Victory Hands - Bishop

Label: Headphone Treats
Year: 2019

This newest Victory Hands release marks their third record, and first 12", continuing their strange trip into the far corners of the Nixon administration via a mathy monorail of concise post hardcore-ish agitations. We've covered this modus operandi in the two previous write-ups on the band, but it bears repeating so as not to undersell the sheer bizarreness of it all; you see, Victory Hands are releasing records based on a journalist who was on President Nixon's Master List of Political Opponents (capitalized on account of it being an actual document), and mining declassified transcripts of the Nixon Tapes as the sole basis for 100% of the lyrical content.
Absurd, wouldn't you agree?
Generally, when you encounter a novelty act of whatever stripe, they have one shot at making you chuckle. Any output after their debut release is always going to suffer diminishing returns, as the....well...novelty, has worn thin. But you see, Victory Hands is no novelty. They are an actual functioning, creative, band that prioritizes musicality and precision playing first and foremost. It's no joke. Weird? Yeah, it's weird for sure. But this is no gimmick. They prove it by this very record, the strongest to date in an already impeccable discography.
Jim Bishop, for whom we are indebted on the occasion of this record, was best known as an author and biographer, but his syndicated column (that according to his obituary, took on average 35 minutes to write) is what landed him on the wrong side of the Nixon Administration. Victory Hands pay homage to Mr. Bishop with six terse, restless numbers. They at times uncoil as Drive Like Jehu would, at other times they scratch around the murk not unlike Slint, and in moments they convulse like Rodan would, but they remain accessible by way of melodious undercurrents that humanize the prickly instrumentation. They can challenge and prod, but the songs are never unapproachable. Always enjoyable. And isn't that the point? Usually? Even when you're chronicling one of the high water marks of Cold War insanity; the so-called "Kitchen Debate" between (then vice president) Nixon and Nikita Khruschev at the opening American International Exposition in Moscow, July 24th, 1959 whereupon the two statesmen debated communism and capitalism in a model kitchen exhibit (you should look it up...it's fucking nuts), Victory Hands weave the subject matter through a compelling snarl of rock music. Dudes are not amateurs here.

Sidebar: you really do have to hold the actual record in your hands, the craftsmenship of the packaging matches the music perfectly. It's odd, and not straight forward, but it ultimately unfolds into a beautiful document, appointed with impressive detail. Seriously, it's well worth owning a physical copy.

DL