Let plaster fall, keep your mouth shut so your fillings don’t rattle out of your head, and check your internal organs haven’t been rearranged; ‘The Dagger’ is out; a taste of the debut album Glitter from Bristol noise collective Knives.
Knives see their music as “a manifesto for inclusivity, diversity, and empowerment within the alternative music scene. Through their music and live performances, Knives aims to cultivate a community that celebrates marginalised voices—an inclusive space of rebellion for people of colour and the LGBTQ+ community.”
Bassist Ben Marshall says, “We’re all completely different people, from different backgrounds. It’s a space I’m happy to have curated because growing up and listening to Metallica, I would never find other black people in that audience. Now we have so many queer and people of colour coming to our shows, and it feels nice to have been able to cultivate a place like that. Creating a place where people feel they belong.”
‘The Dagger’ tackles the way immigrants are greeted when they first arrive in the country, “The lyric ‘what’s a knight to a king to a queen to a pawn’ is a crucial reference to how right-wing groups manipulate their influence over the working class, leading them to believe that immigration is to blame for their rising bills and the increase in crime. These voices seek to evade all responsibility after neglecting to lead the country for the past 14 years! This is my favourite lyric on the track, written during the rise of Islamophobia in 2024 when the horrific riots swept across the country.”
The subject matter is powerful and easily matched by the musical heft of the band which comprises Jay Schottlander on vocals, Erin Cook on drums, Ben Marshall on bass, Dan Farren and Josh Cook on guitar and Izzi Allard on Sax. Their sound is a righteous cry that should topple false idols with its ground shaking power. The inclusion of saxophone is inspired as it features as the kind of siren that warns the bombs are flying, and also offers fantastic soaring harmonies with the guitar. Schottlander’s voice, like Chuck D’s in Public Enemy, is more than a match for the backing with his vocal chords acting like RSJs holding everything up.
This is a band that haven’t just slept in the knife drawer, they are the knife draw, and with a worrying lurch to the right in politics we need more voices like Knives to cut deeply into bigotry and marginalisation and let inclusivity heal the wounds.
Glitter is released on 2nd May and you can order the physical album here.
Knives socials: Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | YouTube
Review by Paul F Cook
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