Zoe Boekbinder and the raucous country western noir of "Hold My Hand" (Official Video)

 

"We are one ocean apart / Still you daily break my heart / Relieved you are to separate / Between us only space / And still you push me away..."

The jangly Western noir back beat thrust of "Hold My Hand" by singer-songwriter / guitarist (they/them) Zoe Boekbinder crosses genres and maybe even space and time. There is a beautiful sense of 40's / 50's country and western meets 60's rockabilly meets 80's cow punk. All those styles are as far away from current pop country as they can be (thank God). The earnest aesthetic, the throttling shuffling beats that even veer into folk rock places has hints of swampy porch blues and blue grass too, a lot going on. Vocally Zoe walks on fences somewhere between Rosanne Cash and Texacala Jones with a sinewy howl and earthy fragility all at once. Love Zoe's voice here.  

From LINER NOTES:

“Hold My Hand” is about an emotionally abusive relationship, “This person was hot and cold, always pushing me away and pulling me back in. I never knew what to expect and it kept me on my toes in the worst way. I wrote this song shortly before we broke up,” explains Zoe. Of the emotional tug of war, Zoe sings: “We are one ocean apart /Still you daily break my heart/ Relieved you are to separate/ Between us only space/ And still you push me away” 

Once again from LINER NOTES:

Known for their collaborations with Ani DiFranco, Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman, Mirah, and more, from May 2010 to December 2014 Zoe Boekbinder stopped performing.

Instead, Boekbinder volunteered as a teacher at New Folsom Prison and focused on writing. “I wrote about feminism/violence against women, privilege, and prison abolition” says Boekbinder. “This album is the least and most personal - It feels terrifyingly vulnerable.”

Zoe Boekbinder's upcoming album "Wildflower" was made, performed, produced, and promoted by a team of women and non-binary people. Wildflower releases April 26, 2024. Recording was funded by Canada Council for the Arts.

-Robb Donker Curtius

  

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM 

https://open.spotify.com/track/1Nom7EvTgdkMeLZCszJ5Ft

https://soundcloud.com/zoeboekbinder/1-i-am-yesterday/s-Pv0WvGisfrt

https://zoeboekbinder.bandcamp.com/

http://zeoboekbinder.com/

https://www.instagram.com/zoeboekbinder/

https://www.facebook.com/ZoeBoekbinderMusic/


"There is always something special going on with Boekbinder’s music.” - Ani DiFranco

Zoe Boekbinder, folk rock, indie folk, folk, country western, western noir, "Hold My Hand", Jangly, evocative vocals, singer-songwriter / guitarist, earnest folk styles, personal , confessionals, art folk,