Girl at the Rock Shows

I don’t have anything super exciting to share with you right now. It’s a Monday, and it definitely feels like a Monday. I’ve had my after-day-job nap and am trying to hype myself up for my show tonight, but I’ll be honest, it’s not going great. I’m tired, and it’s cold outside, meaning getting up from the couch was rough, and now I’m sitting at my desk just staring at my cozy couch longingly while the cats scream from the kitchen for dinner. I need to snap out of this sleepy state and into a headspace where I’m ready to get lost in a show, so let’s take this time to check out the new self-titled album from A Thousand Knives and see if it can act as the kick in the butt that I so desperately need.

I was instantly transfixed by the powerful beat of the opening track, “Flow.” Although the beat is heavy, like stomping through mud with a super heavy foot, something about the vocals feels oddly light and airy. It adds a cool contrast to this opening track, making it impossible not to get hooked. Even as this song progresses, everything becomes more powerful, but it never quite levels out, leaving the beat and instrumentation of this track to feel significantly more potent than the vocals, yet not allowing the vocals to fall into the background. If you’re looking for a statement piece or a song that leaves you feeling intrigued by what a band has to offer, but unsure of what’s to come, this is it.

“Breed” continues with the super-heavy beat and more airy vocals, but there’s a change in tone when it comes to this song. Instead of a muddy and almost swagger-filled style, this song has something haunting, eerie, and nearly heartbreaking behind it. It reminds me a bit of Queens of the Stone Age, but with more epic chord changes and a greater sense of personality all around (I should mention that I’m not the biggest QOTSA fan, for various reasons). The lyrics are a little vague as far as what this song is really about, but there are a lot of lines in this song that stuck out to me, particularly “We’re just aiming for fame / To be something / To shout out in the crowd.” There’s just something about the word choice there and the way they fit into this song that gave me a slight chill that quickly ran down my spine.

Although the two opening tracks definitely had an arena-rock quality to them, I feel like you really think that aspect of A Thousand Knives’ sound come to fruition in “Thrill.” This is a larger-than-life kind of song. The drums boom while layers of vocals create a lush soundscape that is as enticing as it is threatening in a way. I really like how this song feels accessible but far from commercial. I could almost hear this on a hard rock-style radio station, but it wouldn’t fit the mold. There’s too much personality and uniqueness to this track and A Thousand Knives’ sound in general to make it a full-fledged radio hit, but I like how it evokes that feeling.

From a super heavy-hitting song to “Arms,” I love how this band is all over the place stylistically. This song is much calmer and somber compared to the previous tracks. It instantly reminded me of Silverchair. That’s admittedly a bit of a deep cut of a reference (shout out if you know who they are, because, if you ask me, they will always be one of the most underrated bands of all time), but I couldn’t shake the comparison out of my head. It’s a tender grunge-styled love song to depression. Okay, not really, but that’s how it felt to me. The lyrics are sad, the tone of said words is even more tragic, and the instrumentation seems to just emphasize the somber emotion. This is a truly stunning track.

Although this band calls themselves a grunge band, I feel like “Needles” is the first song on this album where that’s truly the vibe I get. That’s not a bad thing at all or even a good thing, but more just an observation. “Needles” is a new kind of grunge. It’s got swagger dripping from every note, but what sets it apart from most of the grunge music I know is the amount of emotion that is attached to each word. Add in some dazzling guitar solos, and you are left with three and a half minutes of pure bliss when it comes to this song.

That bliss continues into “United.” This is another slower-moving song, but it’s just as impactful as some of the heavier songs on this album. It’s a gorgeous example of how you can be tender and beautiful yet still possess an undeniable strength behind your sound. It’s so effective that, even after listening to it a couple of times, I find myself at a loss for the perfect words to describe everything this song has made me feel. I highly suggest that you check it out for yourself, along with “Sun.” This song was the same way where I felt just so taken aback by the beauty that my fingers decided to not work while listening to this track.

Based on the name, I figured that “Sleep” would be another super chill and tender song where I felt lost for words, but it isn’t. A Thousand Knives brings their signature brand of intensity back in this song, and it comes back with a vengeance. A driving beat persists while vocals come in and whirl around in the air, consistently gaining in intensity and power. Although the vocals have an ebb and flow to them in this song, creating this almost whirling motion, it’s subtle, so don’t be surprised if you don’t catch onto it the first time. I also could be wrong in saying that it’s coming from the vocals; maybe that motion I feel throughout this song is coming from the instrumentation. Either way, “Sleep” is yet another absolutely captivating track from A Thousand Knives.

The captivating energy doesn’t stop there. “Night” (which maybe should have come before “Sleep,” just based on the song title, but that’s more my OCD taking over) is another song that feels like going on a long journey in a way. Although just over three minutes long, there’s so much happening in this song. It’s not overwhelming or anything like that, but I just feel like there is so much for your ears to take in throughout this track, from the instrumentation to the spellbinding vocals that, at times, break into beautiful harmonies; it’s almost overwhelming, but in all the right ways.

Although another journey, “Exit” is a journey of a different speed. This song read like a lullaby to me. It’s soft and gentle, and it carried me off to a beautiful Dreamworld where sleep was not hard to come by and pillows felt like clouds. Muted colors took over my thoughts, but the thoughts were all beautiful. Sure, you could call this a sleepy song, and it definitely had moments throughout the nearly six minutes that it lasted where my eyelids felt heavier than they had all day, but there’s also something epic about this track that makes it completely irresistible. I feel like it’s such a cop out to say that this is a song you just have to hear for yourself after saying that for a few other songs, but that’s just the kind of album this is. A gorgeous one that will take you over to the point where even I can’t find the right words, and I feel like that speaks volumes about this band and album.

‘A Thousand Knives’ ends with two short tracks, “Clocks” and “PMS.” I don’t know what I was expecting from a song called “Clocks,” but just a persistent sound of a ticking clock was not it. That being said, the ninety seconds that this ticking lasted were kind of a break after the mental journey I had taken during “Exit.” It was like a countdown before A Thousand Knives was going to slap me back to reality with “PMS.” I like how the ticking from “Clocks” continues into “PMS” but quickly falls behind the sheer intensity of this final song. Out of everything on this album, “PMS” is absolutely the heaviest that things get, and this heavy side of A Thousand Knives is something I hope to hear more of on future releases. It still has the swagger and the heart that are constants throughout this album, but it just brings a sludgier influence to the table that the band does so well. Just when you think that the band is going to leave this album on a super heavy and intense note, they change it and add a little doo-wop kind of ending. I know that “PMS” is one of the shortest songs on this album, but it was also one of my favorites and just what I needed to get in the mood for my show tonight.

Tl;dr – This self-titled album from A Thousand Knives is full of swagger, personality, and creativity. It’s definitely rooted in grunge, but probably is not for a grunge elitist. The band definitely has a signature sound that persists throughout this album; yet, they ensure that every song feels like a unique journey, meaning there is no such thing as a flyover song on this album. Just when you think you have this band figured out, they throw a twist in there. This album is forty-four minutes of pure bliss. A bliss that is captivating but not aggressive, making it the perfect pick-me-up kind of album for those nights where you need a little kick in the butt to get moving.

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