Withered Hand

Event information

Active in the world of visual art and dabbling in music for many years, Dan Willson aka Withered Hand came late to singing and songwriting at age 30, in a period of reflection between the death of a close friend and the birth of his first child. The resultant material, much of which went on to become the album Good News, was praised for its depth and startling honesty and saw him embraced by Fife-based musical powerhouse the Fence Collective and his songs picked up by MTV and cult series Skins.

Withered Hand's critically acclaimed second album New Gods was released in March of this year and made No. 1 in the Official Chart Independent Album Breakers chart, No. 5 in the Record Store Chart, No. 16 in the Independent Albums Chart and No. 12 in the Scottish Albums Chart, as well as being shortlisted for the AIM Awards Best Difficult 2nd Album, but more than that it was a triumph of songwriting talent and superb musicianship that touched the heart of everyone that heard it.

Five years on from his arrival on the scene with the brilliant but lo-fi "Good News" Dan Willson went for broke, enlisting legendary Scottish producer Tony Doogan (Mogwai, Teenage Fanclub), and a veritable who's who of Scottish music including King Creosote, Eugene Kelly of The Vaselines, and members of Belle & Sebastian and Frightened Rabbit. The result: eleven meditations on love, fidelity and transience that saw Willson's songwriting hit dizzying heights: by turns confessional and melancholy, raucous and life-affirming; a beautifully executed collection of songs from one of Scotland's most gifted songwriters.

For this show Dan will be joined by Pam Berry (of Black Tambourine) and his regular band, Malcolm Benzie of Edinburgh band Eagleowl (guitar & mandolin), Fraser Hughes (bass) and Alun Thomas (drums).

"King Creosote, Eugene Kelly and members of Belle & Sebastian bring deep-pile, micro-orchestration to the sardonic, wistful, always finely wrought songs" (Mojo, 4/5)
"New Gods affirms Willson's superlative abilities" - (The Skinny, 4/5)
"An unusually good album" (The Line Of Best Fit)
"Wilson is still a charmed, charming fuck-up of the first order" - (Drowned In Sound, 8/10)
"Endlessly lovable stuff... zings with Teenage Fanclub-ish exuberance."
(NME, 7/10)
"An album to sink into the heart" (The Scotsman, 5/5)
"As fine a lyricist as the Isles have produced in many a year... an accomplished and polished album" (God Is In The TV, 5/5) "The UK's best lyricist" - King Creosote
"Killer melodies ... wobbly folk grooves ... tunes full of warm, woozy sing-song charm" - Rolling Stone

Support comes from Darren Hayman & The Long Parliament and The Understudies.