The indie-folk of The Good Graces is produced by songwriter, singer and guitarist Kim Ware, with core band member Jonny Daly contributing guitar, and a cast of interchanging band members on banjo, mandolin, steel guitar and piano. ‘Sit on Your Hands‘ comes from The Good Graces’ new album ‘Prose and Consciousness.’
The album represents an attempt to avoid break-up songs and topics that didn’t seem honest or true – leading to an album where the lyrics are the keystone and the injection of “atmosphere” through the instrumentation has deliberately been toned down compered to earlier recordings by The Good Graces. Recorded in Marietta, Georgia at the Green House Studio, the album was tracked in four live sessions. The songs include a little banjo without being bluegrass, and a whole heap of acoustic guitar without being campfire folk.
Kim Ware see’s ‘Sit on Your Hands‘ as capturing that awkward time between friendship and…maybe…well…I guess…perhaps. Yeah, awkward. As she says “You know that time period where two people are clearly attracted to each other but for whatever reason — maybe they’re friends and don’t want to mess that up, or in another relationship, or just trying to take it slow — something is holding them back from just going with it? That can actually be a pretty fun, exciting time. Albeit awkward and challenging. I guess the song is a suggested coping mechanism for that goofy time. ”
‘Sit on Your Hands‘ has been kicking around for a while – this is it’s third recorded version. As Kim explains “The first was for the Theme Music group, then later I tried a stripped-down version, just me and the guitar, for my last album. I liked it but missed some of the other instrumentation, so I decided to hold off on releasing it till I was happier with it. For this one we kinda went back to that original idea; I really wanted the violin to be an integral part of it. My friend Wyatt totally nailed it; once we had his part I knew the song was finally getting to where I hoped it could go. Stripping back the beginning so it started with keys was a late-in-the-game decision but once I heard it that way I really loved it. With the subject matter being what it is, I really wanted the beginning to feel very intimate and close, and I think now it does that.”
Photo: John McNicholas
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