Cloud Becomes Your Hand are a Brooklyn-based band with a joyous, eclectic sound that recalls avant-prog, cartoon music, psychedelic indie pop, and myriad other styles. The group's tightly wound, unpredictable compositions often include violins, angular guitar riffs, bizarre voices, woodwinds, and bursts of noisy electronics. As fractured and eccentric as their songs are, they clearly exhibit a love for catchy pop hooks, as well as a childlike sense of wonder. The group was formed in 2010 by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist
Stephe Cooper, who recorded a self-titled
Cloud Becomes Your Hand cassette by himself. Rounded out by violinist Hunter Jack, synthesizer player
Weston Minissali, and percussionists Sam Sowyrda and
Booker Stardrum, the group began playing shows, eventually touring the United States and Canada with bands such as
Wume and
Guerilla Toss. Second cassette Doggy Paddle (also recorded by
Cooper solo) appeared in 2011, followed by the 2013 CD-R Flying Clam. In 2014, the group's proper debut album,
Rocks or Cakes, was released by
Northern Spy. Following more touring and further refining of their kaleidoscopic vision, as well as the addition of former
Guerilla Toss bassist Simon Hanes, the group's second full-length for
Northern Spy,
Rest in Fleas, appeared in 2016. ~ Paul Simpson