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Rating:
After the release of an EP and the single “I Decline", mid-August marked the official debut of this trio from Glasgow, with an extremely physical and visceral album, set in a dark and nostalgic atmosphere despite the sounds at play.
The voices are beautiful, often whispered à la Gregor Samsa, but never monotonous, sung over a dirty sound reminiscent of Unkle and sometimes almost tribal. The electronics, which certainly play their part, are not an end in themselves but serve the melodies, to the point where the recent "Eraser" by Thom Yorke inevitably comes to mind (and thus Radiohead).
But Union Of Knives mainly play both on the contrast created between their musical distortions and the trembling vocals, and on riffs as obsessive as they are engaging, in a mix that is very easy to listen to. In fact, the 11 tracks of the album are very catchy, yet "Violence & Birdsong" curiously remains an album imbued with darkness and cold, despite the "warm" voices and McClean's pulsating electronic percussion, which sometimes come close to the verge of dance.
Certainly, they do not reach the creativity of the Guillemots (which is very difficult), but this is a debut well above average and one that brings hope.
Regards, Addison.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Opposite Direction (04:35)
Get ready for your wit, get ready for your want
Do you want, do you wanna know
How deep how quick your cuts go
Everything poured on black ice,
Squeezing citrus fruit in my eyes.
How do we how do we mix friends?
How do we get the pegs
Into the holes that they wanna go?
How do we share everything we’ve ever known ever known is now?
We keep ourselves moving
In opposite directions
Go, go
In the opposite direction
Get ready for your wit, get ready for your want
03 Evil Has Never (04:28)
Even though you're well intentioned
One or two or three things you mentioned
Leave a taste familiar to me so
Even with a slight sarcastic
ripple in a voice elastic
I could crack the slightest code of woe
What do you mean?
Evil has never loved you
Evil has never loved you
Evil has never loved you as I do
Find it at the further reaches
Smelling like a rose or peaches
Crippling the hardest pig nose shell
Find it when I look in your eyes
A little spark that would be kingsize
The mirror does no justice to your spell
I'm zero, don't waste words with me
Here's not the chamber for it
What do you mean?
Evil has never loved you
Evil has never loved you
Evil has never loved you as I do
What do you mean?
Nobody has ever loved you
Nobody has ever loved you
Nobody has ever loved you like I do
04 I Decline (04:08)
Let’s stop stabbing in the dark
Let’s go walking in the park.
I don’t want your excuses
So maybe we can drop this.
No more fighting and no more lies.
Look me right in my big brown eyes.
I wish you would just disappear
So there was nothing left to fear.
I wish you would just disappear
Let’s stop stabbing in the dark
Let’s take a look at your brand new heart.
And please don’t cry ‘cos now I’m here
There’s nothing left for you to fear
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