Experimental to a fault.

Congratulations created an album unlike any other with their most recent release, Join Hands. The album opens with organ-esque synths, dips its toe into slow electronic beats, plays with heavy electric guitar and adds in the occasional siren for an album that’s never anything less than fascinating. 

“Nevagonna,” the first track of the album, completely subverts any expectations one might go into the album with because of its inherently experimental nature. It lives in the liminal space between too slow for dancing and too fast for casual listening, leading to a completely disorienting experience that’s trying its best to prepare listeners for what’s still to come. Some of the vocals are so hidden behind intense modulations that it almost sounds like a foreign language, as if the band wants its listeners to focus most of their attention on the production. 

Experimentation is undoubtedly the quintessence of Join Hands, as every song sounds indescribably different both to any other artists as well as the other songs on the album. Congratulations catapults its listeners into space and takes them on a journey nobody else has braved before. 

While strange is certainly the best descriptor for the project, the execution of the band’s vision varies greatly across the songs. “Johnny Hands,” presumably the inspiration for the bright red album art, stands out from the rest the second it introduces itself with an electronic baby voice. Its brassy production is incredibly industrial, employing noises that could’ve been recorded at construction sites and morphing them into something much more modern and musical. Despite being barely over three minutes long, it has an interlude of sorts right in the middle where the baby voice says a poetic thank you to the sun. It nears inaudible as it’s hidden beneath composition that seems to be getting increasingly louder with every second that passes. 

Join Hands has some breakout stars, too, like “Bubbles,” and “Dr. Doctor.” While the two songs are, predictably, very different from one another, their differences are no small part of what makes them so enjoyable. 

“Bubbles” is surprisingly calm, especially compared to the songs it’s bookended between, “This Life” and “Johnny Hands.” Its melodic vocals and electronic orchestra eliminate the overwhelming aspects of other tracks while maintaining its intrigue. “Dr. Doctor,” is characteristically strange, with guitar that seems to emulate engines revving, but introduces aspects of funk to give it a certain flare other tracks are missing. 

Join Hands is an absolutely wild ride. Shuffling this genre-bending album could take you to an EDM rave or to the world’s most modern church, which one you end up with being left completely up to chance. Whether it’s exciting or entirely too much is a decision only each listener can make for themselves.