Either you will or you won’t
But I’m willing to gamble
You turn me over on my back and then you
Give me all the pain I can handle
There is a peculiar indulgence in surrendering to the hands of another, a quiet, humming guilt in the pleasure of it; of flesh kneaded and muscles undone, of tension coaxed into a slow, dissolving sigh. The mind protests, whispering of time wasted, of indulgence undeserved, but the body knows better. It leans into the press and pull, the measured weight of touch, the heat that lingers like a half-remembered dream. Some hands are mere hands, but some…some possess a gift, a knowing, a sorcery of skin and sinew that unravels the knots of the world, if only for a while.
Brian Michael Henry slips into memory’s warm embrace with Magic Hands, a slow-burning hymn to touch, to tension eased, to the quiet sorcery of flesh pressed just so. The New York-based singer-songwriter unspools his latest in a steady stream of singles stretching back to spring 2024, each one a brick in the path toward something larger: perhaps a full release, a tide gathering strength before the inevitable swell.
Magic Hands lingers in the air like perfume on a stranger’s skin, a hushed and smoldering tribute to the masseur who knew the body’s language better than words ever could. The song broods, it beckons, it breathes in the quiet space between indulgence and need, tracing the blurred border where pleasure becomes reverence. Henry sings of memory’s lingering ghost: of pressure applied and slowly, deliciously, undone.
“My lover wouldn’t understand,” the singer quips.
The bones of Magic Hands rattle with rhythm, its body built on a heartbeat of drum machines, its breath a mix of shimmering glockenspiel, sizzling synth drones, and the serrated bite of electric guitars. Brian Michael Henry lays his layered vocals atop this neon-lit fever dream, a place where pleasure and peril slow dance beneath the strobes. But he’s not alone in this seedy symphony. Colin Summers of Scrawnyman and Toys & Tiny Instruments injects a dose of fuzz-drenched ferocity, riffs so thick with static and swagger they could make Johnny Marr stumble into a backroom go-go den. The song croons and snarls in equal measure: Chris Isaak’s velvet sorrow tangled with Beck’s playful strangeness, Orville Peck’s lonesome twang sharpened by Neil Hannon’s flair, and the sardonic bite of Stephin Merritt.
Magic Hands! is available on all streaming platforms on Friday, March 7th, 2025. Listen below:
Brian Michael Henry got his start at Penn State University, earning a BA in Vocal Performance, before moving to the Big Apple to pursue a Master’s in Vocal Performance and opera. He has since established himself firmly in the New York theatre world and various touring companies. Henry’s operatic training comes through in his gorgeously resonant voice, but his traditional songwriting prowess is juxtaposed with synth-heavy instrumentation, new wave, and post-punk influences.
Photographer Alice Teeple frames the gothic album cover. As a special treat, Teeple and Henry will exclusively offer just five rare, signed 8×10 prints for the lucky few when the song is released on March 7.
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