those who play for the masses. The former craft complex melodies, have a variety of influences, and are not just listened to; they're "appreciated." The latter create simplistic, instantly-catchy tunes that are easily digestible by a wide and varied audience. Open Hand is, without a doubt, a band that falls into the first category. This is complicated rock music -- educated angry boy music for deep people. __The CD is uniform throughout; tracks blend seamlessly into one another, at times the only indication that the song has changed is the display on the deck. The sound of each track, with a few exceptions, is very similar, which will either be the blessing or curse of this CD in the mass market. If a full album of music that "obliterates the boundaries between indie rock, stoner rock, metal, emo, and garage rock" is your thing, this is definitely worth checking out. However, I wonder how many people this sound will ultimately appeal to. This is rock for the experimental, educated consumer; it is not intended for consumption by the masses. Some songs are forgettable. "Tough Girl," in particular, sounds amateur, and some of the surrounding tracks struggle to distinguish themselves from one another. Others, like "Tough Guy" and "Pure Concentrated Evil," are radio-ready. "Her Song" epitomizes sexy stoner rock. One song where the plethora of musical influences come together and work is "Crooked Crown," which is both haunting and peppy. You'll like You and Me for the standout songs, and if you're lucky, you'll grow to love the rest. This disc isn't for everyone, but because it treads the line between beautiful background music and arresting, addictive rock, it's a worthy addition to the "impress your friends" section of your CD collection.

When a fan of metalcore and hardcore music thinks of Trustkill Records, they usually think of bands like Bleeding Through and Throwdown, or other heavy bands with lots of breakdowns. With one of their latest bands, Open Hand, Trustkill has broadened its' musical horizons. Even though Open Hand has been on Trustkill for a while, You and Me is the bands first official Trustkill release after a long hiatus. By the sound of it, Open Hand could potentially be a very big band. You and Me starts out sounding like Queens of the Stone Age, but as the CD progresses, it becomes harder and harder to classify Open Hand's original sound. The biggest thing that sticks out on this album is the guitar work. The riffs are original and unique, and sometimes experimental and complicated. The bass and drums flow smoothly and although they aren't incredibly complex, they add a degree of catchiness and tightness to the music. The vocals remain melodic throughout the entire album and the lyrics consist mostly of love-related topics. The CD has a very "accessible" sound, which could easily be on the radio or television; however, there is still a decent amount of talent to back up their radio-friendly sound. To sum it up, fans of Trustkill Records that are looking for the next Bleeding Through won't find it on You and Me. Open Hand isn't a heavy band, but they strive to do something original. If you're a fan of Queens of the Stone Age, A Perfect Circle, Yeah Yeah Yeah's, or The Mars Volta you'll appreciate what these guys are doing. If you dislike alternative "radio bands," this probably won't change your mind.

It takes guts to be this eclectic, because any band doing so runs the risk of alienating fans of all genres - it is no doubt far easier to stick in a comfort zone, with the certain knowledge that you can pick up a decent following. But Hollywood's Open Hand are, thankfully, one of that rare breed who put musicianship and the challenge of modern rock on the agenda. Dabs of Nirvana blend with Sabbath licks, Mars Volta whimsy, Jane's Addiction inspired eccentricity and just the odd boot of Foo Fighters riffing. It makes for a collection that never ceases to keep the attention, yet also takes some surprising turns. 'You and Me' is the band's first proper album, following on from the EPs 'Radio Days' and 'Evolution' and, after more than five years together, there's an expected cohesion throughout that seems born almost of a natural affinity. Justin Isham's vocals swoop from perpendicular metal into more complex motions, always dovetailing beautifully with Sean Woods' slightly understated yet ambitious guitar moves. So soundwise, this lot have that their chops spiked and spotted. But none of this would count for anything if the songs fell short of a decent caliber - fortunately, they don't. In fact, this is a magnificent example of how to take back urban melodies and give them a rural dusting, near losing sight of the song structure, but always prepared to have some proggie fun. Open Hand really make I to escape velocity with the haunting 'Elevator', the waspish 'Take No Action' and the barbwire romance of 'Her Song'. It's here they peddle something close to genius. However, the rest of the album is almost as committed. 'You and Me' is the first classic of 2005 - it's a relief to know progressive music of this magnitude is still being made.

