some of it was true!

One of the most wacky, divisive, inventive and potentially irritating bands around, The Phenomenal Handclap Band have announced some UK dates in March, following on from their October 2009 visit.  

Formed by New York DJs Daniel Collás and Sean Marquand, The PHB offer a chaotic melee of synths, keyboards, female vocals, guitars and percussion.  Their sounds seem to vary: 15-20 is a memorable, highly repetitve and fast-paced disco thoroughbred; You’ll Disappear much more meditative and bedraggled.   They ought to be a good bet live, and Cargo’s lights and lively atmosphere seems a neat fit.  They play there on Tuesday 9 March – more details should be here soon.

The BBC does a good job in summarising The PHC’s style, in a largely dismissive review: “The Phenomenal Handclap Band is aiming for a sound approximating Rare Earth, the hugely successful Motown act that straddled the divide between post-psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll and funk in the early 1970s. Falling well short of this, however, they wind up in the same benighted funk-pop territory as Norman Cook’s unmourned acid jazz outfit Freak Power“.  For what it’s worth, I think the band amalgamate their various influences much more enjoyably than the Beeb gives them credit for.  Although 15-20 can get SO annoying!

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MP3: The Phenomenal Handclap Band – 15-20