• News

• All

Feb 02, 2016 By Michael Wojtas

On February 19, eight San Francisco labels (Burger Records, Danger Collective, Death Records, Empty Cellar, Gnar Tapes, Grabbing Clouds, Little L, and Plastic Response) will team up to release Ahh…The Name’s Emotional, Baby!, Brian Wakefield’s debut under the moniker Emotional. Ahead of the record, we’re sharing the single “Hand 4 Hire.”

Wakefield (who previously did time in Melted Toys and Alex Bleeker and the Freaks) is working in a warped pop idiom here, and “Hand 4 Hire,” somehow manages to feel nostalgic yet liberated from the sense of belonging to any particular era. Suave but utterly stoned, it’s a reverb-haloed synth confection that swims straight toward your pleasure centers. Here’s what Wakefield had to say about the track:

“Hand 4 Hire is a journey into the world of a lonely soul looking for a mate. It’s a hopeful tale of love told through perverse lips. Recorded originally in Portland during a cold winter night at Gnarnia. It was re-worked/recorded months later in San Francisco with band mates Ole (drums/guitar) and Muzzy (bass/synth). The vocoder reminds me of one of my favorite scenes from Phantom Of The Paradise. This our attempt to discover an imaginary line between Belle & Sebastian & Daft Punk.”

Listen below.