Dan ...and sometimes friends.
In recent times I have variously been protected by the incredible ninja skills of: Neil Pennycook, Hannah Shepherd, Chris Bryant, Alun Thomas, Bart Owl, Cammy Watt, Jo Foster, Jed Milroy, Faith Nicholson.
Influences
acid/growing up in the suburbs/depression/hope
Sounds Like
"Some of our favorite songs of 2008 -
"I Am Nothing"—Withered Hand
A little self-pity every now and then never hurt anyone."
McSweeney's Recommends - www.mcsweeneys.net
"The hour was just past 2am when Withered Hand took to the stage to deliver the performance of the night. Pressed for time to fit both himself and Meursault in he just blew me away with the raw energy of the short 4 songs he played. The very first time I saw Dan he played a solo set supporting eagleowl, he seemed a little lost on stage and I didn’t really get it. Every time I’ve seen him since he’s got better and better and better and on Saturday I think I saw a performance from possibly the best unsigned act in Scotland. It was fantastic. I adore Religious Songs. It’s a brilliant ep and now Dan has hit a level of live performance that not many could touch. Brilliant set." Nov 08 http://thesteinbergprinciple.wordpress.com
"Religious Songs is an intense, eccentric, bittersweet and very wry ep. Unsteady guitars, wounded sentiment and tipsy violins reveal an emotional screw-up with a strong-enough hold on reality to channel the bitter and the sweet in equal measure....Keep an eye on Withered Hand because on the basis of this very strong debut there’s a good chance that one day Dan will make a clock-stopping album to file next to Moving Up Country, American Water or Farewell Sorrow." http://fireescapetalking.blogspot.com/ June 08
"A Withered Hand show is a balancing act — Dan Willson, more comfortable scribbling in his sketchbooks than standing in front of a packed room behind a microphone, wraps his deepest, darkest experiences in the prettiest folk-pop melodies this side of Herman Dune. At times, it’s almost too much for him to bear — a song cuts out midway through, a quick mumbled apology, and the show’s over.
That’s the thing about the best in pop. Losing hurts. Yearning kills. You might be singing the prettiest of notes and la-la-la’s, but inside that harmonious gold wrapper is the dirtiest of emotions. A long time coming, Withered Hand’s Religious Songs makes a case for Willson as one of Scotland’s finest exports, even if it does only last 15 minutes." M. Hamilton, Fast Forward Weekly (Canada) 22 May 08
"Raging eccentric Withered Hand – a fantastically flaky, tiny-voiced Edinburgh strummer reminiscent of alt-folk loon Daniel Johnston – made for a somehow fitting finale. His set climaxed with the spectacle of a low-slung banjo being raked with a violin bow, Jimmy Page-style, in a kind of elemental fusion of folk, punk and hard rock. If Homegame can continue to survive just so that happens once more every year, the world will surely be a better place for it." Malcolm Jack, The Scotsman 31 March 08
"i got to play a show in edinburgh, scotland this year with withered hand and jo foster and that show was really great,i had never heard either of them before. just really really beautiful singing and/or storytelling lyrics from people who are not out there touring all of the time,so they seem really fresh and wholly involved in the spirit of it."
Kyle Field (aka Little Wings) indiejudas.com
"...the title track from Withered Hand's new EP (released on new label Bear Scotland) combines themes of faith, doubt, sex and inexplicably uncomfortable furniture without blinking an eye. A key member of the delightful but short-lived anti-folk outfit The Love Gestures, he's also recently played at the Fence Collective's Homegame Festival in Anstruther and at a special Scottish Hobo Society event as part of the (sob) last ever Triptych." Milo McLaughlin, The Skinny, May 08
"Withered Hand are one of the best bands in the city at the moment, mixing acerbic wit with caustic self-loathing and futile optimism. If anyone embodies Scottish songwriting as I see it then it is Dan, and his band is worth making a considerable trip to see. Brilliant." Songbytoad.com
"Being a sad old person, I think I’m just so happy to listen to somebody who seems to write about life remotely as I know it - domestic despair, late night wanderings, uncertainty, where is my direction in life?, is there any point to “having a direction?”, bemusement, the search for happiness/meaning etc. These themes are all here in the wonderful music of Withered Hand and within the songs on his fantastic “Religious Songs” EP. This week it really has been “seldom off my turntable”…in a virtual sense."
