Velvet Hand

Manchester/Todmorden quartet Friends of Our Youth follow their official AnalogueTrash debut, Problem Is, and an appearance on the label’s 2024 sampler with the introspective indie-rock of Velvet Hand.

The band has an established flair for pairing easy-going songs with hard-hitting lyrics, wed to a warmly toned arrangement that invites comparisons with The Strokes, Suicide, and The Velvet Underground.

Though the song is deliberately structured to bring the past into sharp focus for the listener, its fluid sonic groove works in sync with the lyrics, as their subject matter shifts from the past to the present to the immediate future.

Indie with a strong No Wave theme and grounded lyrics, Velvet Hand and previous single Problem Is signal that Friends of Our Youth are building and expanding on the melodic rock melancholy of their That Was Then album, as they open themselves and the listener up to previously unexplored sonic and emotional vistas.

The band’s vocalist and guitarist, David Boon, describes the song as “a lullaby of the begrudging cynic”, describing “a weather-worn statue that’s lost its features” as the lyrics hint at the relief of finding a kindred spirit as the world crumbles around us.

Velvet Hand was recorded and produced by Mark Jones (Peter Gabriel, Goldfrapp, Black Grape) of MJM Recording and is the second single to be taken from their new album.