In the century effectively more detrimental to freedom of speech and expression, more creatively restrictive with imagination curtailed in the name of image, we feel like our taste is being KO'd regularly. That's why an album like Open Hand's 'You And Me' appears to be even more important: it is huge, it is brave, it is different, heavy, mellow. It rocks like the heaviest muthas but also seduces with an allure of the Zeppelin's subtlest moments. 'You and Me' travels the sonic styles as if it were a cosmos, an 'Enterprise'-type explorer on 45 1/2 -minutes missions. Blasting off with a fury of 'Pure Concreted Evil', it sets you off on a journey that has no barriers, no borders and no limits. 'Her Song' buzzes softly but joyously [funk-lite] like a cross between Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers; 'Tough Girl' raises tempo with arrangement to structured to underline that one should harbour expectations of all kinds, in particular - anticipation. Each song serves next facet of the band and it is great to hear a combo speaking so many a 'lingo', be it indie, metal, stoner, hardcore, prog, garage rock or something gentler. The titular cut is this epic soundarama that spreads from Pink Floyd to Jane's Addiction with some harmonies Supertramp wouldn't shame of - simply superb! That is not the only supreme moment here, there are plenty of other jewels such as intricately guitar'd power-tune of 'Tough Guy', 'Newspeak' that sounds like NIN lost in psychedelic [XTC] catacombs, 'The Kaleidoscope' opening doors to disco-Arcadia but then 'Hard Night' is a gargantuan, avalanche-sized finale... The pleasure doesn't end here because there is a bonus - a floating, arousing, whisper-to-scream beauty entitled 'Elevator'. And yet, as the PR claims, "The only thing more remarkable than the music, however, is the fact that 'You And Me' exists at all. Only a year ago, it looked as if the band may never make another album. The summer of 2003 was a dark time for Open Hand. Following a European tour with Poison The Well in support of its acclaimed debut 'The Dream', the band's bassist and guitarist abruptly quit, forcing guitarist/vocalist Justin Isham and drummer Alex Rodriguez to put Open Hand on hiatus. Rodriguez soon left to tour with the more active Saosin and Isham retreated to his home studio in Los Angeles, determined to reinvent Open Hand. Isham quickly reconnected with drummer Paxton Pryor, a longtime friend who was then playing in the LA garage band The Vacation. Pryor proved to be the secret weapon that Open Hand was missing - a versatile, deep pocket drummer able to shift on a dime from frantic metal blasts to Bonham-esque power grooves, to anything in between. And he could sing. Pryor soon left The Vacation to focus on Open Hand full-time." Isham and Pryor spent the summer of 2004 recording with producer (and former Shiner bassist) Paul Malinowski. Since the completion of the album, Open Hand has reteamed with original bassist Michael Anastasi and onetime guitarist Sean Woods to complete the most solid lineup in the band's five-year history. Extensive touring is planned for 2005, including return trips to Europe and, frankly my dear, can't f**king wait! Open Hand was formed in Hollywood in 1999 and their 'debut' album, 'The Dream', a collection of the band's long out of print EPs ['Radio Days' and 'Evolutions', in 1999 and 2000 respectively on own Propaganda label] with a couple of new bonus tracks, released in 2003. 'You And Me' is a fantastic 14-track masterwork on which Open Hand cover more musical ground than most artists do in their entire careers. It's rock but not as you may be used to. And, if this is indication of what Open Hand are capable off, I can't wait for future releases!

This time last year, it was all over for Open Hand. 2003's tour with Poison the Well was supposed to break them, but instead left the post-hardcore hopefuls penniless. One by one, members deserted until only guitarist/vocalist Justin Isham was left. No band, no material, no chance. Not entirely. Isham set about rebuilding from the ground up, and happily. Version 2.0 features more than just an entirely new line-up around Isham; it also features a completely new directions. And here - the title is a grim nod to Isham and singer/drummer Paxton Pryor's last-ditch attempt to record the album alone - is You and Me. And that's where you drop your bacon sarnie and listen. Because if few people thought this album would ever happen, nobody at all predicted it would sound like this. The stressed emoisms are out. The dominant theme here is open space: this is big sky music. This time round, the songs don't race to get home, instead slowing down into great, moonstruck stoner rock that floats malevolently between QOTA's satanic boogie and The Black Crowes' slow-burning harmonics. And as with those bands, the key is musicianship. Just listen to 'You and Me', whose seductive, hypnotic guitars waft skywards like incense smoke, or opener 'Pure Concentrated Evil', blowing like a distant sandstorm... and where the old Open Hand would have hit the uptight punk accelerator for the first single 'Tough Girl' and companion piece 'Tough Guy', this reincarnation weave their way through the songs, oozing lysergic telepathy, parches harmonies and snake-eyed cool. 'You and Me' may or may not set the hearts of fire. But it should aid the incineration of at least a few ounces of fine Mexican import. Listen. You'll know what we mean.

