Back with a bang – THE VELVET HANDS – burst back onto the scene with news of brand new music plus a slew of UK shows this Spring, including a major headline date at Dingwalls in London.
Leading the charge with new single “I Don’t Care”, the track is one of four tracks to be heard on the band’s forthcoming ‘Caller’ EP, available in-full digitally from 1st May (via AWAL).
In advance of the release, the EP will also be availanle on CD, cassette + 10” Vinyl editions from 22nd March, with these physical editions featuring a bonus track in the shape of a cover of the Serge Gainsbourg classic “Chick Habit”.
“I Dont Care” is everything you’d hope for from The Velvet Hands and more. A 2’30 shot of pure adrenaline, administered through a breathless cascade of tumbling post-punk guitar riffs, loping basslines, and 00’s indie-disco primed call-and-response choral hooks.
A song about punching through paranoia, its lyrics and music are alive with a nervous energy that will be relatable to anyone navigating through the minefield that is the modern world.
Speaking about the track, Dan from the band says:
“Lyrically the song is about how you can get caught up in anxieties and negative introspection, and the feeling of freedom of shaking those feelings off.”
Channelling the power-pop prowess of The Strokes, Vaccines, and Buzzcocks, it’s a heady, hungry track that demands you hit repeat again and again to get your full fix. With Dan thrashing out the basic structure and Toby later adding the verse melody’s distinctive finesse; exactly as it sounds, “I Don’t Care” came together very naturally.
“I Don’t Care” is the lead track of The Velvet Hands’ brand new ‘Caller’ EP. Recorded by John Logan (who produced the band’s ‘Sucker Punch’ album), and Produced and Mixed by Jam X Jules alongside The Velvet Hands, the EP will also feature the full-throttle “I’ll Be Free”, the gunslinging title-track “Caller”, and the all-out escapism of “3AM”.
Of the latter of these new tracks, Toby states:
“It’s a song about escaping small towns in your mates car, about how being young can be so lonely, and how the future is bright. We wanted the verse to feel like the small towns we grew up, analogue and woody. We wanted the chorus to feel like the future, full of flashing lights and hope.”
Recorded at a productive session during the very early hours, the same studio session would also see the band record an incendiary version of the Serge Gainsboug classic “Chick Habit”, which will also be seeing the light of day on the physical editions of their new EP. Remoulding the track in their own rough-hewn image, the notable French vocal part is performed by Parisian Lise L (of French feminist Grunge band: Pythies). Released as a digital version last year, “Chick Habit”, has already received great support from French radio, plus mentions in Rolling Stone France, Indie Music Mag and more.
Already proving to be another killer moment in their live sets, The Velvet Hands will now be taking their latest works out on the road for a stretch of UK shows this Spring. With the run including one of their biggest headline shows to date at London’s Dingwalls venue on 22 March, their full live schedule to date is as follows:
THE VELVET HANDS – 2025 LIVE DATES
March 20th – The Cornish Bank Falmouth
March 22nd – Dingwalls London – Headline
April 3rd – The Black Prince – Northampton
April 4th – The Lime Tree – Peterborough
April 19th – Stockton Calling Festival
May 17th – The Great Escape Official Festival – Hope & Ruin
May 23rd – Run For The Sun – Newquay – Cornwall
May 30th – The Great Estate – Scorrier – Cornwall
THE VELVET HANDS – NEW SINGE: “I DON’T CARE”
STREAMING ON ALL SERVICES – 20 MARCH
THE VELVET HANDS – NEW EP: ‘CALLER’
STREAMING ON ALL SERVICES – 1st MAY / OUT ON CD, CASSETTE, & VINYL – 22 MARCH
TRACKLISTING:
A – I Don’t Care
A – I’ll Be Free
A – Caller
B – 3 AM
B – Chick Habit – bonus track on physical release.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
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