RECIPE FOR GREATNESS
AIDAN KNIGHT Each Other
On Twitter, Aidan Knight writes often and fondly about food, so it’s fitting that his third LP, Each Other, features serving instructions in the liner notes: “To achieve the greatest quality, please enjoy these recordings on your home stereo system or stereo headphones.” Heed his advice: Each Other is delicate, intricate, and best enjoyed with a bit of care to do justice to its meticulous assembly. This careful crafting doesn’t come at the expense of raw emotion. Knight’s lyrics looked inward on 2012’s Small Reveal, but this followup focuses on connecting with others — friends, lovers, family — while also streamlining his sound, trading in Small Reveal’s ambling orchestral passages for tightly- wound rock tastefully textured with smoky keys and punchy trumpets. Though the postrock roots Knight displayed on debut LP Versicolour aren’t as apparent here, the album itself takes on the genre’s “quiet-loud-quiet” format, clustering all its warm, open-armed anthems into the middle while using the darker tracks to grab the listener at the beginning and ease them out at the end. A veritable three- course meal, Knight’s refined palate and keen attention to detail make Each Other a well-paced, flavourful experience that ends too soon, but lingers long afterward. (Outside Music)
WHAT COMES FIRST, THE MUSIC OR THE LYRICS?
I call myself an “arranger-songwriter” because a lot of the time, I’m working on the music and then I need to fit the words into it, so that was one thing that was really similar this time to the last recording. I do this thing that freaks everyone out around me — going into the studio with half-finished songs. It’s not financially very smart, but I like to keep myself on my toes.
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS RECORD AND YOUR PREVIOUS ONES?
I spent enough time and picked up enough experience to make something that is naturally better than what I’ve done before. I travelled more, I’ve picked up more things about myself and also picked up more things about the people that I love and care for and also the people that I don’t care for, and have been able to turn those into songs that are more direct than what I’ve done before. They’re not as hard to grasp as some of the things I was trying to do. And some of the things I’m really fond of off the other recordings, but I also like the immediacy of some of these songs. They’re just a little bit more direct and focused.