Records as interesting as Open Hand's "You and Me" are becoming rare. It is indeed uncommon that an album is as simple, yet as engaging and involved, as this one. From the opening Soundgarden-esque groove of "Pure Concentrated Evil" to the indie-rock aesthetic of the rest of the album, it's clear that this band knows something most of its peers don't about songwriting and atmosphere-setting. The entire record has an indie-meets-grunge feel and sounds like absolutely nothing else going on right now. Trustkill Records is often somewhat predictable about the direction its releases go, but "You and Me" breaks the label's mold. Instead of engaging in the typical hardcore, tough-guy aesthetic Trustkill tends to offer, Open Hand dabbles solely in straightforward rock, toying with various textures and creating something that has a very complete feel, and the band leaves nothing undone or unsaid. The album is only one genius, standout track away from qualifying as "amazing." Vocals tend to be delivered drenched in echo, and guitars are heavily layered with plenty of chorus effect, which creates a very melodic feel, even when distortion kicks in sporadically. It has a spirit of adventure and invention that isn't around these days, and it finds a way to partake in a freewheeling, uninhibited exploration of rock sounds, which end up coming across as very flowing and well-designed. Further listens bring out more intricacies and sounds that aren't as obvious the first few times through, but which become the driving force of the album. Sounds roll over the top of each other in a simple, yet expertly crafted way, particularly in songs such as "The Ambush" and "The Kaleidoscope." Guitars, vocals and drums never overpower each other, but instead work in complete harmony to create a dense sound that carries itself throughout the record's outstanding 42 minutes. For fans of melodic rock with a purpose, Open Hand's "You and Me" is not to be missed. Although one song might not stand out from any other, the whole album is good enough to warrant a good, serious listen or five.

Dude, yes. When you think Trustkill, you're usually sitting at home singing along to Eighteen Visions (or, if you're cool, the Cast Iron Hike E.P.), but you're not even dreaming about anything remotely like what Open Hand are churning out with their latest album. I mean, do the bong-huffers over at stonerrock.com know about this shit? 'Cause jams like "Pure Concentrated Evil," "Hard Night" and "Her Song" are gonna have those people busting greasy nuts all over their limited-edition Kyuss picture discs. Harnessing various elements (spacey, super-melodic vocals; ultra-thick narco-riffs straight from the rehearsal spaces of Swedish druggernauts like Lowrider, Astroqueen and Pharaoh Overlord) from a loose cadre of defunct mid-'90s bands that never got their due (Satchel, Sugartooth, Chum), Open Hand have delivered what may be the best (and most unexpected) album Trustkill has ever had the pleasure of releasing.

Sometimes, adversity can be a good thing. Take Los Angeles' Open Hand for instance. Formed in 1999, the group was among the forefront of the "screamo"/post-hardcore movement, fanning the flames of hype with tours alongside the likes of Glassjaw, The Juliana Theory, Thursday, MxPx and Grade, not to mention the acclaim received by their self-released EPs Radio Days (1999) and Evolution (2000), which featured the standout track "The Dream". Unsurprisingly, the band received a wealth of label interest from both majors and indies, eventually signing with Trustkill Records (Poison The Well, Bleeding Through, 18 Visions, Hopesfall) who released The Dream in 2003, a collection of their two previous EPs with one new bonus track (6/26). Unfortunately, later that year, two members of the band suddenly quit, with another soon to follow, and Open Hand was on an indefinite hiatus with no apparent hope in sight. Enter The Vacation drummer Paxton Pryor. Teaming up with singer/guitarist Justin Isham, the lone remaining band member, the duo quickly began exploring new ideas, and in short, reinvented Open Hand. Completing the transformation were the additions of original bassist Michael Anastasi and onetime guitarist Sean Woods, while former Shiner bassist Paul Malinowski provided the production for what would become their daring new album You and Me. Now, back to the issue at hand, the whole point is, instead of Open Hand releasing what could have been just another derivative post-hardcore entry in an already oversaturated genre of third-rate clones, because of adversity, we instead get an imaginatively ambitious rock album that is sure to turn heads. Of course, responses will no doubt be mixed at first, with many hardcore fans probably disappointed with the direction that Open Hand has taken, especially for those listeners who were expecting material more along the lines of The Dream, while newcomers may be initially baffled by what they are hearing. After all, how many bands out there mix together indie rock, melodicism, and stoner bombast with elements of psychedelia, prog and space rock? Because of such a unique cornucopia of sounds, You and Me is not easily digestible, and repeated listens are highly suggested in order to better grasp what Open Hand has created. For any fans of Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss, Codeseven (post-The Rescue era), Hum, Failure or Quicksand, your time would be well worth the investment. Now, for those who take the plunge, in-your-face rockers "Tough Girl" and "Tough Guy" will immediately stand out, both of which ironically or not, are the album's first singles, while other noteworthy and accessible tracks include the beautiful indie ballad "Trench Warfare" and the hypnotically cool "Her Song." From there, You and Me takes the listener on a wild ride ranging from raunchy rock n' roll ("Take No Action"), to the atmospherically moody ("You And Me", "Newspeak"), to indie ("Crooked Crown", "Jaded") and the stoneresque in the abruptly fierce "Pure Concentrated Evil", the epic closer "Hard Night" and the hauntingly melodic "The Ambush." As for the album's weaknesses, with You and Me trying to harness so many ideas, the flow of the record at times can be disruptive, while certain tracks are underdeveloped or lacking in quality when compared to the stronger material. Still, who can blame the band for these minor flaws? Considering the drastic changes Open Hand has made from their previous incarnation, one can only expect a few bumps and bruises in such a transition, especially in lieu of the magnitude of what the band was trying to accomplish on the record. In short, Open Hand's You and Me is a celebratory rock album that should help redefine the band's place in the music scene, and, considering that they are only going to get better, it should be a wakeup call for those major record labels looking for the next potentially great rockstar...

