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KNIFE THE SYMPHONY Self-Titled CD/EP REVIEWS
Oh man - I miss bands like this. Having spent the mid-90's in high school, I "came of age," so to speak, listening to bands on Touch & Go, AmRep, and Dischord. Knife The Symphony, a trio from Ohio, capture that period perfectly. The rolling syncopation of Unwound blasts with the massive sound of In On The Killtaker-era Fugazi and Shellac's heaviosity. The male/female vocal dynamic reminds one of Blonde Redhead for some reason. As expected with a band of this nature, the lyrics are incomprehensible societal commentaries, yet shouted with such conviction over complex art punk, they work perfectly. Quite honestly, I spend time wondering why emo doesn't sound more like this. This five-song EP has grabbed me and I want more (phratryrecords.com)
-Chuck Foster, THE BIG TAKEOVER Issue 60 (New York)
Each and every time I receive a package from the good folks of Phratry Records I tremble with excitement. No exaggeration, I actually got a paper cut opening this one up! Knife the Symphony is a trio comprised of former members of Ampline and Theraphosa and slices through indie rock with male and female vocals that never compete for air time (a wonderful change of pace, thank you very much) but just blend together like Sonic Youth used to. You can hear past DC post-hardcore rock influencing their sound - just keep in mind that these dudes and dudette are from Cincinnati, Ohio (a state worthy of four years of intense political blame, taking Florida’s lowly place in ‘04). The ideas [within this release] are so intense and well-constructed that you feel like you fell out of the building from the opening scenes of “The Hudsucker Proxyâ€, falling to your concrete doom with a grin on your face. Beguiling riffs weave their way through the thick bass grooves and crunchy drumming. Did I mention that this is a must-have?
-SMOTHER (Virginia)
Smother
It’s that Midwest grinding bass sound, bubbling beneath the steady rhythms of those dirty/clean guitars that seem to define what critics call ‘post-hardcore’. Past the aggression and speed, but maintaining the rawness and applying it to moodier, more crafted songs. Jawbox knew how to do this, as did Snapcase (and there is a big difference between those two bands). Driving, relentless tempos boosted by sharp snaps of percussion and strained vocals, pushing for importance, demanding recognition, sounding like Christopher Broach of Braid/Firebird Band. There is a restrained intensity here. And when one of your members owns the label, getting your debut signed and released isn’t quite so tough. Dischord fans should line up for this. I’ll be the guy in the Burning Airlines shirt.
-MODERN FIX 55 (San Diego, CA)
MODERNFIX
...an awesome post-hardcore band absolutely rocking the fuck out of 5 jams....thick grooves and Jawbox-ish guitars move things along at a heavy, yet erratic pace... it’s all the things I love about this style encapsulated in band hardly re-inventing the wheel, but instead showing others how to craft it well. Little extras, like background accented chimes and some hushed female vocal accompaniment from time to time bring some zest out in these songs. But I have to admit it’s the opening drive of “Common Elements†that sticks with me. It’s a very good start and thankfully their otherwise dour name doesn’t detract from their excellent sound.
- HANGING LIKE A HEX (New York)
HEX
Cincinnati’s Knife The Symphony writes amazingly dark bass-heavy punk-rock gems. This trio features former members of solid rockers like Ampline and Theraphosa. What really caught my ear’s attention was that Knife The Symphony shares a similar delivery to that of two of my favorite bands, Bob Evans and Unwound. This [EP] contains great dissonant rock with the thick bass constantly buzzing and the weighty rhythms always pounding hard. There’s great vocal interaction between singer/guitarist Jeff Albers and bassist Robyn Roth.Etch Knife The Symphony’s moniker into your cranial capacitor. This is definitely a band to check out if you rocked it to outfits like Bob Evans, Unwound, aMiniature, and Hurl.
-FAKE TRAIN (Pennsylvania)
FakeTrain
Knife the Symphony is the first band I have come across in some time that truly fits its description. This EP will leave you spent. [Knife The Symphony is] a force to be reckoned with.
-INDEPENDENT CLAUSES (Oklahoma)
IndependentClauses
Knife The Symphony, a relatively new band out of Cincinnati, has formulated a manifesto involving the destruction of the mainstream. It is the band's declaration. Whether the bitterness is born from a frustration with the current state of indie music or whether its source is the banality of MTV and FM radio, it's hard to tell. The result so far, though, is the EP [Knife The Symphony], and the band shows some promise in its fight.The power trio owes a debt to God Machine, whose decade-old recordings laid the groundwork for bass-heavy grinds like those on this EP. The five songs here hit like a hammer when they want to. There are some subtleties as well, but most of it is heavy and dark.
- DELUSIONS OF ADEQUACY (New York)
DelusionsOfAdequacy
When one goes looking for something new in the world of music sometimes it's in your own back yard. Knife the Symphony has only been around for a short while, but has managed to cement themselves to the Cincinnati music scene, with members from AUTUMN RISING, AMPLINE, FEASTS OF MERIT and THERAPHOSA. This new project has taken off faster than any of the rest and shows a more promising future for all the members. This 5-track CD, coming in just under a half hour, has some of the most intense creativity that leaves me crying for a full length release.... I'm sure it won't be long for that to happen, but the best things come to those who wait. This CD has almost left me speechless, but has opened my ears to a whole new world. Definitely the best band to come out of Cincinnati this year.
-THE NEUS SUBJEX (Cincinnati)
NeusSubjex
