Wellington’s Dateline are back with new single Hands, and again we have a few surprises from Katie Everingham and team.

An almost Pixies-esque caustic guitar strum introduces us to the song, and pervades throughout, giving us a continual reminder of the discordant vibe being communicated. The rhythm section drops in after a few bars and compliments it nicely, adding the butter to the bread while not compromising the flavour. Providing the layers as described are Hikurangi Schaverien-Kaa (Ebony Lamb, French For Rabbits, Glass Vaults), Phoebe Johnson (Ebony Lamb, Revulva), and Reuben McDonald.

Katie has a great soprano vocal. It’s rounded and full and she has a clear control over it. Pitch is measured, and she drops in some extreme emotive vocal stabs as we draw towards the end of the song. The contrast is marked but fits really well into the mix. This is helped by fabulous knob twiddling from desk meister Jonathan Pierce at Vogelmorn Hall studio. Mastering was completed by Oliver Devlin.

I didn’t get a video to review so I hope they put one together for this as the overall feel to the track would lend itself well to a storyboarded vid. Maybe some grainy shots of the band playing tied in. The message behind the lyrics is best explained by Katie, from the EPK: “I came up with the idea of someone kind of stuck in a monotonous work and life situation. Just chugging through the days and nights, looking and longing for more, but not wanting to completely blow up their life. They’re fantasising about a different life they could be leading.”

The vocal takes on an almost Alanis Morrisette timbre, which ties in again with the general theme and genre family. It’s Indie, but certainly not dream pop or close to that. This is for the music listener who needs to hear their own angst and misapprehensions about 2024 in form and rhyme. In that Katie Everingham is very good indeed.

One for the introverts. It’s got a decent tempo, so don’t be afraid of it. It’s not “out there” or even what one would call avant-garde, but it’s definitely a track to engender the emotions that we prefer to keep within our own walls. Interesting, talented, clever, very well sung, and I didn’t mention the cool lead guitar that snakes through it after a certain point too. Watch out for Dateline on the circuit – they have an important show coming up: