Withered Hand

Withered Hand is the solo project of singer/songwriter Dan Willson, an Edinburgh-based indie folk-rock artist known for his heartfelt, D.I.Y. acoustic songs and ragged tenor voice. Debuting in 2009 with Good News, Willson found favor at home and abroad with subsequent efforts like New Gods (2103) and How to Love (2023). Williams Willson, a collaboration with English singer-songwriter <a href="spotify:artist:64YVotBSFQoRt2TWCkGFqy">Kathryn Williams</a>, appeared in 2024.

A veteran of multiple bands in late-'90s and early-2000s Edinburgh music scene, Willson began his solo career after receiving an acoustic guitar from his wife as a 30th birthday gift. Migrating slowly from bandmate to solo artist, he began singing and writing his own loose, jangly songs, eventually releasing his debut EP, Religious Songs, under the moniker Withered Hand. Finding immediate success with the new format, Willson released a second EP in 2009 before teaming up with legendary American producer <a href="spotify:artist:1jacVtMSOup3dqdSEeegZg">Kramer</a> to make his first full-length album, Good News, in 2010. With his ragged tenor and often lo-fi, acoustic-based sound, Willson has come to represent a certain standard in the U.K. D.I.Y. scene and was a part of the Fife-based <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Fence+Collective%22">Fence Collective</a> with acts like <a href="spotify:artist:5SP6T04F8Ic9oftMVfdKkp">King Creosote</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:53aQwuzlyn4vxxUs6Edlqw">James Yorkston</a>. Two more Withered Hand EPs appeared in 2012 before Willson returned to the studio to record his follow-up LP. His second full-length, New Gods, was released in early 2014 by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Fortuna+Pop%22">Fortuna Pop</a> and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Slumberland%22">Slumberland</a>. The record was produced by Tony Doogan (<a href="spotify:artist:3hyGGjxu73JuzBa757H6R5">Mountain Goats</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4I2BJf80C0skQpp1sQmA0h">Belle and Sebastian</a>) and features help from <a href="spotify:artist:2xLjx9vPwpFEf7Jx62ZTuh">Black Tambourine</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:26a6al8Yp1xbKA35Fo3UB5">Pam Berry</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3nh34IHvtRRsoKz3zTcyeH">Eugene Kelly</a> of <a href="spotify:artist:4wWQkHhmUNlXvhbHRUSqZW">the Vaselines</a>, and members of <a href="spotify:artist:4I2BJf80C0skQpp1sQmA0h">Belle and Sebastian</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6fVcDUckTwxqg56qNsEvUr">Frightened Rabbit</a>.

A nine-year gap preceded the release of 2023's How to Love, an assured and intimate set of songs about Willson's mental health struggles. In 2024, he teamed up with <a href="spotify:artist:64YVotBSFQoRt2TWCkGFqy">Kathryn Williams</a> for Williams Willson, a collection of warm and heartfelt songs rooted in themes of grief and loss. ~ Timothy Monger, Rovi