NEW YORK, NY (Top40 Charts/ Rykodisc) - "Razor sharp and very clever" 4 Stars - Mojo
"...brilliantly wry, heart-wrecking jerk-pop" 4 Stars - NME
4 Stars - Uncut
4 Stars - Q
The British post-punk outfit that is The
Young Knives will see the U.S. debut release of their highly-acclaimed, tremendously popular U.K. break-out album, "Voices of Animals and Men" (Rykodisc/Transgressive) on February 20, 2007. I know - we're excited too! And you know what else will really get you panting? They'll be doing some stateside gigs, including a return visit to SXSW. And!, the album (which contains the U.K. hits "The Decision," "She's Attracted To," and "Weekends and Bleak Days (Hot Summer)") also comes with a bonus hour-long DVD featuring four music videos, live footage and more.
What's that you say? You haven't heard of The Young Knives? No biggie. We'll gladly give you a quick refresher course to catch you up to speed.
The Young Knives are Henry Dartnall (vox, guitar), House of Lords (bass, vox) and Oliver Askew (drums, vox). They hail from this place called Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire. That's in England. Henry and House of Lords are brothers and Oliver a long-time friend.
In 2002 they released their first mini-album "The Young Knives...Are Dead" on Shifty Disco. Then things went quiet for a bit until they found themselves a proper manager. Gang Of Four's Andy Gill, who flipped over their demo, produced their first EP, "Junky Music Makes My Heart Beat Faster." TYK eventually inked with indie label Transgressive Records (The Subways, The Mystery Jets).
Fast forward to 2006. TYK's popularity seemingly explodes. "Voices of Animals and Men" is released in the U.K. in August 2006 and enters the Top 40 chart at No 21. The singles "The Decision," "Here Comes The Rumor Mill," "She's Attracted To" and "Weekends and Bleak Days (Hot Summer)," all place on the UK Top 40 chart. All of their videos are playlisted at MTV2 UK with "She's Attracted To" being A-listed. The critical praise continues to mount with the UK Guardian, Mojo, Uncut and Q all giving "Animals and Men" four-star reviews. They hit the road with Dirty Pretty Things and The Rakes. They play their biggest gig ever. They play a bunch of summer music festivals. Their fans continue to grow. They even make it out to SXSW prompting the Austin Chronicle to write, "[Mark E.] Smithian brilliance, leveled by a melodic, strangely dark guitar squall, thick, meaty drum work... with the lyrical smarts of Smith and company hanging over the show like a funerary crepe, and the occasional chiming guitar strike echoing Interpol's most lucid moments." The album ranks on several 2006 end-of-year lists including Mojo, NME, Q, Observer Music Monthly, and The Sun Newspaper.
Fast forward to 2007. TYK still sport ill-fitting charity shop suits, wear NHS spectacles and well those haircuts... Who knows about those? They still live in the country and they still like gardening. They will release "Voices of Animals and Men" on February 20, 2007 in the U.S. They will travel stateside to give us a chance to check-out one of their much talked about live shows. They will gain even more fans. They are The Young Knives, "sharp young blades with a steely resolve." (Tony Naylor, NME)
U.S. tour dates for The Young Knives are as follows:
March 2007
03/01 North Star Bar Philadelphia, PA
03/02 Mercury Lounge New York, NY
03/03 Luna Lounge Brooklyn, NY
03/04 Great Scott Boston, MA
03/05 Black Cat Washington, DC
03/06 Safari Sam's Los Angeles, CA
03/07 Spaceland Club Los Angeles, CA (NME Night)
03/08 Popscene San Francisco, CA
03/10 Chop Suey Seattle, WA
03/12 Empty Bottle Chicago, IL (FREE SHOW!)
03/15 SXSW Austin, TX
More dates to come. Be sure to visit www.theyoungknives.com for updated information.
