Bent Knee
Land Animal

The 10 tracks on the album are united by their themes: they are all autobiographical pieces that speak about the relationship between man and man and man and technology in the 21st century, about loneliness, alienation, racism and social distances, global warming, family conflicts, and the problems of life in modern society; all the tracks deal with the concept of "who we are (as a species) and where we are going." They are truly wonderful and poetic texts, interpreted masterfully by Courtney Swain; there's no need to go into details: Swain's voice is splendid and on "Land Animal" she gives an absolutely intense and astounding interpretive performance; very classy!

Listen to them live: there are several on YouTube; there are also two full concerts published by the band themselves, and you can find the live version of "Holy Ghost" and "Terror Bird."

Musically, "Land Animal" differs from the previous works of the band where the tracks had more homogeneous structures and unfolded in long pieces dominated by harmonic/melodic variations; "Land Animal" is more focused on the groove (according to Bent Knee themselves) and on seeking a concise and accessible form, resulting in a more immediate work than their previous efforts, although the work is complex and layered, lending itself to different levels of interpretation.

Land Animal is a kaleidoscope of musical genres, suggestions, and different influences that flow smoothly into each other without interruption, in a way that appears simple and natural but is actually constructed with uncommon skill, sensitivity, and capacity for synthesis.

The album opens with "Terror Bird" where we find the Bent Knee we knew...Great! ...Fantastic!... but after 40 seconds everything changes, a crooked rhythm with hints of dreamy pop and psychedelia breaks the rhythm and takes us into this incredible and intense journey; with "Hole" moving to improbable patterns and rhythms, flashes of Nine Inch Nails and Sonic Youth lead us to the third track, "Holy Ghost," which is a perfect piece with its unprecedented structures that go beyond any "commercial common sense," yet has a crystal-clear pop beauty. It deserved a nomination in the "Anthem" category of the Prog Awards.
The first part of the album closes with "Inside is" and "These Hands" with which the carousel continues to spin dizzyingly, but revolves around slow, expansive rhythms, oscillating between calm, introspection, tension, and great intensity.

The second part opens with "Land Animal," the track that gives the album its title. The track condenses everything that is in the entire album into 5 minutes; the result doesn't sound experimental and difficult like "Trout Mask Replica" or "Naked City" (by Zorn), on the contrary, "Land Animal" is a piece you might find yourself humming in the shower, on which you might feel like doing some air drumming, and in whose intensity you could get lost. The use of violins, violas, cellos, and trumpet gives this and the next three pieces an almost Beatles-esque aesthetic due to its pop sophistication, despite continuing to run between indie, psychedelia, soul, folk, funk, metal, swing, minimalism, electronics, irresistible rhythms, and killer choruses.

After "Time Deer", "Belly Side Up", and "The Well" collect and continue what the title track sowed, we arrive at the closing "Boxes." The track that concludes the album is suspended between Bjork and the most narcoleptic trip–hop, with guitar and background sounds seemingly coming from "Gone to Earth" by David Sylvian, immersing us in a sea of calm that slowly takes us down, lower and lower, gently floating, regressing, retracing life in reverse, and in the end, only the heartbeat remains and the awareness of having lived an incredible, stimulating, and electrifying experience.

The labels and bands I mentioned above were used to try to give an idea of what Bent Knee's music is, but in reality, never, during the album's listening, did other bands come to mind because Bent Knee has developed over the years a recognizable and personal style, creating, in my opinion, the most original reinterpretation of prog heard in many years; forgive me if I venture a similarity, but I follow my reasoning: in 1981, King Crimson used prog's syntax to decline the emerging new wave, effectively redefining the genre and codifying new progressive standards; today Bent Knee does something similar, although starting from completely different premises (it's hard to imagine how "Land Animal" was heavily influenced, according to the authors themselves, by Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp a Butterfly" and Flying Lotus' "You’re Dead!", but on the other hand, an original synthesis can only arise from particular inputs, traveling unexplored paths and then returning to familiar territories): they use prog and art rock syntax, incorporating various influences, and covering everything with a pop aesthetic and sensitivity; a progressive attitude applied to "contemporary harmony".

An electrifying, stimulating, intelligent work and I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that in my opinion, "Land Animal" is a masterpiece, and Bent Knee is the band that rekindled my passion for new music (and it hasn't happened in a long time, precisely since 1993 when I was left speechless seeing a young guy live. That young guy later became known as Beck!).

P.S. The album sheet contains an error: the song "Boxes" is not the second track on the album but the concluding one; a length of over 12 minutes is indicated, whereas the piece actually lasts about 5 minutes, then there is some silence and, from the 12th minute (for those who have the "Special Edition" which is the one I own) two remixes start, one of a historical piece "Way Too Long" (here completely deconstructed) and the one of the new album's title track. Below I provide the correct track list:

1. Terror Bird – 4:09
2. Hole – 3:19
3. Holy Ghost – 5:35
4. Insides In – 6:26
5. These Hands – 5:38
6. Land Animal – 5:13
7. Time Deer – 4:17
8. Belly Side Up – 4:15
9. The Well – 5:31
10. Boxes – 5:42

Bonus tracks in the limited edition

1. Way Too Long (Sylvia Massy Treatment) – 5:20
2. Land Animal (Ben Levin Remix) – 4:40