Minneapolis-based alt-rock band Knife Emoji has debuted with a self-titled release on March 20. You will love the synths, the 12-string guitar, and definitely the drums, and be forced to face the dichotomy of the self. And if you are into Radiohead and Grizzly Bear, hop on. Knife Emoji opens with “The Laboratory,” where the music grows on a cinematic, mystical note, with glimmering guitars, thumping drums, and shimmering warm strings. The singer has this nice, gritty, deep voice, and he sings gravely and almost breathily. Warning, he sings, “The world outside might break your stride, so long as you breathe, you are alright.” The song is actually pretty mesmerizing; no wonder it has loaded up over 8k plays.
There are a couple of songs in the album that build on the others, such as “Nightmare #1,” leading up all the way to #5, and “Eastern Wind” having two parts.
The atmospheric, orchestral “Nightmare #1” actually feels like the landscape of an uncanny dream, which gets more soothing by the third installment, with this winding, gentle piano amidst the haze. However, it only gets more quizzical on the fifth and final nightmare, which comes like you are seeing doubles while switching portals.
Meanwhile, the first “Eastern Wind” installment, which we talked about earlier, has a more ambient and trance-inducing effect as it opens. It only gets more dynamic with big drums, and the singer, with his high voice, sings and soars with a ghostly softness. He sings about there being something out there “for anyone out there who will listen.” After piquing your curiosity, he takes you into the glimmering plucks of the second part that ripple and open up to an ever-expansive and immersive soundscape. The singer sings of a woman who screams, to which no one answers. It’s not just the music enhancing the atmosphere, it’s the singer too, as he details the environment: “The house is in ruins…smashed through the beams…the lights are gone, no one’s left at home.” Perhaps, it’s all more metaphorical than real. That’s how it gets deep and inward.
If we look at another intriguing, well-streamed song and single like the first one, “Mirror Monster,” it actually opens more gently with warm acoustic guitars and pelleting beats. The vocals come singing, “I don’t know evil, but I have seen you lose control,” immediately setting a vulnerable, sensitive, and conscious atmosphere with those words. It only gets more upbeat as he playfully sings, “You are the monster, and I am the mirror, can’t tell us two apart,” reflecting the duality of an identity crisis where you keep switching to the polar form, with little self-control.
All 15 songs on the record are deep and intriguing in their own right. Knife Emoji comes as a defining factor for the band, being self-titled, and smart enough as one. It’s catchy, interesting, and spooky—the numbers speak for themselves. Check it out on Spotify, Bandcamp, YouTube, or their own website.
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Review by: Naomi Joan