Photo: Reuben Radding

There’s just one month to go until the release of Upturned Cup, the sophomore album from The Hands Free. Arriving on May 29th through New Amsterdam Records, the upcoming record follows their 2018 self-titled album. An intersection of chamber music, jazz improvisation, and folk music, Upturned Cup is driven forward by a sense playfulness, joy and the compositional rigour that James Moore (guitar & banjo), Caroline Shaw (violin), Nathan Koci (accordion), and Eleonore Oppenheim (bass), who make up the quartet, have honed over years of playing together. Upturned Cup features eight new compositions, four of which were first composed after the release of their debut record, and the other four came to life in the studio. Moore comments:

“Bringing in simple sketches, we slowly worked up the material with the microphone and the crew as our audience. We frequently toggled between various tunes so we could listen back and return to them with fresh ears and hearts.”

Ahead of the album’s release, The Hands Free have shared the fantastic and shimmering title track as the lead single. Composed by Moore, the track takes its title from a poem by modernist poet Lola Ridge. Take a listen below.