IRISH HANDCUFFS • ...hits close to home • LP

Fond Of Life Records

"THE LOVED ONES debut "Keep Your Heart" set new standards for emotional punk rock in 2006, which has been produced in this form by Jade Tree bands and half the world for an eternity and yet has its own recipe.

The IRISH HANDCUFFS from Regensburg around RED TAPE PARADE guitarist Florian Kötterl now want to hook into this point, true to the motto "From old make new". "... Hits Close To Home" shows itself unimpressed by newfangled sound developments, the band chose a conservative approach.

How fitting that the final touches were made in the Blasting Room Studios by Jason Livermore. Songs like the opener and pacemaker "Should've run" or the sensitive "Chasing ghosts, killing time" hit the deep black! The fact that THE GET-UP KIDS occasionally flash up in the overall picture shows that the album title - in reference to their song "Close To Home" - is no accident.

The vibe of the influential mid 90s emo band is also reflected between the lines. Speaking of which, the phrase "hits close to home" means that something hits close to someone. That's exactly how the self-reflective but not fundamentally pessimistic lyrics can be interpreted.

The withdrawn last track "Too close to home", at the same time a tribute to the late RED TAPE PARADE singer Wauz, goes one step further and shows the listener between which two poles the band is working."
(OX Fanzine)