Cut Off Your Hands
The Delancey
October 17, 2007

Not content to go home and be glum after getting shut out of The Nightwatchman show at Irving Plaza—excuse me—The Fillmore at Irving Plaza, I headed over to The Delancey to take in whatever the club might be offering. I lucked out, Cut Off Your Hands just hit stage and the brash, young New Zealand punks that play a thrashy pop style that recalls The Smiths and The Sex Pistols. Before you scream “whatever,” it should be noted that the bass player was playing so hard he snapped an E string. That’s enough for me to love a band.

Most of their music was in the mellower rock vein, but the singer strayed occasionally into pop punk vocals. The crowd seemed quite enthralled, as dozens of hipsters (mostly of the female persuasion) backed into the basement, which looked an awful lot like a cleaner Coney Island High. The singer and guitarist traded vocals on a few tracks and crashed into each other as a video crew (okay: guy with big camera) recorded their set. It should be stated, that 90 percent of the time, randomly picking a CMJ show to go to, means suffering through some singer/songwriter crap or a bad indie band. While not the most original sound, Cut Off Your Hands put a solid set and are definitely worth checking out.