“You know, the cutting-edge hipster music blog Pitchfork recently gave the reissue of Jawbox’s last album a rave review, so the time is possibly right for early-‘90’s style post-hardcore. Knife The Symphony has a little Squirrel Bait, a little Drive Like Jehu, and yes, a little Jawbox. In other words, all the best touch points for this kind of music without sounding like a rip-off of any one in particular. Some of the melodic intros get a bit meandering for my tastes and the songs are a tad long (on hits over seven minutes!), but the loud, faster parts are ripping. Definitely worth checking out if any of that sounds appealing.”
—MAXIMUM ROCK & ROLL #321
“Cincinnati’s Knife The Symphony creates a stirring sense of urgency typically associated with the kind of rattling post-hardcore and punk that played so heavily in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s on labels like Dischord, Touch And Go, and Alternative Tentacles. And like the great Fugazi before it, KTS shows an intense sense of direction, a three-piece functioning as one but with production clean enough to allow each layer of music to stand out on its own, especially Jeff Albers’ coarse, angry yelling/singing. This year’s Dead Tongues manages to crystallize a lot of the band’s fury into a relatively svelte six-song setting.”
—THE ONION Madison, WI / Vol. 46, Issue 19
“Midwestern trio who seem to have taken some cues from early Husker Du but some of this stuff rocks in a more angular fashion like current Dischord band too. Vocalist must’ve had a major sore throat after this recording session.”
—DAGGER
credits
released September 1, 2009
ALBUM CREDITS
Knife Record 03
Phratry Records Release Number 20
All songs (c) 2009 Knife The Symphony except "Fallout" (c) 2006 Hornetmusic. Recorded 2009 at Candyland Studio and New Fidelity Studio, Cincinnati, Ohio. Album art by Chafe Hensley.
Jeff Albers - guitar, vocals
Robyn Roth - bass, vocals
Jerry Dirr - drum kit, percussion
(c) & (p) 2009 Phratry Records, LLC. All rights reserved.
This Oakland group pulls no punches, serving up a hard-hitting punk album that recalls the blistering brilliance of Refused. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 8, 2020