We All Have Hooks For Hands‘ first full-length release, The Pretender, is a fresh new look at rock music. Blending the sound of the Polyphonic Spree with the likes of Blur, the Boston Philharmonic, Hockey Night, Spoon, and Of Montreal with a hint of Quasi thrown in for good measure, the band takes art rock to the pop stage.

Hailing from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the band no doubt gains inspiration from the relative isolation that such a locale provides – utilizing every musical-ish instrument they could get their hands on, blow into, bang on, or otherwise philmander to produce sound. The result is a delicious wall of choruses supported by a vibrant backdrop of percussive and melodic sounds.

I can picture the band and a group of their friends sitting around a fire in rural South Dakota singing the lyrics to “Hold on, C’mon”:

Hold on, C’mon
All the little children and the babies singing
This is what I wanted what I need to believe in
All the little children and the babies singing

In a nutshell, Hooks brings out that subterranean desire that we all have to sing and express ourselves. They pull and push until we have no choice but to join them in their choruses, such as on the album’s finest track, “The Man Trying to Oufox Us All”:

I’m drinking almost every single night,
and I haven’t felt for the longest time
that I’m living on past myself.
Bring the casts. We’ll remake the past,
and we’ll stomp down loudly. Oh what a blast!
Saving every last breath!

…We have to wipe the dirt off our faces and get up and scream at the sun,
“We love everyone and the party’s at our place!”
Right now it’s hot in the morning sun. We’re sleeping on next to everyone,
and the hangover is not that bad,
and I have to admit I was a little sad.

We All Have Hooks for Hands is playing on Nov. 15 at the Fine Arts Theatre in Marshall, MN before returning home to play in Sioux Falls on Nov. 23. Someone send them an email and tell them to schedule a few shows in the Cities, please.