Knifing Around – Vivisect

In the contemporary music scene, when so many old and new names in the game deliver good recordings on a daily basis, the most challenging thing is to remain vital and genuine. If you paid attention to what’s happening in the music world nowadays, many artists and bands bring some of their best work to the table, making it even harder to pick standouts in any genre. But if you dig deeper beneath the surface, you’ll notice how many music outlets use the same old scheme while crafting their songs. Sometimes, it seems like they’re purposely mimicking something renowned acts recorded and released decades ago, or maybe they experiment too much with so many genres to the point it doesn’t sound like the same anymore. In both cases, these decisions can be a bit too much for even those dedicated music enthusiasts who perfectly understand all the intentions of the artists and bands. Now, in terms of art rock, experimentations are more than welcome, because the entire genre relies upon it, and bands like Knifing Around understand that for a good album, you need to use sparingly, wisely, and tastefully. “Vivisect,” their latest full-length album released on May 5th, exemplifies how this band thoughtfully wrote, composed, arranged, and produced each composition to create a maximum impact. Now, perhaps “Vivisect” dominantly shines with art rock sound, as the band incorporated all the fundamental elements of this genre, but do not be surprised if you stumble upon some of the finest properties borrowed from other styles like alternative, indie rock, post-punk, punk rock, synth rock, synthwave, industrial, electronica, and many more. Each additional sonic ingredient has been implemented to perfection, uplifting the album’s sonic palette without overwhelming the initial direction. Another detail worth mentioning is how this material carries all the qualities that meet trends in contemporary music production, yet you’ll notice a subtle touch of nostalgia lurking around, making “Vivisect” such an incredible album suitable for longtime fans and newbies to the mentioned music genres.

As soon as you press play, you’ll notice how much time and effort these folks poured into this incredible album. Each composition arrives with a perfect structure, decorated with many clever arrangements, brilliant ideas, and outstanding musicianship. Each vocal, sonic, and rhythmic maneuver has its place and purpose here, making “Vivisect” a pleasant listening experience worth repeating over and over again. With the initial notes and beats, you’ll hear how synths play a significant role in shaping such a lush atmosphere. Owen Martin and Jack Wolfe’s leads, themes, melodies, harmonies, sequences, pads, and other sonic maneuvers shape a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon. It’s nearly mindblowing how these layers articulate together without overwhelming each other, proving they thought about everything while assembling these songs. Depending on the song’s mood and ambiance, David Long and Jack Wolfe deliver equally impressive guitar works. You’ll hear how all those synths articulate on one side, while the guitars articulate with catchy, memorable, engaging chord progressions, riffs, licks, and other similar orchestrations. The amount of the applied distortion also depends on the current mood of the song, bringing more or less aggression, which has already been implemented through the distorted synths.  Sebastian Ford contributes trumpets on a couple of compositions, spicing things up and elevating “Broken Glass” and “I’ll Stick Beside You” to new heights. Owen Martin’s soulful, passionate, sincere, confident, and powerful voice acts as a centerpiece of this material, uplifting the ambiance to an entirely new level, commanding attention, and guiding listeners on an epic journey through the expansive sonic universe. His vocal performance seamlessly balances low, mid, and high notes with such precision and finesse, emphasizing everything the remainder of the band intended to achieve with these songs. Besides decorating all those segments and orchestrations, the vocal performance contributes more than necessary emotional depth and complexity over an already intricate song structures.

The rhythm section plays a vital role here. You’ll notice how all those impressive, intricate, vividly hearable, warm-sounding basslines rumble beneath synths and guitars, offering more than necessary heaviness, clarity, and depth while acting as a binding element between the mentioned instrumentation and rhythmic patterns. These deep, dense, heavy, sometimes clean, sometimes distorted low ends bring more groove and detail without overwhelming the remainder of the instrumentation. In the meantime, the exceptional drumming performance, based upon cleverly assembled, flawlessly performed, well-accentuated beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics keep the remainder of the band in line while dictating groove and pace. Each hit of the snare, kick of the bass drum, accentuation on the hi-hat, and splash over the cymbal has its place and purpose here, making “Vivisect” as dynamic as possible. Songs like “Believe,” “Go Alone,” “Vivisect,” “Bodysnatchers,” “Mind Bent,” “Broken Glass” are definite standouts, but you should listen to this album from scratch to finish without skipping, because it is packed with many brilliant ideas and finest instrumentation you’ll hear in a while. With “Vivisect,” Knifing Around have paired the fundamentals of art rock and synthwave music, crafting a masterpiece that immediately wraps around your listening apparatus and refuses to let go long after the last notes and beats fade. Do yourself a favor, and place this gem on your music radar, because “Vivisect” will easily become a staple in your record collection.