Sunburned Hand of the Man is one of those band names that might not roll of the tongue, but it sticks with you all the same. SHM is a Western-Mass-based collective that plays mostly instrumental music, sometimes acoustic, but it’s a variety of playing that has as much in common with free jazz, dub, krautrock and shamanism as it does with folk sing-alongs.
These are freaky deep-dive third-eye-opening jams, mellow raga-esque rambles, and acid-and-DMT-warped wig-outs. Fans of the experimental and the abrasive should get to this show.
Sunburned Hand of the Man is a band that appeals to people who think Animal Collective was always a little too staid. This is utopian music that’s laced with a deep note of apocalyptic dread. The band, its lineup and its sound have morphed over the 20 or so years that it has been making music, and one can’t know where it’s headed on any particular evening. It can — and usually does — get weird.
The band posted several recordings made earlier this year on its Bandcamp page, suggesting a connection to the raw weird aggression of artists like the Stooges, the Residents and the Butthole Surfers. Approach with caution.
Sunburned Hand of the Man plays at The State House, 294 State St., New Haven, on Saturday, Aug. 18, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10. statehousepresents.com
