✌️ Hand Gestures ✌️ Release Debut Album on Campers’ Rule Records

Brooklyn musician Brian Russ (Backwords, Spirit Plate, The Love Supreme) has returned with a new project that feels like a full-circle moment. His new band, ✌️Hand Gestures✌️, releases their self-titled debut album today on Campers’ Rule Records — a heartfelt, home-recorded collection that reflects on creativity, memory, and growing older without losing the spark.

Joined by Sal Garro (pow wow!), Bryan Bruchman (Mount Sharp), Courtney Smotkin, and Ryan Belski, the record captures the sound of old friends rediscovering why they make music in the first place.

“There’s a real sense of lived-in beauty to these songs — the sound of an artist rediscovering what he loves most about making music.”
— We All Want Someone to Shout For

Hand Gestures will celebrate the release with a show at Baker Falls on November 15.

Hand Gestures share "Justin's Funeral" + Nov 15 Baker Falls release show

Brooklyn-based band Hand Gestures have released their moving new single and lyric video, “Justin’s Funeral,” out today. The reflective track looks back on the teenage moments that shaped frontman Brian Russ’s lifelong relationship with music, capturing themes of memory, loss, and self-discovery with unfiltered honesty.

The song arrives ahead of the band’s self-titled debut album, due October 31 on Campers’ Rule Records, and the announcement of their album release show at Baker Falls on November 15. Recorded in bedrooms and rehearsal spaces across Brooklyn, Hand Gestures is a heartfelt debut from a group of longtime scene veterans rediscovering their spark.

Check out the video and preorder the album via Bandcamp.

Hand Gestures Premiere Lyric Video for "Once it Starts to Kick In"

Brooklyn’s Hand Gestures are continuing to tease new material from their upcoming s/t LP and now we have the mesmerizing lyric video for the band’s newest single. Fame Magazine has the premiere, saying that “Once it Starts to Kick In” is “a track pulsing with urgency but anchored in heart.”

The LP is out October 31 on Campers’ Rule Records. Preorder available via Bandcamp.

Hand Gestures Release New Single “Once it Starts to Kick In” Ahead of Forthcoming Debut Album

Brooklyn indie outfit ✌️Hand Gestures✌️ have released their new single “Once it Starts to Kick In,” a track about anticipation, true friendship, and finding belief in yourself. The song leads into the band’s self-titled debut album, arriving October 31 on Campers’ Rule Records with a limited 12” vinyl edition.

Born from songwriter Brian Russ’s late-night sessions and a spark of creativity on a family road trip, Hand Gestures evolved into a full band that thrives on raw energy and heartfelt storytelling.

Hand Gestures Finds Beauty Beyond Labels in New Lyric Video Premiere

Brooklyn singer-songwriter Brian Russ, with his new band Hand Gestures, has premiered the lyric video for single “Label the Labelmaker” on V13.net. Shot across the Badlands, Yellowstone, and Acadia National Park during a 2024 road trip, the self-directed video pairs sweeping landscapes with the track’s warm, country-folk spirit.

The song began with a quirky school memory—labeling a label-maker—and grew into what V13 calls “a meditation on the human urge to name and categorize our experiences.” It’s both playful and tender, offering gentle wisdom for Russ’s young daughter and anyone navigating life without the perfect label.

“Label the Labelmaker” is the first single from the band’s debut self-titled album, out October 31 on Campers’ Rule Records. Preorder vinyl via Bandcamp.