Knifight

V EP

Written by: HES on 31/03/2015 21:40:00

Post-punk is such a polarized genre with The Cure and The Flaming Lips in the extrovert, flamboyant end of the spectre and the darker, weirder Killing Joke or Public Image Ltd. that draws more upon the punk and grunge elements of post-punk. That has slowly become my favourite part of the spectre and this is also where we find Knifight. The echoed vocals are proclaiming impending doom on top of layered dark, misty synths leaving very little air in the soundscape - deliberately. Sometimes the musical boat rocks so much, that the waves crash up against a bit of an industrial note - sometimes an 80's disco one at that. Regardless, this is probably why some people love this genre and some hate it. The juxtaposition of danceable yet gloomy is a lot to take in.

And this is where we end up having issues; "V" is as the standard very complex, but on top of that the band has chosen to throw an insane amount of non-musical theatrics into the mix including monologues on tracks like "A Perfect Day" and on the tracks "Vii" an overpowering glockenspiel solo of more than a minute leaving your ears ringing as in the aftermath of a fire alarm. And the overall soundscape ends up more chaotic than needed. But small gems are to be found as well in the shape of tracks like "Mistakes" that is a pompous and catchy post-punk track with pulsing high-pitch synths on top of a layered, dark ambience.

The album has a hard time opening up if you're not a persistent listener and even though I applaud albums that demand something of their audience, there are too many confusing non-musical elements that steal the spotlight from the actual musical content. It seems the band were looking for a chaotic impression, but they end up disguising their real forté: They are obviously excellent musicians. But as I listen to the strange and superfluous "Buttons (slow)" the distorted speak makes it impossible to enjoy the genuinely beautiful guitar work in the background, so much so that I wish they would have kept it instrumental. The laser gun-like crescendo of the same track makes me want to tear my hair out.

6

Download: A Perfect Day, Mistakes
For The Fans Of: Killing Joke, Public Image Ltd., Echo & The Bunnymen
Listen: facebook.com

Release date 10.02.2015
Self-released


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