“I principally received bullied into it!” teases Jay Schottlander, who ended up because the vocalist of Knives by necessity greater than something. However whenever you hear the influence of his bullish, coarse voice that provides a fixed swagger to their debut album GLITTER – Rage Towards The Machine’s Zack de la Rocha and IDLES’ Joe Talbot could be proud – you’ll perceive why he’s the person for the job.
“I’m very a lot into hip-hop, it was the primary style of music I can bear in mind loving,” he displays. “I bear in mind being 13 years previous, writing raps and exhibiting my mum. I’m certain it’s all very embarrassing.”
However the peppering of harsh suggestions, goliath riffs and spirited grooves rapidly present that Knives usually are not a hip-hop band. Furthermore, the best way they incorporate saxophone and sprinklings of melody verify that they’re far more than one other noisy punk outfit.
Knives fashioned in Bristol in 2022, when drummer Erin Prepare dinner reached out to Jay in a college group chat. “There’s in all probability 200 bands who gig in Bristol constantly,” says Jay, explaining how town is a breeding floor for folks to satisfy like-minded musicians. Having navigated line-up adjustments, the present-day six-piece has been fixed for a yr.
“Happening tour positively helps [the chemistry],” provides Erin. “Being that near everybody for a extended time period, you’ve gotta determine everybody out and learn to get on.”
Bonding time peaked when Knives decamped to Llanbadarn Fynydd in rural Wales to report debut album GLITTER, which they rattled via in six days.
“It was like a faculty journey – we had woman and boy dorms!” says Erin.
“It’s necessary to how the recording goes down. In the event you’re feeling harassed, you may step out and have this view of this breathtaking mountain,” provides Jay, who crammed the wait-time earlier than vocal takes by enjoying Heroes Of Magic And May 3.
“You need to be locked into it for the entire week, and never have any exterior distractions,” continues Erin.
GLITTER thrives on its breathless momentum, be it Knives’ takedown of the music business in PHD, the animalistic CHROMA or unsettling jazz-punk opener THE DAGGER, written a few time Jay encountered a particular person being Islamophobic on a bus.
“Lyrics are a means for me to challenge how these shitty issues have made me really feel, and put it on a web page [so] I can transfer on from them,” he says. “I don’t suppose any of us actually wished to be this open, political band that makes politics our factor. All of us are very political, however we love to do it as an alternative of talk about it… [take] motion after we want to.”
In the meantime, “wildcard” album nearer I SEE THEM FALL echoes the spookiness of Lamb Of God’s Memento Mori or System Of A Down’s Aerials, opening the floodgates for the place Knives might go subsequent.
“I wished a conclusion,” explains Erin. “It’s a stepping stone into future stuff.”
Alongside fellow noise-botherers like Enola Homosexual and Maruja, Knives are primed to win folks over with their bold noise-punk. Nonetheless, their toes stay on the bottom, retaining issues enjoyable however purposeful.
“If we by no means performed a larger stage, I’ve [already] achieved the whole lot I might have dreamed of,” concludes Jay. “I might in all probability die completely satisfied.”
GLITTER is out now through Marshall
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Posted on Could twelfth 2025, 5:00p.m.