To be honest Open Hand's EP-compilation release "The Dream" was a rather lackluster introduction to a broader audience for the band. While originally relevant in its time, the material was already dated and nearing its expiry date when it was packaged up and released again as a single opus. As a result the anticipation for this new full-length release from the band was barely a blip on the radar - especially after a few line-up changes and an extremely long-delay in getting it completed. Listening to "You And Me", it appears as though those dimmed hopes couldn't have been more misplaced. Somehow, over the period of a year Open Hand have transformed themselves from a standard-fare emocore band into a sun-baked desert rock outfit who revel in guitar-driven sensitivity. Sounding like the results of Jimmy Eat World being invited to one of the Desert Sessions, the music offered here is simplistic sounding from a top down perspective, yet reveals a wealth of prog-styled instrumentation upon further listens. Chockfull of catchy pop-rock oriented hooks, a generally upbeat demeanor and a wealth of the fuzz-coated riffing bands like Queens Of The Stone Age and Kyuss helped to modernize; "You And Me" is not only a resounding reinvention of a band, but a reinvigoration as well. By routinely enlisting the vocal talents of Monofog vocalist Hayley Helmericks, Open Hand are able to create a dynamic interplay that recalls that of PJ Harvey and Josh Homme's recent collaborations, though ultimately with a much more structured and commercially friendly appeal. For such a brazen attempt into the left field, Open Hand actually prove themselves to be surprisingly competent, taking on both peppy groove-ridden crunches and percussive-laced dirges with equal amounts of grace. The pristine production does somewhat detract from the overall feel of the album as it's clarity belies the lo-fi nature of the material. There are also a few syrupy tracks included that sound like failed moments of experimentation and just beg to be skipped. But as a whole, "You And Me" is a shockingly enjoyable release that proves there actually just may be something good to come out of the eventual ashes of the current emo-rock moment.

There's a sticker on this cover that labels the release "an epic masterpiece that obliterates the boundaries between indie rock, stoner rock, metal, emo and garage rock." Bold statement, but is it accurate? An "epic masterpiece" this is not, but don't discredit the swaggering line just yet. Open Hand does cover plenty of musical ground, and the band covers it pretty well. Open Hand is releasing its debut album You and Me on Trustkill Records this month. Trustkill tends to be known for hardcore acts, but Open Hand is decidedly a rock band. These guys play melodious tunes akin to the new Hopesfall more than anything else on Trustkill. Open Hand already has originality in the music department, and it also has the artwork on lockdown. You and Me's limited-edition, beautifully crafted die-cut artwork is one of the coolest packages I've seen (and they even managed to include lyrics). The Los Angeles band runs a marathon, spanning rock flavors from indie to space rock. Guitar parts are inherited from old-schoolers such as Hum, Soundgarden, and Black Sabbath and newbies like Queens of the Stone Age. It's like these guys went to the Old Country Buffet of bands and made the best combo meal possible. The disc begins with "Pure Concentrated Evil," where muscular riffs are balanced by the pretty, smooth vocals of Justin Isham. Lead guitar slices through the mix like Soundgarden axeman Kim Thayil was making a cameo. Unlike the 2004 metal mashup Probot, Thayil isn't involved with this project, but Isham imitates him well. "Hard Night" is another display of heaviness, with Black Sabbath-style hooks. Repeated hooks are a Sabbath trademark, and Isham also resurrects that band's fuzz distortion. Prior to Open Hand, singer and guitarist Isham played in a hardcore band named I Awake. Regardless of this fact, a hardcore influence on the album is missing. The single "Tough Guy" may look hardcore, but it's actually the album's catchiest song. You and Me does have some "tough" vocals, and those appear in three duets with females. Isham's vocals definitely give Open Hand an identity that many bands are lacking. His ear-pleasing singing is breathy with an effortless quality to it. Shoegaze vocals make "You and Me" comparable with the angelic vocals of My Bloody Valentine. The real difference is that Open Hand's lyrics are actually audible. Space rock gets some love on the title track, which is as spacey as they get. Drugged-up ballads embrace the melodic wall of sound that defined Hum. "Crooked Crown" follows suit, suggesting what an upbeat Failure song may sound like. Bouncy notes twinkle back and forth until the chorus changes pace with the thick distortion. This song proves Open Hand can pull off power and beauty at the same time. If the aforementioned song wasn't already great, Allen Epley of Shiner fame is a guest on the background vocals. Additionally, Epley is also credited with writing some lyrics for You and Me. Already busy with his own band, The Life and Times, Epley's involvement took me by surprise. You and Me co-producer Paul Malinowski played bass in Shiner, so that explains everything. The unusual choice of influences gives Open Hand some advantages. These guys are not confined to one particular genre, which widens their tour prospects and their audience. More importantly, they carry the torch of defunct 90s gems like Hum, Failure, and Shiner. If you're already a devout fan of their ingredients, Open Hand will tide you over until a reunion tour.

