Hand Gestures Premiere the Lyric Video for Their Single “Label the Labelmaker”

A few years ago, Brian Russ started to spend more time looking forward and looking backward, and what came of it is Hand Gestures. This is the Brooklyn singer-songwriter’s latest musical venture, and he’s hitting the ground running (almost literally), with the scenic new lyric video for “Label the Labelmaker.”

The song is from the self-titled debut Hand Gestures album, due out on Halloween via Campers’ Rule Records, the imprint that Russ founded himself. The video is a beautiful look at the beauty of America, filmed by Russ himself in Badlands, Yellowstone, and Acadia National Park in July 2024. There’s a country feel to the song, which goes well with the picturesque aspects of the video. The song is reminiscent of the country-folk of artists such as Townes Van Zandt.

Discussing the song, Russ tells us:

“Aristotle said something about the ‘unmoved mover,’ and ever since I first heard and pondered that concept as a teenager, maybe back around 1997, it’s been sporadically popping into my head like a pre-meme era brainworm. I’m a middle school teacher now. One day at the school I work at, after a bunch of people borrowed our shared P-Touch label maker, I said, ‘I guess we should label the label maker so it doesn’t run off for good.’ And that put me down a pleasantly enjoyable mental highway somewhere between the Aristotle concept and a John Prine song.

“So I thought about a lot of things I’m really bad at doing, like understanding directions or knowing where I even am when I’m walking around cities and places. How, when people ask me those super superlative questions like, ‘What’s your favourite song?’ I can’t even think of the names of any of them. I thought about how stubborn I can be at times about the silliest of things. And how I’ll go out of my way to hide my tears. I laughed about a bunch of my flaws and basically wanted this song to be like “well, this is just who I am.”

“As I grow older, I’m realizing it’s in my nature now to want to get right to the root, or the truth behind what people are saying or doing. It’s like, I know now that time’s running out, so can we just cut to the chase already when it comes to understanding each other? I appreciate puzzles, games, and codes, but these days I just want people to be clear about their wishes and desires, or what they want and expect out of me; that’s part of ‘Label the Labelmaker’ too.

“In the end, the song flips, and it isn’t about me anymore. And then I began to think, was it ever? The ending section is me sending a message to my daughter, Bernadette: ‘It’s alright for you to cry sometimes when you know it ain’t working out right.’ But of course, that’s also a message I want to send to myself. There’s a lot we don’t understand. There’s a lot I don’t understand. That’s never going to change. And it’s ok to be who we are without having to label every thought, feeling or emotion all the time. It can help; it’s not a bad practice, but sometimes there’s no correct label available for what we’re going through. ‘Label the Labelmaker’ is a meditation on the human practice of labelling everything.”

With founding and running Campers’ Rule Records, obviously, Russ had accomplished a lot in his life. But he had gotten to the point after the various lockdowns and life interruptions that he was thirsting for something new. So he started writing songs with no rules and no limitations. The songs on the album were written mostly while Russ was on a cross-country road trip with his family last summer. At times, all he had was a child-sized guitar since it’s all that would fit into the trunk. But it’s all he ended up needing to help him express himself, as the songs came pouring out.

A teacher by day, Russ arrived in his early 40s and started reflecting more. At that age, you’re still young enough to look ahead, but you’re old enough to look back. He wanted the songs to be accessible and universal in a sense. They ponder love, loss, longing, and curiosity. He thought long and hard about portions of his life that he hadn’t thought about in years, like what his life was like as a teenager. At each stage, you’re trying to figure things out, regardless of what age you are. Russ is approaching this next phase of his life and career with both excitement and confidence. Accompanied by a five-piece live band, he’s capitalizing on his musical ambition.

Hand Gestures ‘Hand Gestures’ album artwork

Hand Gestures Track Listing:

1. Once it Starts to Kick In
2. Why Try
3. Blacked Out
4. Cancel the Party
5. Indication Signs
6. Justin’s Funeral
7. If You’re Watching
8. A Patch of Sun Left in the Sky
9. Stuck Like This
10. Stephanie Told You
11. Label the Labelmaker