Young Knives
Transgressive
Albums from Transgressive (Battle and Foals) are always welcome, and the first half of Young Knives’ second album sets the bar so high for 2008, it’ll be gloves off the moment competitors hear it. It’s a fantastic start, with the energetic ‘Fit 4 U’ kicking off with the kind of 60’s jauntiness Supergrass used to wow/annoy with. Next the similarly chorus-loaded ‘Terra Firma’ and ‘Up All Night’ stake their hit single status, with the kind of rabble-rousing cynicism bus drivers must dread hearing on the upper deck, the former even seductively underpinned by new fangled synthesisers. ‘Counters’ is another highlight: surging, pastoral rock, with dogs making a welcome return to pop since Pet Shop Boys’ ‘Suburbia’; its atmospheric middle 8 even segues into a handclapped groove and some glorious nonsense about hosepipes. ‘Turn Tail’ is early U2, punk with a velvet heart, its gentle croon and swelling strings ending in a cacophony of experimental victory. Meanwhile ‘Dyed In The Wool’ puts sheep as protagonists in song and it’s a romp. The album isn’t blemish free, ‘Flies’ somehow outstays its brief welcome, while ‘Mummy Light The Fire’ has such a fantastic, shy, guitar break it needs more room to breathe. Then, following ‘Current Of The River’s wide-screen indie, arrives a secret track, which after you’ve forgotten the album is playing, bursts frantically into life. Once you’ve recovered, its mockney fairground jape does little to compensate. But overall it’s a well-tempered success, The Gang of Four influence remains, though Mogwai’s producer, Tony Doogan, as expected, provides the instrumentation greater voice, reining the starkness in at the right points. It loses a little focus towards the end, but there’s orchestrated magic amongst interweaved vocals, lending a variety and depth to these instantly likeable tracks. The intended videos for each song promise to be equally interesting. TH
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