Gaffa Tape Sandy – Hold My Hand, God Damn It

What’s in a name, well in Gaffa Tape Sandy’s case that is something that’s open to interpretation, it certainly isn’t on the same wavelength as Hewhocannotbenamed’s ode to adhesive tape, Duct Tape Love, but as far as a band name goes you aren’t given many clues as to what to expect. What you have on Hold On My Hand, God Damn It is a band dealing with the deterioation of the world and their own personal trauma, such as internal romantic break ups, the pandemic and the imminent arrival of their 30’s. My sympathy is limited on the latter as that’s a distant memory from my perspective and turning 30 isn’t the end of the world, but the first two are certainly no fun.

Prior to their debut full length Gaffa Tape Sandy’s back catalogue is a steady run of EP’s and singles, so it’s a credit to them that Hold On My Hand, God Damn It doesn’t resemble an anthology or Greatest Hits Volume 1, this is a reflection of Gaffa Tape Sandy here and now rather than a fond look back at the band’s previous output with a few new songs thrown in for good measure. This is also quite noticeably heavier than established fans might have expected, it’s by no means screaming hardcore but there’s some muscle added to their sound that stems from that side of the tracks.

Hold On My Hand, God Damn It is an unpredictable debut album that veers from the impressive opening track Body, that sounds like a synopsis of a Steven King short story via the medium of indie flavoured garage punk, to distinctly indie influenced tracks such as Scrapbook, Evil, Medicine and Energy, but then there’s the almost jaunty Get Off and the brief tranquil interludes of Rosemary and Holding Hands. These are interspersed amongst tracks that reflect their heavier and darker side such as Dead 2 Me, Split and Devour. The whole package feels like it’s been building up to a monumental finalé, and the slow burning Queasy, that was written in the aftermath of the horrific murder of Sarah Everard, certainly delivers one.

Gaffa Tape Sandy seem to have blended various strands of punk, grunge and indie into a package that sees them overcoming everything that life has thrown at them over the last nine years. The band have emerged stronger and more determined than ever, what hasn’t killed them, and in the pandemic’s case this was a very real threat, seems to have only made them more determined than ever. Hold On My Hand, God Damn It is an album that sees them dance through their own personal apocalypse, if you’re already under the spell of the likes of Cherym, Indoor Pets and Pet Needs, then Gaffa Tape Sandy should be on your radar.

Hold My Hand, God Damn It will be released on the 31st May via Alcopop! Records in the UK and Counter Intuitive Records in the US.