Shaking Hands

Sydney’s The Preatures, opted for a sea change to record and produce their second EP Shaking Hands, hopping on a plane to Los Angeles and choosing to work with reputable producer Tony Buchen.

What eventuated was a dynamic and encompassing collection of five similarly themed but wholeheartedly individual musical offerings.

Shaking Hands works to demonstrate The Preatures brevity, featuring joyous and upbeat running bass lines and organ stabs on ‘Take A Card’, flowing seamlessly into the starkly contrasting vibrato guitar wails and waltzing drum patterns on tracks such as ‘Pale Rider’.

On the darker and denser offerings on the record, Gideon Bensen and Isabella Manfredi’s interworking vocals is delectably effective, reminiscent of Nick Cave’s Murder Ballads, in both its competency and macabre connotations.

Despite the significant contours between tracks, the peaks and troughs seem to flow naturally, allowing the band to capably maintain a level of fluidity in the overall sound and musicianship on the record.

What this demonstrates is a level of comfort and competence that not only shines through on this release, but also serves to hint towards the potential of this Sydney quintet; a potential that may just lead to something sensational.

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.

Subscribe to Rolling Stone magazine

Subscribe to Rolling Stone magazine