The Young Knives--Voices of Animals and Men (2006)

Artist-The Young Knives
Album-Voices of Animals and Men
Release Date-Aug 21, 2006
Genre/Style-Indie Rock
Size-67M
Quality-HQ

Official Site-http://www.theyoungknives.com/site.php and http://www.myspace.com/theyoungknives

Biography-Hailing from Oxford, England, the Young Knives feature Henry Dartnall (vocals/guitar), Oliver Askew (drums), and Thomas Dartnall (bass) (aka House of Lords). These snarky post-punk revivalists initially started out playing Ned's Atomic Dustbin songs while living in their hometown of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, but a move to Oxford in 2002 gave the Young Knives their big break. An appearance at the Truck Festival led to the band issuing The Young Knives...Are Dead mini-album for Shifty Disco in 2002. Three years later, the trio was playing shows alongside the Futureheads and Hot Hot Heat while readying their debut EP for Transgressive. The limited-edition Junky Music Make My Heart Beat Faster sold out quickly; "The Decision," which was produced by Gang of Four's Andy Gill, followed in December 2005. In the new year, the Young Knives' growing popularity seemed unstoppable. Both "Here Comes the Rumour Mill" and "She's Attracted To" made the U.K. Top 40. Additional shows with the Rakes and Dirty Pretty Things wowed the U.K., and the band's American performance debut at the annual South by Southwest conference in Austin, TX, proved successful. The Young Knives' debut album, Voices of Animals and Men, arrived in the U.K. that August and in the U.S. in early 2007.

Youtube online videos-
"The Decision" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbIpjlByKMM
"Here Comes The Rumour Mill" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDX_--a9XDI

Review-The Young Knives' full-length debut cleans up and commercializes the punk revival sounds they explored on their mini-LP The Young Knives...Are Dead. Like so many of the new British rock bands of their time, the group display a heavy Gang of Four influence, and as might be expected for a major-label group of this ilk, famed Gang of Four leader Andrew Gill mans the production boards. But where Gill's group experimented with funk elements and basically invented a genre, the Young Knives dabble in so many styles and influences that they frequently come across like mimics of their more recent peers like the Futureheads, the Libertines, and the raging Mclusky. Worst of all is when frontman Henry Dartnall affects a falsetto reminiscent of the Darkness at their cheesiest. The Young Knives certainly show that they know their way around hooks and power chords and thus produce catchy, chart-friendly singles like the frequently out-of-tune Futureheads soundalike "The Decision," the Gang of Four-meets-the Darkness freakfest that is "Here Comes the Rumour Mill," and the Mclusky rip-off "She's Attracted To." "Loughborough Suicide," reminiscent of Barat/Doherty, is perhaps the strongest song here, bringing together the myriad influences and vocal tricks into a strong anthem that declares "I will never go down fighting." There's really not an original moment on Voices of Animals and Men; it's uneven in its sequencing, and more than a few tracks reek of filler, but thanks to Gill's production help, the dynamics are satisfying enough to almost make up for the youthful inexperience of the songwriting. A young audience helped the album's singles into the Top 40, but one can't help turning to thoughts of Kula Shaker, Razorlight, and other unhip bastions every time catchy, derivative, and purposely uncool bands release average-at-best major-label efforts like this at the tail end of revived genres.

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