When Young Knives first hit the scene in 2005, people weren’t quite sure what to think. Hailing from the rural market town of Ashby, Leicestershire, the band’s unique brand of new wave post-punk left many listeners scratching their heads. Am I missing something? Are they for real? Do they really dress like that?
Singing tales of their tediously simple county life and choosing to adorn their portly physiques with only the finest tweed suits, the geek-rock three piece are most definitely an acquired taste. With song titles such as “Loughborough Suicide”, “Guess The Baby’s Weight” and the poptastic “Light Switch”, this band aren’t out to change the world, they’re a band to get drunk and dance your pants off to! Tonight’s show sees a humble, if not slightly reserved audience receiving a healthy dose of musical humour, the likes of which the band is only too used to prescribing.
Frontman and guitarist Henry Dartnall keeps the crowd smiling with sing-along riffs and cheeky banter, proclaiming that tonight’s show will be “a greatest hits set, a tribute to the Young Knives”. Meanwhile, the force of nature known only as “The House Of Lords” maintains the group’s awkward aesthetic with some fantastically dubious ‘dad’ dancing.
For the most part, the reaction from the audience is a little tame. Judging from the slightly bewildered look of the crowd, it seems the band’s pastoral appeal is somewhat lost on us city dwellers. Some of the younger audience members eventually get into it, bouncing incessantly to classics like “The Decision” and “Weekends And Bleak Days”.
“You were screaming at your mum and I was punching your dad!” is surely one of the greatest lyrics ever written. Ok, maybe not, but you can’t beat a bit of tongue-in-cheek geek rock to sweep away those recession blues.
Sadly though, one can’t avoid the fact that the group’s new material is lost on the audience and just isn’t on par with the carefree light-hearted vibe of their debut.
With their third album soon to be released, it’s make or break time for Young Knives.
Will they triumph in the face of adversity or disappear into obscurity? Only time will tell.
Words by James Watts
Photography by Matt Hodson
www.myspace.com/theyoungknives
