Union Of Knives - Violence & Birdsong

Union Of Knives are three Glaswegian knob twiddlers who have decided to form a group. Forming a group is good enough, but doing something interesting with it is something else.

Building an electronic base from later day Radiohead, early the Cure and Massive Attack, Union Of Knives make icy music constructed from stuttering beats and loops of strings alongside a barrage of pounding and hypnotic effects over which glide mournful vocals.

Parts of the album work such as the soft chorus of opener of Opposite Direction or the HUGE tribal beat that drives I Decline. But all too often the songs are padded out longer than they should be with extra snippets of sound, and the momentum is lost.

Yet there are moments of beauty as on The Law Is Against My Heart that make this record worth checking out, especially for fans of atmospheric electronica.

A debut that shows promise at the very least.

Out on 14th of August, http://www.unionofknives.com/

The band are appearing in various guises at King Tuts, Sub Club and the Arches before the end of the month.

[Dave_CherryKick]

I believe this is a Mr Chris Gordon (ex Baby Chaos/Deckard) project is it not? Which leads me to believe it will be of a high quality ... Off to check it out ...

[poprock]

Oooh … to the iTunes-mobile!

[Charlie Parker]

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrm

[System_Star]

They were brilliant at TITP, hope the album is alright.

[Charlie Parker]

I watched a live clip of I decline earlier, it was better than the record version

[Henry Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Dave_CherryKick

I believe this is a Mr Chris Gordon (ex Baby Chaos/Deckard) project is it not? Which leads me to believe it will be of a high quality ... Off to check it out ...

'Tis indeed Chris. These guys are pretty much what used to be Regency Buck with the addition of a guy called Craig Grant. I've had this album on my iPod for months now, give or take one or two changes to the mix. I think it is fantastic. My favourite song is Taste For Harmony. Well worth checking out.

[Kenny]

Chris also produced Orko's newest stuff, the single you can get here and the album somewhere else. Banquet, I think. (Smooth.)

[RandomFactor]

I wrote this review because i didn't realise one had already been done. Bah.

Glasgow based trio Chris Gordon, Dave McClean and Craig Grant finally unleash their debut album, no doubt much to delight of their dedicated fanbase. Though on the back of praise from the likes of Radio 1's Zane Lowe, the question must be asked, is it actually any good, or yet more over-hyped MOR pop?

On first listen I found the album to be pleasant enough, but perhaps a little shallow and uninvolving, with "style over substance" looming large in my mind. However to write this group off on a single play through would be unjust, as I have discovered.

Combining beautiful pop melodies with some dark electro, layers of looping strings and programmed beats that range from epic thunderous volleys to nicely laid back hip hop, this album is massively infectious, slowly growing on you, and rewarding repeated listening with new discoveries in each of it's 11 tracks.

Stand out tracks "Operated On", "Evil Has Never"and "We Can't Go Wrong" perfectly showcase a band with massive potential, and are among the best tracks I've heard from any band recently, never mind on a debut release.

I highly recommend this album, and would also recommend you catch the band live on the 17th of August at the Arches, and the 19th at King Tuts.

Violence & Birdsong is available on release from Monday 14th August on Relentless records

Official Site
Union Of Knives Myspace Page

[Charlie Parker]

Sorry

[RandomFactor]

Note: buying the album soon should get you a free ticket for the Arches Cafe gig on the 17th, at least, it did in HMV, where the cd is £9.95.

[poprock]

This album has stood the test of time really well so far. It’s a real grower and has ended up being a permanent favourite for me, and for pretty much everyone else I work with too—it tops the ‘most played’ list on our iTunes jukebox.

They’ve just finished working on the follow up record at Nothing Studios in L.A. Expect a NIN/Clint Mansell influence, since they’ve been over there working with Atticus Ross and Rich Costey.

[Bunnylingus]

I fucking love it.

Can't wait to hear their new stuff.

[poprock]

There should be some clips of new songs on their MySpace, but I’ve not checked yet.

[2plus2isfive]

I kept meaning to get this album. Right, I've got vouchers...next time I'm in HMV it's mine.