‘Your Hand In Mine’ is a hard-hitting track that is interjected with a fantastically infectious barbershop backing vocal from Martha Wainwright. The song’s pelting rhythm pushes it forward, whilst Frost and Wainwright’s combined vocals provide an intoxicating harmony for the listener.
The track has an oddly melancholy air to it despite all the obvious conventions of a love song. Not only does it have the beautiful and aforementioned fast paced rhythm on its side, but its title would surely cast aside any doubts the listener would have about lyrics such as “She cuts me every time” and “She’s screaming out at the top of her lungs now”.
Wainwright is particularly brilliant in the vocal department, and her experience has definitely benefited this track. Her voice comes across with all the desperation and passion you would want from lyrics like those in ‘Your Hand In Mine’ and the crescendos are pinpointed at exactly the right times, so the listener finds themselves on the end of their seat as Wainwright shows us how it’s done.
The highlight of this song however, has to be its feeling of otherworldliness. Despite Frost explaining how he and Wainwright ended up working together on this track, it’s easy to get carried away with sentimental thoughts of this song being transferable onto an everyday cross-Atlantic love story due to the distinct difference in vocal techniques. A girl can dream.
Words: Mary Machin