When a fan of metalcore and hardcore music thinks of Trustkill Records, they usually think of bands like Bleeding Through and Throwdown, or other heavy bands with lots of breakdowns. With one of their latest bands, Open Hand, Trustkill has broadened its' musical horizons. Even though Open Hand has been on Trustkill for a while, You and Me is the bands first official Trustkill release after a long hiatus. By the sound of it, Open Hand could potentially be a very big band. You and Me starts out sounding like Queens of the Stone Age, but as the CD progresses, it becomes harder and harder to classify Open Hand's original sound. The biggest thing that sticks out on this album is the guitar work. The riffs are original and unique, and sometimes experimental and complicated. The bass and drums flow smoothly and although they aren't incredibly complex, they add a degree of catchiness and tightness to the music. The vocals remain melodic throughout the entire album and the lyrics consist mostly of love-related topics. The CD has a very "accessible" sound, which could easily be on the radio or television; however, there is still a decent amount of talent to back up their radio-friendly sound. To sum it up, fans of Trustkill Records that are looking for the next Bleeding Through won't find it on You and Me. Open Hand isn't a heavy band, but they strive to do something original. If you're a fan of Queens of the Stone Age, A Perfect Circle, Yeah Yeah Yeah's, or The Mars Volta you'll appreciate what these guys are doing. If you dislike alternative "radio bands," this probably won't change your mind.

Recently "This Is Love, This Is Murderous" by Bleeding Through really knocked me off my feet, so I was pretty stoked when I found another promo coming from their label Trustkill/Roadrunner. Expecting another furious metalcore assault I cranked up my stereo as far as I could and braced for impact... Just to find out that Open Hand was something completely different... If you compare Bleeding Through with a punch in your face, than "You And Me" by Open Hand would be a gentle and graceful caress by the sweetest of girls. Balancing on the thin line between garage- and stonerrock with a heavy seventies vibe, Open Hand takes you on a trip down memory lane right back to the days of Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. Do not expect a cheesy retro-rip off, because the band has way more to offer than simply repeating something which was done almost 30 years ago. Talking about the musical direction of "You And Me", I can hear traces of Queens Of The Stone Age ("Tough Girl", "Tough Guy"), Spiritual Beggars ("The Ambush", "Trench Warfare") and some rock 'n' roll and touches of psychedelica thrown in for good measure. Singer Justin Isham kind of reminds me of Josh Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age) with his drawling way of singing and his vocals add another soothing layer to the music. Diversity is the keyword here, which makes "You And Me" a very rewarding listen. The album has a fine production, so nothing to bitch about in that area. Open Hand might seem a little strange between all the metal/thrashcore acts on Trustkill, however they do deliver the goods and are a fine addition to acts like Queens Of The Stone Age and Spiritual Beggars among others. "You And Me" is the perfect soundtrack for recovery after a long night of drinking and partying!

