BENT KNEE

VENUE boot & saddle, philadelphia

DATE 08/06/2018

SUPPORT in the presence of wolves, gatherers

Boston’s Bent Knee are a band unlike any other. Formed in 2009, the sextet quickly earned a stellar reputation for their inventive and eccentric blends of rock, pop, minimalist and avant-garde sounds. As such, their live renditions are always fascinating and endearing, and this headlining show at Boot & Saddle in Philadelphia is no different.

New Jersey quartet In The Presence Of wolves waste no time blowing away the crowd with their impassioned songwriting and intricate arrangements. Influenced by genre icons such as Between The Buried And Me and Coheed And Cambria, they merge complexity and catchiness, while replicating tracks from both 2014’s Thalassas (Palladium, Thalassas II) and last year’s Of Two Minds eP (white Noise, The One who Fell To earth).

with barely any coloured lights to add visual appeal, they successfully rely on amiable banter to maintain engagement between their masterfully performed material, which also involves an inspired take on Toto’s Africa.

Fellow New Jersey troupe Gatherers offer a similarly lengthy excursion of emo/post-hardcore fury. They focus almost entirely on new album we Are Alive Beyond Repair. Highlights include the imposing The Floorboards Are Breathing and the crushingly effective Ann liv Young. That said, some technical limitations lead to slightly less nuanced versions of those tracks, resulting in tedious hostility by the end. Still, there’s enough ingenuity and variety to sustain appeal for most of their set.

As expected, Bent Knee pull off several songs from their last two albums (2017’s land Animal and the previous year’s Say So) without trouble, such as Time deer, Boxes, leak water and Hands Up. (Sophomore effort Shiny eyed Babies is represented by Being Human too.)

while those selections certainly satisfy, it’s the inclusion of three new compositions – the tentatively titled Bone Rage, Garbage Shark and Mother’s day – that truly delight, since they reveal both a progression in their sound and an openness to test out new work on fans.

On that note, the sextet engage with humility, honesty and humour throughout their wildly dynamic hour, revealing themselves as equally modest, relatable, talented and striving. with such a strong opening pair warming up the increasingly dense and enthusiastic crowd, it’s a communally thrilling and touching show that demonstrates exactly why Bent Knee deserve all the acclaim they’ve accumulated thus far.