Young Knives - 'Superabundance' (Transgressive) Released 10/03/08

Young Knives are back for a second jaunt after their well received 2006 debut album ‘Voices of Animals and Men’. Bigger and more polished, and with a slight change in lyrical direction, ‘Superabundnace’ manages to retain the British quirkiness and cutting observation that made their first album so unique, whilst musically paving whole new paths for the band.

At its best, ‘Superabundance’ is a sardonic attack on everything that is wrong with British culture. Second single ‘Up All Night’ for instance takes blatant pops at their indie contemporaries and all who surround them in the music industry, asking, in a cutting refrain: “What’s the point, what’s the point, what’s the point?” Attacking British pop culture may be something akin to shooting fish in a barrel but Young Knives pull it off with style and panache that would make the subjects of the song blush, were it not for the fact that they’re probably too caught up in the acts described in the song to notice.

Other lyrical themes include suicide, escapism and hopelessness (‘Counters’, and the brilliant ‘Turn Tail’) in what is a somewhat bleaker album than their debut. These subjects are tackled with that trademark Young Knives intelligence, wit and urgency, but also a new found pop sensibility. Where in the song stakes, ‘Voices…’ was somewhat hit and miss, ‘Superabundance’ is decidedly hit. They’ve developed a knack for a catchy chorus which is put to thoroughly good use throughout the album, specifically the first half, where most of the songs pack an inexplicably catchy vocal hook. Take for instance the chorus of first single ‘Terra Firma’: “Fake rabbit, real snake, terra firma, terra firma.” Abstract perhaps, but in the context of the song, it works brilliantly.

Musically the band have expanded but without the excess that often comes when a band has money to throw at an album. The new aspects to their sound become more evident as the album wears on, firstly in string laden anthem-in-waiting ‘Turn Tail’. Frankly this is a slice of pop mastery, as well as a previously completely unexplored side of Young Knives. Powered by driving bass, the ever present military precise drumming, and a welcome addition to the Young Knives repertoire in the fucking huge chorus, ‘Turn Tail’ is a sign of a band stepping up to the mantle and proving themselves worthy of indie adulation.

Towards the end of the album, and there are still signs of plenty of untapped musical ideas. ‘Flies’, sung with an unusually soft tone, and backed by a string section, is a typically eccentric tribute to the insects of the title: “Attracted to the light / they are attracted to bright colours / hundreds all over my yellow t-shirt / this sensation is simple.”

Testament to the progress the band has made, ‘Mummy Light The Fire’ with its tribal rhythmic chanting is somewhat reminiscent of Blur, and wouldn’t sound out of place on The Great Escape. It’s a theme that runs through the album – a great sense of melody and harmony, with some completely unpredictable turns in the music. All in all, a compelling album that is more accessible than their first, but still retaining that personality that made Young Knives unique back in the days before they dropped the ‘The’.