Song of the Day: The Idle Hands - Socialite Death Squad

photo by Emily Utne

This week we’re doing something a little different for our Song of the Day podcasts. We’re teaming up with 89.3 The Current, in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul, to swap songs. Like KEXP, The Current is a strong supporter of independent music and their local music scene. Like Seattle, the Twin Cities has always had a strong vibrant local music community. We thought it would be fun to share some of the best new music being created in each city as part of their Local Music Exchange series. Tune in to KEXP at 4:30pm PST each afternoon this week to hear Kevin Cole exchange songs with the Current’s Mark Wheat. We’ll find there’s more to Minnesota music than Prince, Husker Du, and the Replacements. Today’s featured song is “Socialite Death Squad” by The Idle Hands from the 2011 album Life Is Beautiful on Pretty Kids Collective.

Is it sad that when I hear the phrase “idle hands” the first thing that comes to my mind is the 1999 horror/comedy of the same name staring Devon Sawa and an undead Seth Green? Actually, I’m going to go ahead and answer that with a “yes.” Maybe the question should just be how sad is it. With today’s featured band, then, I am given hope, as the similarly-named Minneapolis indie rockers are in prime position to supplant Devon Sawa as my primary “idle hands” association. Judging by today’s featured song, the band’s catchy new single “Socialite Death Squad,” I have a feeling The Idle Hands (the band) will be sticking around in my subconscious.

Released through Minneapolis label Pretty Kids Collective, The Idle Hands’ recent album, Life Is Beautiful, follows up their 2009 debut, The Hearts We Broke On The Way To The Show. The band is led by Irish vocalist Ciaran Daly and his brother Crisotoir; how they ended up settling in Minneapolis, I have no idea. The duo brought to the Midwest a predilection for driving Brit-pop and David Bowie-inspired vocals that they have seamlessly mixed with a kind of modern-day indie rock similar to that of The Killers or Franz Ferdinand. For more on The Idle Hands and their new album, click here.

The Idle Hands do not appear to have any upcoming tour dates scheduled, but hopefully when they do get something together they’ll head west to pay Seattle visit. Why only exchange songs with our Minneapolis counterparts through the Internet? We need to exchange music in the live-and-in-person form as well! For updates, check back with their Facebook or MySpace pages. In the meantime, here are The Idle Hands playing their song “Loaded” from their debut EP: