Hailing from Sheffield, The Buffalo Skinners hadn’t ever planned for their new single to be quite so topical. That single, Washing My Hands, was planned for release prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, however wanting to add some educational spirit to the proceedings the band created a video that combined World Health Organisation hand washing instructions with drinking red-wine and juggling soap, like Keith Floyd fronting a Government information briefing. Washing My Hands is the first offering from The Buffalo Skinners’ upcoming new album, which the band are currently crowd-funding for, ahead of its release later this year.

Despite the accidentally topical title, Washing My Hands isn’t actually about maintaining excellent hand hygiene, instead it’s about life changing in unwanted ways, and learning to live with that. As vocalist Peter Seccombe sings, “when you’re stuck and you can’t see no way out. The lightbulb flashes above your head. You can just wave goodbye, shut the door or wash your hands“.

The track was recorded with Lee Smith and Jamie Lockhart at Leeds’ Greenmount studios, which owns one rather special piece of equipment, the very tape machine that recorded The Beatles studio sessions in Hamburg in the early 60’s. Taking inspiration from the equipment, the band set about trying to capture some Beatlesian-magic, with what the band describe as, “a nod to Rubber Soul”, panning the bass and drums wide apart and double tracking the vocals. The resultant recording is somewhere between the classic 60’s pop feel and more modern Americana-acts like The Felice Brothers or The Hanging Stars. As an introduction to The Buffalo Skinners’ fourth album, Washing My Hands feels like both a natural progression and a giant leap forward, it might just end up being their finest record to date.

Today ahead of releasing Washing My Hands, The Buffalo Skinners have put together a hand-washing, illness battling mixtape, featuring the likes of The Felice Brothers, Tom Waits and Otis Redding.

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1. The Felice Brothers – Memphis Flu

2. Rob Heron & the Tea Pad Orchestra – Hot Bath

3. The Deslondes – Muddy Water

4. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Red Right Hand

5. Tom Waits – Cold Water

6. The Fall – Mask Search

7. The Strokes – Meet Me In The Bathroom

8. Otis Redding – I’m Sick Y’All

And you can check out the extended mix, on Spotify below…

Washing My Hands is out May 1st via Loose Chat Records. Click HERE for more information on The Buffalo Skinners.