Hollywood's own Open Hand is a suitably named band, because this has to be one of the most generous sounding records I've heard in ages. Although they've landed on a label known mostly for indie rock and hardcore, Open Hand's sound is a free-flowing river of rolling arena-rock riffs and infectious, breezy melodies. It's soaring power-pop one minute, blustery stoner crunch the next, with room left for 70's thunder metal and hazy groove rock and wavy-gravy whatever, and it's just the absolute tits, man. With the possible exception of Queens of the Stoneage, Open Hand are the only hard rock band I can think of that EVERYBODY might like, even the pussy emo kids. In fact, I think pussy emo kids make up a sizable chunk of their audience, and I don't even CARE, which is saying something. For pure bliss n' roll, dig the bongo-fueled desert rawk of "Tough Guy" and it's hook-heavy FM radio-ready chug-fest sister song, "Tough Girl"*, but if yr in the mood for 80's angst pop, there's the XTC-meets Replacements heartache of "Trench Warfare", and if a little Amboy Dukes-meets-Blue Cheer-meets Pink Floyd is what yr after, try the drowsy, psychedelic narco-drone of "The Kaleidoscope". I could go on, but honestly, trust me. This one is like a dozen different ways to have a real cool time. Do yourself a favor and take it for a ride.

The skinny: Not a day goes by when we don't miss the days when rock was more about guitars and strippers than matching sweat suits and MTV Cribs. Open Hand's first full-length release (their last LP The Dream was actually the band's first two EPs on one CD) is jam-packed with just over forty minutes of what the band calls "guitar rock." Each song has its own hook so catchy that only a frontal lobotomy will get it out of your head. The sheer variety from song to song is enough to warrant throwing away all those "the" band CDs you bought two years ago. Aside from being a really good band, the best part is that Open Hand don't need an irritating gimmick-like faking a British accent or being Christian. You'll like this album if you like: The Darkness, The Strokes, 8-track tapes, bandanas Standout tracks: "Tough Girls," "The Ambush" What does Tina Turner say? Ike gave me plenty of open hands back in the day...this one is way better! Tantalizing tidbit: The artwork in the liner notes is so nice that you might want to hang it up on your wall. But first take down that black-light poster of the crazy clown-seriously, do it now.

Open Hand has found a way to create music quite unlike any other band out there today smashing the boundaries between any number of various genres and making this album a must have in any collection. You and Me opens with ambiguously political song “Pure Concentrated Evil” with a fast, upbeat tempo laid over with somewhat electric guitar movements, making the music an overall extension of the disconcerting messages portrayed within the song. This gives way quickly to the cool tones and laid back tempo of “Her Song”, easily the catchiest on the record. Its slow pace, hypnotically melodious vocals and incredibly warm guitar hook during the chorus will have you humming this tune, mulling it over in your head, and singing along for days on end. These two seemingly divergent songs are a microcosm of the album as a whole. Open Hand’s ability to create music of various tempos, feels, and structures come together and work as a whole make this album the work of a master artisan. The songs themselves are of the highest technical merit and quality of sound, but it is how they are put together that push You and Me over the top. You and Me will certainly rank easily among the top albums of 2005 when the year comes to a close. We should all be thanking Open Hand for starting the year off right. This, their newest album is available through Trustkill Records beginning February 22nd. Preorder now or go out and buy it on release day. You wont be disappointed.

Trustkill Records have a deserved reputation for nurturing bands who are somewhere in-between hardcore, metal and something more experimental altogether. So the fact that they have chosen to release Open Hand’s first full length album with Roadrunner is slightly curios. Fortunately Open Hand are pretty curious in terms of their music so it all works out. “You and Me” bounces between ballads, classic metal and definite drug influences – for example Her song. Tough Girl screams influences that encompass the spectrum from Jane’s Addiction to Vintage Queens of the Stone Age. The only slight qualm being that 14 track 3 of them rely heavily on the fact that they are duets – this makes a nice impact as it’s still unusual in right but it does raise the doubt that Open Hand would be able to hold an album in their own right. And especially since one f these tracks, “Tough Girl” is touted to be the single with a potentially heavy rotation video this could ensure that Open Hand end up facing a potentially hostile live crowd in the near future. But right now that’s not an issue as “You and Me” is such an erratic album, the self titled track is unmistakably Smashing Pumpkins’ influenced rock which has a slightly spaced out feel to it, only to contrast dramatically with the much harder “Pure Concentrated Evil.” Open Hand has pulled off the trick that Zwan failed to realize, admittedly by trying harder and taking a lot less for granted, and its emo enough to ensure they get hordes of screaming girls whilst being musically challenging enough to actually be interesting.

