The Young Knives
Voices of Animals and Men (Transgressive)
By Caroline Evans
Published: March 28th, 2007 | 2:09pm
First there was Gang of Four. Then there were bands influenced by Gang of Four. Now there are bands influenced by bands influenced by Gang of Four. The Young Knives are England’s latest offering in that last category of diluted, self-indulgent post-rock that includes Art Brut and the Rakes.
What is appealing about the Young Knives, though, is their stripped-down approach to dance-punk; the group never diverges from its original power-trio lineup, minimizing the number of instruments and effects used. The group also benefits from simple, repetitive lyrics for maximum catchiness, as on “The Decision”, which goes something like “I was a difficult child / I was a difficult child / I was abstract and mild.”
But the Young Knives fail at their attempt to create a sort of constructed Englishness that the Kinks handled with such grace. Their English identity on Voices of Animals and Men is almost too constructed, too self-aware, to be real, from the pronounced accents to the album artwork featuring Morris Dancers and Longbowmen, to the bassist calling himself House of Lords (seriously, check the liner notes, it’s his name).
A plus is that the album comes with a bonus DVD oozing with appropriately and hilariously arty music, live videos, and a slideshow. Fortunately, the Young Knives don’t seem to take themselves as seriously as the hype machine does; four of their songs have charted on the UK’s Top 40. Not bad for a watered-down imitation of the genuine article.
Issue #27
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