Slick Screamo To Scare You Into Submission
Choppy rhythms, hook ridden synths and ground shaking growls are just a few weapons of choice in The Handshake Affairs arsenal as the German based band attempt to slay all with their adrenaline tidal wave of synth heavy screamo.
With the melodically intense screams of Aiden in their earlier days and a dose of infectiously edgy synths akin to Enter Shikari that blaze a hook drenched path of their own, The Handshake Affair aren’t necessarily breaking new ground. As the thrashing beats of ‘The Chauffer’ brazeningly smack into almost tenderly sweeping vocals, The Handshake Affair’s latest EP ‘Oh, Oh … Get Her In’ shows that whilst their sound isn’t new, they have the ability to be at the top of the class of like sounding bands.
To make sure their point thumps you right between the eyes, a surge of howls are released that titter on the brink of spiralling into viscerally foreboding territory, scaringly intoxicating and enlivening before melodic normality is restored and the infectious beats wade in to guarantee no one escapes. And this seems to be the formula The Handshake Affair adheres to. ‘How Sweet Thin Shadows Are’ pounces with deep throated growls that sound like they are ripping each vocal chord out inch by inch whilst ‘Sins And Alibis’ pummels along with added pace ploughing straight into ‘The Cinderella Murder Classic’ that calmly welcomes you in with catchy synths transform to reveal a thrashing blast that leaves you half in a crumpled emotional heap whilst the other half flays about aggressively in a thrash induced hail of excitement. The Handshake Affair may not be peddling a new sound but with hook laden tracks so slickly delivered that literally scream out for your attention, you’ll find them a hard act to ignore.