This time last year, it was all over for Open Hand 2003’s tour with Poison The Well was supposed to break them, but instead left the post-hardcore hopefuls penniless. One by one, members deserted until only guitarist/vocalist Justin Isham was left. No band, no material, no chance. Not entirely, Isham set about rebuilding from the ground up, and happily, version 2.0 features more than just an entirely new line-up around Isham; it also features a completely new direction. And here – the title is a grim nod to Isham and singer/drummer Paxton Pryor’s last ditch attempt to record the album alone – is “You and Me”. And that where you drop your bacon sarnie and listen. Because if few people thought this album would ever happen, nobody at all predicted it would sound like this. The stressed emoismare out. The dominant theme here is open space: this is big sky music. This time round, the song don’t race to get home. Instead slowing down into great, moonstruck stoner rock that floats malevolently between QOTSA’s satanic boogie and The Black Crows’ slow-burning harmonics. And as with those bands, they key is the musicianship. Just listen to “You and Me”, whose seductive, hypnotic guitars waft skywards like incense smoke, or opener “Pure Concentrated Evil”, blowing like a distant sandstorm… and where the old Open Hand would have hit the uptight punk accelerator for the first single “Tough Girl”, this reincarnation weave their way through the songs, ozzing lysergic telepathy, parched harmonics and snake-eyed cool “You and Me” may or may not set the hearts on fire. But it should aid the incineration of at least a few onces of the fine Mexican import. Listen, you’ll know what I mean.

Stunningly radiant artwork: the promise of an album made up of contradictions. Duets, Ballads and full out metal in the vein of Sabbath are all to be found within. Is it possible for a band to meander this much without losing track of their aim? It would seem, if you're Open Hand it's achievable. However short 'Pure Concentrated Evil' is, it can still pack a punch as the opening track, Snarling like a dog on an all too short lead yet also offering velvety soothing vocals, it's a refreshing change to hear a band who are as diverse as most peoples musical tastes. Whereas you may previously have had to change CDs at this point to listen to a warm embrace of mature mid-paced rock, second track 'Her Song' eliminates this aggravation. Startlingly thoughtful, the pleasant groove hiding behind those guitars cries out for a lazy sunset upon a beach. Justin Isham's voice solidifies from this summer softness into the anthemic 'Tough Girl'. Easily one of the standout tracks on this album (along with thirteen others, many will say!) it's polished, slick and built for endurance on radio. __Perhaps you're wondering how you managed not to hear of Open Hand, because with songs that have this jaded reviewer head over heels in love, how could they be on their debut full-length album? The blissful pace of 'You and Me' is highly reminiscent of Incubus in their Morning View years...clean and well written. This isn't the type of song with single branded upon its metaphorical forehead, but with chaotic radio anthems such as 'Tough Guy'- the counterpart of 'Tough Girl'- it really doesn't matter. Open Hand has everything you could wish for covered on this album of surprisingly epic proportions. Spiraling in a high pitched beauty, 'The Ambush' is the perfect springboard for 'Take No Action' where Justin finds himself sharing vocal duties alongside Hayley Helmericks. That isn't all that Open Hand have to present- With the arrival of 'Newspeak' the album lurches off into the undergrowth hiding the type of music you're supposed to get stoned to, purely so you can appreciate its hypnotic depths totally. Every track on this album offers something different from the last and a vast improvement from what you're likely to find in your local music store. Again and again Justin proves just how diverse male vocals can really be... and again and again you find yourself wondering just where Open Hand have been hiding all these years. Even the haunting 'Trench Warfare' can't detract from the general upbeat feeling that flows through this sunshine coloured album.

The potential that LA rock band Open Hand toyed with on its previously full length, THE DREAM which was a collection of old EP's is so fully realized on its newest disc, YOU AN D ME, that listeners familiar with the band's older work may not recognize the transformation. Whereas Open Hand once sounded like a group of confused musicians, desperate to find a style to latch on to, YOU AND ME is a powerful statement about the effects of a little hard earned experience. The disc's opener is as good as I've heard in a while. Sporting probably the biggest guitar sound this side of Guns N' Roses, this pulsing Sabbath inspired track sets the stage for the rest of the material. This is what the new Helmet release should have sounded like: smart, driving rock that doesn't take itself too seriously. What truly set this disc apart is nuances within the recording itself-including barely audible guitar parts and some very cool vocal harmonies-that can only be fully appreciated through a pair of headphones. I expected to greet this release with ambivalence. Instead, I became a big fan, and I want more. Soon.

