Single Review: Stay Wild - KNIIFE PRRTY

Following up on last year's eponymous debut album KNIIFE PRRTY are back with new single 'Stay Wild' and, to be honest, BlackPlastic is of the opinion this blows everything else they have done away.

Filled with interesting time signatures and whispered vocals this really delivers a level of subtlety that their previous material was screaming for. 'Stay Wild' is the sound of the world enveloping you in chaos at the point where you realise that to fight it would just be futile, and we think it's kind of lush - the IDM feel has been really ramped up on this one.

The artwork, designed by Kevin Nelson for Constructiv Art and Design, is kind of ace too and fits the track perfectly.

You can listen to the full track over at KNIIFE PRRTY's Bandcamp - remember to pay for it if you like it.

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Video: Pins Down - KNIIFE PRRTY

One of our favourite tracks from KNIIFE PRRTY's eponymous debut album when we reviewed it earlier this year was definitely 'Pins Down'.  The stop-start rhythm and haunting vocals without doubt formed one of the highlights of the album.

The band have now made a video for the song. It is directed by Steve Pahl and, like the music itself, it is a slightly spooky, ghosted mix of technology gone wrong but in a good way. Check it out.

Head over to the band's website for more of the lowdown on KNIIFE PRRTY.

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Album Review: KNIIFE PRRTY - KNIIFE PRRTY

KNIIFE PRRTY's début conjures a mixture of musical influences, sounding like the Go Find performing Depeche Mode songs on a rainy day. Far from the raucous event their name infers, this is an album of slow contemplation and slightly emo American vocals.

It makes a couple of missteps - occasionally it simply doesn't sound distinctive enough, as on the opening tracks 'Neil Diamond' and 'Wretched Heart'. Steve Pahl's vocals don't really stand up to close scrutiny - sounding like Ben Gibbard but without the feeling the result is a little over-polished in places.

Things are better where the music gets more creative. The stuttering rhythms of 'Pins Down' with its snatched vocals sounds like it was captured by a computer and evolved in isolation from human involvement. 'Change Your Mind' succeeds despite the focus on the vocals because the slower pace better suits their maudlin, somewhat apathetic nature whilst juxtapositioning threatening vocals with a voice that sounds incapable of delivering a bad word.

When KNIIFE PRRTY stop wearing their influences on their sleeve is when thing get genuinely interesting. The spoken delivery of 'Morning Nausea' with it's slow, dubby backing sounds like an American take on Massive Attack.

KNIIFE PRRTY have delivered a début that intrigues in places but ultimately fails to sustain interest. If they leave the angst and instead focus on emotion they could be ones to watch.

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Check out KNIIFE PRRTY on their MySpace.

Avaliable now on Amazon.co.uk on MP3 [affiliate link].