When a band releases their debut album, casual listeners often think, “Ah, they must have just formed within the past year or so.” But seasoned connoisseurs know that it takes time for a group to put their songs to tape, even if they’ve played shows and taken part in their local scene for years. Behold Weak Hands, the Toronto trio that formed in 2017 and have just put out their first album We Can’t! to great acclaim and delight from their fans old and new.
Weak Hands’s current configuration includes Nat Manzocco (vox/guitar), Alex Hudson (bass/guitar), and Jas Der (drums). They claim to make music for ex-Warped Tour kids (me, even though I never went to Warped Tour due to money/discomfort in large crowds) and recovering people-pleasers (me again, even if “recovering” here means “relapsing”). This is a band that knows how to strike when the time is right: Nothing is rushed, nothing feels forced, and everything seems organic and full of confidence and certainty, even when the lyrics suggest otherwise.
The band has steadily grown their following in Toronto’s punk scene over the past decade, especially with fellow queer and trans folks seeking community in music. Manzocco’s songs hit hard, making it incredible to realize that she began seriously writing on the cusp of her 30s. That’s why We Can’t! feels so natural: Weak Hands built themselves up brick by brick, and pairing that hard work and patience with raw punk power has paid off.
Another payoff a long time in the making: The album name itself, which stems from an in-joke between the band members. Over the years, in loud rooms, people have seemed to mishear Weak Hands as “We can’t”. The band decided that when they released an album, they would name it We Can’t! Hence the album name, as well as another way in which every little thing from years ago can lead to something bigger.
We Can’t! features eight tracks that toy with this idea of small details ballooning into big events and emotions. “Massey Sign” – an electric start to the album in the style of Jimmy Eat World or RVIVR – recounts Manzocco’s realization that being late for a show with a former partner actually meant that she had fallen out of love with them for good. “Put It On Me” – the band’s barn-burning closer for all of their shows since their beginning – riffs on the comments from supposed confidants that don’t look like red flags until way too late. And on “Sisyphus”, Manzocco sings a self-flagellating and surf-tinted tune about going away for a family event while their parent was taking care of a dying parent, pouring their guilt into power pop.
The album also launches plenty of salvos at former lovers. On “Spit Shine”, Manzocco sings about a partner who always picked at imperfections, and on “Grow a Spine”, the lyrics sear against an ex whose social media presence – filled with pictures of them and their new fling – fill Manzocco with rage, even when she can’t look away. “12 Easy Steps” turns the idea of the 12-step program on its head, detailing how toxic partners use it as a means for spiritual destruction instead of recovery. Finally, the closer “Summer Sometimes” links the suffocation of summer heat to seeking relief from overbearing partners.
The climax of the record is “I Miss the Dress That I Wore the First Time You Took Me Dancing”, in which Manzocco recounts – with horror – being 18 and going out with a 30-year-old. Though thrilling at the time, looking back on it feels like watching a car crash in slow motion. Manzocco sings of the naivete and innocence of that time, both missing it (“I miss the rush of blood to my head when the phone would ring / And I miss the days when I would trust anything”) as well as rebuking it (“You led me by the hand onto the floor / Well I don’t need you to lead me now / I don’t need you to lead me”). The song blends fierce independence and confidence with the remaining insecurities that linger from past trauma, making it a punk rock powerhouse.
We Can’t! makes for a satisfying listen even with its somewhat-short runtime, because Weak Hands has fine-tuned their songs over the past decade in order to satisfy. Manzocco’s lyrics ring fully realized, and her guitar, Hudson’s bass, and Der’s drums gel in a way that comes from a long friendship and years of finding each other’s rhythm. While the title of the album is based on a joke, it certainly doesn’t define Weak Hands; when it comes to putting out a great “debut” after a decade of existence, the band has shown that “they can”.
Take a listen to “I Miss the Dress That I Wore the First Time You Took Me Dancing” below.
Written by Will Sisskind