J.Mackie, plentyside.blogspot.com
"Here's Edinburgh's Withered Hand using mandolin, guitar, cello and his voice to shake all the dust from him, all the stray feelings, all the loose longings; so that at end of song he'll be just a body and the light in his eyes. It's a song beautiful and full."
saidthegramophone.com, april 08
"How can you expect to be happy, when you listen to death metal bands?' beseeches Edinburgh versifier and DIY renaissance man Dan Willson, aka the fantastical Withered Hand, on his recent Religious Songs EP. It's a scratchy, grassroots unification of alt-pop, skewed folk and punk intention, released on heroic local imprint Bear Scotland: a bedroom enterprise so audacious it has its own (excellent) coat of arms."
tennentsmutual.com, september 08
"....we had the pleasure of witnessing one of the best bands I’ve seen this tour…damn it…this year! Withered Hand was their name. If you get a chance, purchase their ep Religious Songs."
James Yuill (Moshi Moshi) online tour diary, november 08
BOOKING/PRESS ETC - Please direct any and all enquiries to wh666 (at) witheredhand.com. I can play alone or with some of the revolving group of long-suffering friends that comprise my band.
The debut WITHERED HAND album, GOOD NEWS, which has been mixed and mastered by legendary American producer and musician KRAMER (shimmy disc, galaxie 500, daniel johnston, bongwater, butthole surfers, low etc), will be released in the UK on September 7th through SL Records.
You can preorder/buy it now via the SL webshop, or find it in surviving independent record shops across the UK.
'It is quite some time since a debut release has placed 10 such perfect songs back to back' The Herald
***** - The Herald, 05/09/09
**** - The List, September 09
**** - The Skinny, September 09
If you fancy receiving occasional messages about any stuff that WITHERED HAND does you can sign up for the mailing list here:
I will NOT, repeat NOT sell your details to gangsters, or purveyors of marital aids.
My second EP 'You're Not Alone' is NOW AVAILABLE from DIY champions
FENCE RECORDS - home of the wonderful Fence Collective. It was recorded in Anstruther, Fife with Fence guru King Creosote over a weekend by the sea and features four new songs...
"After the rollicking full band sing-along of first EP Religious Songs, this second EP showcases the more reflective side of Withered Hand's Dan Willson, here performing solo with a beautifully restrained multi-instrumental accompaniment by King Creosote, who also produced. The same endearingly fragile delivery and razor sharp one-liners remain, but this time around the emotional clout is a whole lot more forceful." (4/5) THE SKINNY June 09
My debut EP, 'Religious Songs', produced by my friend Neil Pennycook (Meursault), is still available in some places. Thanks to Bear Scotland and Ed at SL Records for all their help in getting the songs out there and to my downstairs neighbours for their patience (we recorded it in my kitchen).
SL have sold out of Religious Songs but you can probably still find it in Avalanche and Elvis Shakespeare...
And it's also available to buy direct in the USA from my friends at
Olive Juice Music
Lastly, some WITHERED HAND trivia. I finally managed to grow my hair and it looks pretty good at the back. I like heavy rock music because it makes me feel like a man. My therapist had a cool name, Faith. What else? er...well, nothing. Thanks for listening...
One last thing.....If you like my songs you might like to look at some of my
[DRAWINGS] too, you can see some in the slideshow below...
Thanks to the evergreen Vic Galloway for his kind words and support. If yr interested in new music from Scotland then Vic's show and podcasts can be found on BBC Radio Scotland.
Hey Dan (and other members of the Hand Band) Thanks so much for your set at the Charity Baw. Fantastic stuff, we had a really great night. Hope you did too.
My Dear WITHERED HAND, I want you to know that your music and your songs are my passion. I am addicted. There is something that pulls me towards them. Keep it up WITHERED HAND. Te PS:Follow Me Twitter at http://twitter.com/iaent
Would love to play your stuff on my radio show, The British Breakfast on WRIR 97.3FM Richmond, Virginia USA and streamed live on www.wrir.org. Can you make that happen?
Respectfully,
Gene Pembleton 2500 Lauderdale Drive Richmond, Virginia 23233 USA
Online Now!
