One Hand Up is one of those records that requires some patience and attention to really appreciate. You’re not going to get the sense of the whole thing by listening to one track. This is because the record is not only all over the place, but the songs take odd turns themselves.
The album sleeve gives no indication of any of that; to me it kind of looks like an unassuming AOR record or something. I got the sense that there’s more than meets the eye when scanning the song titles: “24-Hour Prayer Q-Beat” and “Saddle Bronc Rider / Barrel Girl Dub” and “V.O.G. (Existential Precariosity).” Is something going on here? Turns out, yes there is. It’s way more Butthole Surfers than Bonnie Raitt.
While One Hand Up is not a loud or hard record, Karen Haglof (that’s Dr. Karen Haglof, MD to you) has a long history in rock. For example, she was in Band Of Susans at the same time as Page Hamilton of Helmet for the Love Agenda album in 1989. Given that, the press release makes One Hand Up sound like a guitar album (Haglof’s old-school Kay guitar is featured prominently in the sleeve), but to me it really isn’t; instead, Haglof throws everything including the kitchen sink at this record, and that means sax squeals, samples and loops, synths, and a variety of mixing techniques in the studio. I can imagine her and the band working on the album and someone throwing out an off-the-wall, off-the-cuff idea and Haglof going, “I like it. Let’s do that.”
Below is a music video for “Slinky 66.” Again, it’s odd.
I wouldn’t recommend this record to someone who’s into, you know, normal music. But for someone who likes to go, “what?” when they’re listening to an album, One Hand Up is worth looking into. It’s up on Bandcamp and other streaming services. (Supposedly it’s on CD also but I’m not seeing a link for that.)
