The Velvet Hands

“Full of Bolshy Spirit” – NME
 “A satisfying mix of classic punk, rock’n’roll and modern indie magic” – Dork 
“Sucker Punch is another fab album from The Velvet Hands” – Louder Than War

Back with a bang - THE VELVET HANDS - burst back onto the scene with news of  brand new music plus a slew of UK shows this Spring, including a major headline date at Dingwalls in London.

Leading the charge with new single “I Don’t Care”, the track is one of four tracks to be heard on the band’s forthcoming ‘Caller’ EP, available in-full digitally from 1st May (via AWAL). In advance of the release, the EP will also be availanle on CD, cassette + 10” Vinyl editions from 22nd March, with these physical editions featuring a bonus track in the shape of a cover of the Serge Gainsbourg classic “Chick Habit”.

“I Dont Care” is everything you’d hope for from The Velvet Hands and more. A 2’30 shot of pure adrenaline, administered through a breathless cascade of tumbling post-punk guitar riffs, loping basslines, and 00’s indie-disco primed call-and-response choral hooks. 

A song about punching through paranoia, its lyrics and music are alive with a nervous energy that will be relatable to anyone navigating through the minefield that is the modern world.

Speaking about the track, Dan from the band says:

“Lyrically the song is about how you can get caught up in anxieties and negative introspection, and the feeling of freedom of shaking those feelings off.”

Channelling the power-pop prowess of The Strokes, Vaccines, and Buzzcocks, it’s a heady, hungry track that demands you hit repeat again and again to get your full fix. With Dan thrashing out the basic structure and Toby later adding the verse melody’s distinctive finesse; exactly as it sounds, “I Don’t Care” came together very naturally.

“I Don’t Care” is the lead track of The Velvet Hands’ brand new ‘Caller’ EP. Recorded by John Logan (who produced the band’s ‘Sucker Punch’ album), and Produced and Mixed by Jam X Jules alongside The Velvet Hands, the EP will also feature the full-throttle “I’ll Be Free”, the gunslinging title-track “Caller”, and the all-out escapism of “3AM”.

Of the latter of these new tracks, Toby states:

“It’s a song about escaping small towns in your mates car, about how being young can be so lonely, and how the future is bright. We wanted the verse to feel like the small towns we grew up, analogue and woody. We wanted the chorus to feel like the future, full of flashing lights and hope.”

Recorded at a productive session during the very early hours, the same studio session would also see the band record an incendiary version of the Serge Gainsboug classic “Chick Habit”, which will also be seeing the light of day on the physical editions of their new EP. Remoulding the track in their own rough-hewn image, the notable French vocal part is performed by Parisian Lise L (of French feminist Grunge band: Pythies). Released as a digital version last year, “Chick Habit”, has already received great support from French radio, plus mentions in Rolling Stone France, Indie Music Mag and more.

Already proving to be another killer moment in their live sets, The Velvet Hands will now be taking their latest works out on the road for a stretch of UK shows this Spring. With the run including one of their biggest headline shows to date at London’s Dingwalls venue on 22 March, their full live schedule to date is as follows:

******

The Velvet Hands are Toby Mitchell, Dan Able, Louis Mitchell and John Logan. After forming amidst Cornwall’s blistering garage-rock scene, the four-piece relocated to London and have been making a name for themselves on the capital’s underground guitar circuit ever since.

Praised as being “full of bolshy spirit” by NME, the band’s self-recorded debut album was Huw Stephens’ Album Of The Week on Radio 1. Garnering comparisons to the likes of The Clash, The Cribs and The Libertines, The Velvet Hands have also caused a stir with a range of tastemakers including Fred Perry Subculture, Gigslutz, God Is In The TV, Louder Than War, and The Rodeo Magazine. 

Gaining airplay on BBC 6 Music, BBC Introducing and Radio X, they have performed two sessions for John Kennedy who proclaimed: “Every track they've released has been a hit as far as i'm concerned”. 

Hand-picked by Michael Eavis to support Elbow at the 2022 instalment of the infamous Pilton Party, the band have also supported leading acts like Fontaines D.C., VANT, Wallows, Frank Turner, Trampoline, Paul Weller and Liam Gallagher.

Taking in extensive headline tours of the UK of their own, the band have sold out The Lexington and Omeara in London, Old Bakery Studios and The Cornish Bank in Truro and Falmouth, and achieved near sell-outs in Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Cardiff. Festival regulars, The Velvet Hands have also headlined the This Feeling stage at Truck Festival, killed a main stage slot at Perranporth’s Tunes In The Dunes and performed at Cornwall’s The Great Estate, pulling in the largest daytime crowd in the process. With word beginning to spread across the channel, the band played and sold out Supersonic in Paris in both March 2023 and April 2024.

In 2023, the band released their second album ‘Sucker Punch’ to widespread praise. Delivering coming-of-age tales with slacker-rock sensibilities, the album combined the punchy guitar licks of The Strokes or Parquet Courts with rousing punk choruses reminiscent of The Clash or The Vaccines. The ten-track LP was recorded by John Logan at The Cube Studios in Cornwall, produced and mixed by John Logan and JamX Jules at Par Studios and mastered by the legendary John Cornfield (The Stone Roses, Supergrass, Muse). It was followed by an extended vinyl version of ‘Sucker Punch’ in 2024, released via Krautpop Records. 

Rounding off 2024 in style, the band supported Hard Fi at their sold-out Roundhouse gig at the personal request of Hard Fi frontman Richard Archer and recently undertook a series of Independent Venue Week gigs in January and played the Plymouth Sound Factory Festival in March. 

With their ‘Caller’ EP out this month, preparations for the band’s third album are already underway with a release being eyeballed for Spring 2026. Watch this space for more from The Velvet Hands very soon…