Hammer No More The Fingers

One listen to Looking For Bruce, and it's easier to believe that the members of Durham's own Hammer No More The Fingers have been playing together since the ripe old age of 10. There's an unerring precision in the way the members of Hammer (vocalist/ bassist Duncan Webster, guitarist Joe Hall, drummer Jeff Stickley) navigate these songs that can only come with years of familiarity. Touring up and down the east coast helps that along, of course.

There's a similar level of comforting familiarity in these songs as well—most of the tracks on Bruce might remind folks of former/ current indie-rock luminaries (especially some fellow Chapel Hill alumni), while the album's highlight ("Shutterbug") sounds like something the Strokes might want to pretend they actually wrote. As easy as it is to envision the band's camraderie, it's remarkable to think that something as accomplished as Bruce is just the group's first full-length.  

What makes Hammer stand out from other my-college-mixtape acts, however, is their undeniable charm.  Whether Webster's wryly singing about mushrooms that are "fucking tasty," screaming "ray-dee-ay-dee-ay-shun," or striking a bittersweet pose about "living without a friend / in the center of the world," there's a friendliness in his voice that's easy to befriend.  More importantly, and with all due apologies to NFL dilletante Brett Favre, it's nice to see a group of kids like Hammer No More The Fingers just go out there and have fun. —David Raposa