BENT KNEE

You Know What They Mean insideout

IMBUED WITH PUNKY VELOCITY AND GRITTY EMOTIONAL DETONATION.

Brilliant, breathtaking and back on form.

They say you can tell a lot about the true character of a person from the way they handle adversity. Bent Knee’s progress from being a hot property in their Boston base to becoming a widely respected, must-see act on an altogether much larger stage after the release of their third album, Say So in 2016 has been nothing but impressive.

However, 2018 was not so kind. First, drummer Gavin Wallace-Ailsworth broke an ankle coming off stage in San Francisco, leaving his bandmates to carry on touring without him. Secondly, and potentially far more serious, after Wallace-Ailsworth had rejoined the group, their tour bus crashed in icy conditions between Salt Lake City and Denver. Though thankfully only badly shaken, these two examples of adversity very much in action, have, the band say, pulled them to feel much closer as a unit and has given them a renewed sense of purpose.

If 2017’s Land Animal was to these ears a little cooler to the touch than their previous output, You Know What They Mean finds them back on scorching form. That clarity of purpose and increased focus arising from their recent trauma is clearly discernible across the 13 tracks. Imbued with a punky velocity, the writing feels less circuitous and more forthright than before in terms of its ability to gut-punch and fly into a gritty, sharp-edged emotional detonation.

Stripped back to the point of being raw, Bird Song feels etched and stark. A masterclass in thoughtful production and creative ambiguity, on Give Us The Gold Courtney

Swain’s exquisite and frequently volatile singing is framed by orchestral strikes, sultry organ, distorted shards of hornlike guitar. That tight grasp and control of dynamics have always been one of their key strengths.

The onslaught of Bone Rage and the sweltering Catch

Light abruptly gives way to vertiginous silence, leaving the listener treading the air, not unlike the hopelessly optimistic but hapless Wile E Coyote. Happily, by the time the drop comes, the band sweep you along to the next giddy point of departure. Given that all of the players are second to none in terms of their instrumental firepower, there’s little to nothing in the way of soloing. When a break does occur, it’s usually carefully and inventively integrated into the overall structure.

Opening with a live collage and a dirty, distorted note, the album finally rests up with the ravishing tones of It Happens. By the time the reverb on the twinkling keyboard fades away you’re left in no doubt that you’ve just encountered one of the finest albums of the year.