Stoner rock? Emo? Riff rock? What does it all mean? What does it matter? California's Open Hand has been called all of these, and yet none of those cursory labels really clue the listener in to the band's nimble, majestic roar. Their latest release, YOU AND ME, swings constantly between the opposite poles of consistency and experimentation to wind up standing as a modern rock tour de force; it manages to sound classic and forward thinking at the same time. Ladies and gentlemen: this is about as good as radio rock can get. Open Hand is perhaps most successful when they combine their crushing power with Isham's penchant for delicate, minor key melodies, as on the stunning title track, "Jaded" and "Crooked Crown". Producer (and former SHINER bassist) Paul Malinowski keeps the proceedings major label huge without sacrificing any of the bands DIY immediacy or intensity. Among the wash of trumped up releases that inundate a reporter's box every week, Open Hand cut though the haze and stood out like a flare in the fog. They managed to create an album full of hooks, heart, and passion at once familiar and yet wholly brand new. Now, let's hope they can break though the steel thick cloud of modern rock radio.

Back in 2002, when a lot of people were still using KaZaA to download music, there was a song floating around called "The Dream". If you were a fan of Thursday at the time, then you most likely heard this song as every single available download of the track said it was by Thursday. We were all fooled when we found out it was by a band called Open Hand. This band just happened to be on the verge of releasing their debut album, The Dream, on Trustkill Records. After releasing the record in January of 2003, Open Hand encountered more than a few set backs. At first, they lost their bassist and guitarist. Then, a few months later, their drummer left the band. All that was left of Open Hand was vocalist/guitarist Justin Isham. After recruiting drummer Paxton Pryor, the two headed into the studio with producer Paul Malinowski in order to rejuvenate the band's sound. After several months, the now completed Open Hand line-up surely has brought this band back to life with the release of their second album, You And Me. So many words come to mind when describing this fourteen track effort. It's simply amazing. Open Hand take rock n' roll music and transform it into the best album of its kind in recent memory. The quote that accompanies the cover of the disc says that the band obliterates any boundaries between stoner rock, indie rock, metal, emo (blah!), and garage rock. This description is very accurate in many ways as Open Hand combines sludgy, clean, melodic, metallic, and distorted guitar riffs with both complex and simple rhythms throughout the course of this album's play. The album gets rolling with a bang in the song "Pure Concentrated Evil". The song is short and fast and features an interesting mix of guitar and percussion as well as the introduction to Isham's vocals. He has a crisp voice but not in a sugary-sweet kind of way, rather in a husky, deep tone. Either way, he sings in great ways throughout the whole disc. They quickly change things up during the next track, "Her Song". It's a mellow one that features ringing and pulsating guitar riffs very similar to Minus The Bear. The added use of hand-drums puts the song over the edge, especially from the standpoint of a big fan of hand-drums. The next track, "Tough Girl", displays yet another side to the band's sound. It is very upbeat and has a dance-like vibe to it thanks to the addition of the stunningly sexy guest vocals of Hayley Helmericks. The two vocalists work off one another in great fashion, thus putting the song up there with the best on the disc. The Open Hand roller coaster keeps on going throughout You And Me. Each song has something different to offer. I noticed a pattern of ups and downs in terms of the way they ordered the songs. One song may be mellow, the next very rock-like, and then the next could be upbeat and catchy. This is definitely heard in the first three tracks mentioned above, but comes into play for the rest of the disc as well. "Jaded" is a slow-jam that contains melodic riffs and soothing vocals from Isham. His lyrics remain solid throughout the whole disc and during this song as he sings "this highway divides one more day/...how long will I survive, I think to myself/how far will this go/only they know". The ending of this track leads into the groovy "The Ambush". Part psychedelic rock and part atmospheric rock, it offers quirky drum rhythms as well as a chance to hear drummer Paxton Pryor lend his backing vocals. "Take No Action" comes on as another upbeat track that once again features Helmericks lending her vocal chops that give the song a feel-good style. More hand-drums appear in "Newspeak" while "Crooked Crown" finds dueling guitar distortions that are nothing short of mesmerizing. Finally, after a few more tracks, the guys end everything on a heavier note with "Hard Night". Ending much like they began the album, Open Hand opts for a harder approach with an aggressive vocal scheme. The guitars take on a haunting sound thanks to what appears to be some kind of reverb distortion. It ends the album on a solid note, leaving the listener with just enough music. While I initially discovered Open Hand thanks to that miss-labeled Thursday track, I feel like Open Hand just might have released an album that deserves more attention that just about all of their counterparts. They've put a new spin on what rock n' roll is all about, and do it in pleasing fashion. The songs on this album showcase a band paying attention to legendary rock bands while combining several other influences that make for a great collection of songs. You and Me's greatest attribute is the talent level and diversity of each song. Not many bands can pull off so many different guitar sounds, drum rhythms, and vocal patterns while adding in other instruments like bongos and Rhodes. All of the characteristics of this album can not truly be understood without hearing