Handle

Updating post-punk and no wave's jagged sounds and confrontational attitudes for the 21st century, Handle stand out from their contemporaries thanks to their eclectic influences and unhinged performances. On 2020's In Threes, the band's jittery rhythms draw from disco, funk, Latin, and Motorik inspirations, while their surreal songwriting and the commanding vocals of Leo Hermitt are equally riveting and unsettling.

Handle formed after the Manchester, England-based post-punk septet <a href="spotify:artist:3b662TuiaH6pp7Ss8rvaoe">Duds</a> called it a day. Two of that band's members, bassist/vocalist Giulio Erasmus and drummer Nirvana Heire, connected with vocalist/keyboardist Hermitt, a gender-queer, multidisciplinary artist known for their contributions to the city's art scene. In 2018, the trio issued Demonstrations, a collection of demos that revealed Handle had an even more combustible approach to post-punk than Erasmus and Heire's previous outfit did. Many of the songs on Demonstrations appeared on the trio's debut album In Threes. Mastered by <a href="spotify:artist:2oeu1S18kSQkVZC7lqCl3M">Mikey Young</a> and co-released by <a href="spotify:artist:3b662TuiaH6pp7Ss8rvaoe">Duds</a>' previous label Maternal Voice and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Upset+the+Rhythm%22">Upset the Rhythm</a>, it arrived in March 2020. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi