Gig Guide: Tue 25th Oct

 

Tue 25th Oct 20:00 YOUNG KNIVES :: FOREIGN OFFICE

Young Knives may well have come to light in the midst of the guitar pop explosion of 2005 but the trio from Ashby-De-La-Zouch via Oxford always stood to one side of the rekindled Britpop of their peers. With a bite and aggression to early hit singles, ‘She’s Attracted To’, ‘The Decision’ and ‘Weekends And Bleak Days (Hot Summer)’ that suggested influences more akin to The Fall, Gang Of Four and Wire as opposed to the more prevalent likes of The Kinks and mid period Beatles.

The band built a deserved reputation for incendiary live performances whilst their choice of ex Gang Of Four man Andy Gill to produce debut, gold certified album ‘Voices Of Animals And Men’ pointed to a desire to move beyond the then all popular rehashed beat pop of their peers. With a knack for wrapping pop hooks within their music, the trio also took control of their videos to produce memorable promos for the releases that referenced the likes of Hancock, League Of Gentlemen and The Wicker Man and further suggested a set of minds finely balanced between the joy of the immediate pop song and the long term pleasure of a more intellectual approach to their art.

‘Voices Of Animals And Men’ cemented Young Knives place in the hearts and minds of the UK pop cognoscenti, delivered a Mercury Music Prize nomination and saw them tour across Europe and the US to ever increasing crowds and critical recognition.

Tony Doogan (Belle And Sebastian, Mogwai), who was brought in to produce second album, ‘Superabundance’, served to reveal a further development of Young Knives unique take on British pop where a vein of British pyschedelia became apparent. Stand out track ‘Turn Tail’ invoked the spirits of Syd Barrett and The Move amongst others, whilst lyrically the social dislocation of their debut was turned up several notches, nowhere more so than ‘Up All Night’ with the opening line ‘everybody looks famous’.

Support from the brilliant Foreign Office

LISTEN
Young Knives 

Foreign Office

Price: £10.00
Age Limit: 18+
Buy Tickets
Location: The Venue, 47-49 Abbey Street, DE22 3SJ

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