HANDSOME

The Arc of HANDSOME

The pivots — what forced HANDSOME to reinvent.

1. 01

   The Tomboy Manifestation

   Moving away from the delicate folk-pop of her birth name, the 2018 No Hat, No Play EP signaled a total recalibration toward aggressive synth-work and queer anthems. Working with producers like Zeeko, she swapped out acoustic fragility for massive, distorted low-ends and layered vocal stacks that felt physically heavier. This wasn't a phase; it was a hard pivot toward a self-described 'Tomboy' sound that prioritized grit over polish. You hear it in the way the title track demands space rather than asking for it.

2. 02

   The Cinematic Expansion

   By the time BLAME rolled around, the project shifted toward a hyper-visual, narrative-driven output that felt less like a bedroom project and more like a film score. The production got colder and more precise, utilizing negative space and industrial-leaning textures to heighten the emotional stakes of the lyrics. Collaborations became more about world-building than just session work, pushing the project into a darker, more expansive territory. It’s the sound of an artist finally realizing that the atmosphere of the track is just as important as the melody.

Influences

• The xx — Park has explicitly cited Romy Madley Croft’s guitar work and the band’s use of minimalism as a primary blueprint for her own sense of space. You hear it in the sparse, palm-muted riffs on '60 Minutes' that let the bass do the heavy lifting. It’s that same London school of 'less is more' applied to Sydney’s indie-electronic scene.
• Kanye West — She pointed to the 'grandiose' production of the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy era as the catalyst for wanting her songs to sound massive and orchestral. This manifests in the layered, choir-like vocal harmonies that anchor her more anthemic tracks. She wanted the ego and the scale of hip-hop production to live inside a queer pop context.
• Ani DiFranco — Before the synths took over, Park was rooted in the percussive, aggressive acoustic guitar style championed by DiFranco. That foundational DNA is still there in her rhythmic phrasing and the way she treats her vocals as a lead instrument. Even when the beats are electronic, the syncopation is pure righteous-babe folk energy.
• Lykke Li — The influence of the I Never Learn era shows up in HANDSOME’s willingness to let a track bleed out into raw, reverb-soaked melancholy. The connection is in the drum patterns—heavy, floor-tom focused beats that feel primitive against sophisticated vocal melodies. It’s that Scandi-pop gloom adapted for the Australian summer.
• James Blake — The shared lineage of the silences between notes and the heavy use of vocal manipulation comes straight from Blake’s early post-dubstep work. Park uses the same technique of cutting off vocal tails abruptly to create a sense of digital anxiety. It’s the sound of soul music being filtered through a broken motherboard.