Sunburned Hand of the Man are an experimental rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. They are a loose collective known for their frequent line up changes and large discography released on a variety of labels including Eclipse Records, Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace!, Three Lobed Recordings, and their own Manhand label.[1]
Biography
Sunburned Hand of the Man formed in Boston in 1994, growing out of a trio named Shit Spangled Banner with John Moloney and Robert Thomas managing an ever-changing line-up.[2] Their initial influences included Sonic Youth and the Melvins, though as their line-up expanded they began to incorporate elements of folk, drone, free jazz, and funk.[3]
By the early 2000s the band were increasingly associated with the "free folk" movement as described by David Keenan in his article "New Weird America" for The Wire.[4] The following decade saw a consistent stream of limited edition releases and live documents, ranging from improvised noise to more coherently arranged material such as 2007's Four Tet-produced Fire Escape[5] and 2010's A.[6]
Their output slowed during the 2010s and releases became more infrequent, although the band never fully deactivated.[7]
Frequent Sunburned guitarist Marc Orleans died on June 25, 2020, at the age of 52.[8] The following year the band returned with Pick a Day to Die, an album edited together from unreleased material recorded between 2007 and 2017.[9]
Selected discography
- 1994 Shit Spangled Banner (self-released cassette, Ecstatic Yod Ass Run LP)
- 1997 Mind Of A Brother (Manhand 001, CD)
- 1998 Piff's Clicks (Manhand 002, CD)
- 2001 Jaybird (Manhand 003, CD)
- 2001 Wild Animal (Manhand 004, CD)
- 2001 The Healers Barrel (Manhand 005, CD)
- 2002 The Book of Pressure (Manhand 006, CD)
- 2002 The Agoraphobic Christcycle (Manhand 007, CD)
- 2002 Headdress (Records, LP)
- 2002 Jaybird (Qbico, LP)
- 2002 Sopra L'Influsso - video - (Qbico)
- 2003 Shit Spangled Banner-Inflated with Self-Hatred (Manhand 008, CD)
- 2003 Closer to the Bone (Manhand 009/010, CD)
- 2003 Magnetic Drugs (Manhand 011, CD)
- 2003 The Trickle Down Theory of God Knows What (Eclipse, LP, CD)
- 2003 The Sunburned Hand of the Man (LP)
- 2003 Hoof Trip (Riot Season, 7")
- 2004 Soft (Manhand 012)
- 2004 Rare Wood (Spirit of Orr, CD)
- 2004 The Secret in Disguise (Finga 013, CD)
- 2004 No Magic Man (Bastet, CD)
- 2005 Zample (Manhand 014, CD)
- 2005 Anatomy (Manhand 024, CD)
- 2005 Wedlock (Eclipse, double LP)
- 2005 Complexion (Records, LP)
- 2006 The Mylar Tantrum (Three Lobed Recordings, CD)
- 2006 Bone For Sky Baba Ganoush (Chad Cooper CD)
- 2007 Z (Ecstatic Peace, CD)
- 2007 The Blaze Game (Conspiracy Records) - collaboration with Circle as Sunburned Circle
- 2007 Fire Escape (Smalltown Supersound) - produced by Four Tet
- 2007 "Weekend at Burnie's 2" (Lost Treasures of the Underworld, LP)
- 2007 "Locked / Loaded" Cs (Meudiademorte, Cassette]
- 2008 the Spacial Crime symbol (Manhand 082, CD)
- 2009 Loose Bugs (Magnetic Expansion Label, CD)
- 2010 A (Ecstatic Peace!, LP) - produced by Four Tet
- 2019 Headless (Sunburned Records 165, CD)
- 2020 Covered In Mud (Manhand 170, CD)
- 2021 Pick a Day To Die (Three Lobed Recordings)
- 2021 Vulgarisms (Manhand 178, CD)
- 2021 Exile on Broadway (Manhand 172, CD)
- 2021 The Air Itself (Manhand 182, CD)
- 2022 Headdress 20th Anniversary Remaster (Three Lobed Recordings 141, LP)
- 2024 Nimbus (Three Lobed Recordings 150, LP)
References
- ^ Nickey, Jason. "Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
- ^ Kitching, Sean (23 March 2016). "The Strange World Of... Sunburned Hand Of The Man". The Quietus. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
- ^ "Album of the month: Jaybird". Head Heritage. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
- ^ Keenan, David (August 2003). "Welcome to the New Weird America". The Wire (234): 32.
- ^ Haver Currin, Grayson. "Fire Escape Album Review". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
- ^ Gaerig, Andrew. "'A' Album Review". Pitchfork Media.
- ^ Thomas, Fred. "Pick a Day to Die Album Review". AllMusic.
- ^ Coley, Byron. "Marc Orleans RIP". The Wire.
- ^ Ingalls, Chris (11 March 2021). "Sunburned Hand of the Man are Back". Pop Matters.
External links
- Official Site
- Sunburned Hand of the Man at AllMusic
- 77 Boadrum Site Profile Viva Radio, Sep 2007. (Flash)
- Magnetic Expansion
- Spirit of Orr