Song Review - MOUSEY - “My Hands Are Made of Glass”
Review By: Georgia Gutterson
It can be rare these days to find new music that is as raw and enthralling as Christchurch singer-songwriter Mousey’s brand new track ‘My Hands Are Made of Glass’. Following her upbeat 2021 single ‘The Bench’, the song shows a new and different side to Mousey that we didn’t know existed – a very poignant and vulnerable side, expressing a feeling that most of us can either relate to well, or know what it’s like to be on the receiving side – pushing away people we love.
Resonating a similar sound to the likes of Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen, the effortless vocals soar through the humbly beautiful acoustic guitar, with the opening lines “Don’t talk to me, don’t touch me; my hands are made of glass and they’ll strike you”. The song tells the story of someone who is afraid of hurting the ones they love (or eventually getting hurt themselves), so they refuse to let them in to begin with. There aren’t a whole lot of lyrics in this song, but nothing is lacking – if anything, this simplicity and repetitiveness of the catchy hook makes the song more powerful and seems to hit harder. Probably the highlight of the song is around the halfway mark where the distorted electric guitars break through and send the track into a whole new dimension and atmosphere. Once again, the simplicity here works like a charm, with only three slow, stretched out notes of the lead guitar repeated over and over, with more guitars in the distance chiming in with more high-pitched and abstract melodies, before the vocals eventually return to join in and repeat the hook once more. The contrast of energies between the first half of the song and the second half is thrilling to hear and leaves us wanting more, and it almost seems to represent the confusion and heaviness of pulling away from somebody you love; the weakness and the chaos. The track concludes softly with a warning filled with heartbreaking pain: “Don’t you dare get comfortable with me,” and we are left in pure awe.
It's no doubt that Mousey is an artist that is about to get a whole lot more recognition in the indie/alternative scene with the release of this killer single that will feature on her upcoming album. It’s clear that she is discovering her unique sound more and more as time goes on, not to mention becoming a more and more brilliant songwriter. And if ‘My Hands Are Made of Glass’ is a sneak peek of what’s to come, then I think it’s safe to say we can expect pretty remarkable things from Mousey this year.
