The Young Knives

Although The Young Knives are hardly young they do manage to craft deliciously infectious records which are certainly cutting edge.

They’re a rather eccentric looking three piece who bear more resemblance to a group of distressed businessmen all amongst a period of mid-life crisis than satirical rock hopefuls. Their bassist has the nickname ‘The House of Lords’, allegedly for his position as the bands grumpy second chamber. Together with his brother Henry Dartnall, drummer Oliver Askew and hailing from the gritty centralised capital of the UK’s rock industry that is Oxford The Young Knives seem to delight in taking the piss out of each other.



Self deprecation, mocking incongruity and upholding a satirical overview of politics and the ability to satire the unrelenting quest that some rather unscrupulous members of society take in order to rise to power are all common themes of The Young Knives’ lyrical opus. Here is a band that are not only highly intelligent but have about them a cynical wit and touch of irony that stands apart from the arrogance connected to so many of the latest trend setters.

Aesthetically the band look as if they have done everything possible to obliterate any misconceptions that they may be the epitome of cool. The bands attire for example looks as if it’s been picked from the last few remaining items of clothing left at a country villages WI jumble sale. However, its The Young Knives lack of caring about their own appearance, or rather the impression that their appearance has on their audience that makes them so original.

The band is not inept at creating beguiling, formulaic pop tunes either. The cleverly arranged spiky guitars are all there, as can be expected from a group who are more art rock than grunge. Coastguard in particular blends a great guitar hook with a thunderous drum beat and some rather oscillating vocals that switch mid-way from a conventional rock chant to a Pulp croon.

Their music is definitely effective but perhaps not as dynamically captivating as some of their contemporaries. Still they are a band whose strengths lie in their live performances which are both engaging and delightful to watch.


Second single ‘Here Comes the rumour mill’ was released last month on Transgressive records; it’s an accessible pop record that sounds as if the band has hired Electric Six to yell insults at The Manic Street Preachers. The twisting guitar hooks and upbeat melodies are akin to bands like Blur, Supergrass and The Kaiser Chiefs who all preserve a droll witticism that’s wrought with sardonic irony. Not only does this lyrical backing allow the band to get away with buoyant melodies and chirpy harmonies it also allows them to connect with a large portion of the music buying public who will no doubt find these lyrics hilarious.

The Young Knives have been around a fair while and have supported the likes of Hot Hot Heat and the irksome Har Mar Superstar in the past. This is actually their second stab at success, October 2002’s mini album the rather incongruously titled ‘The Young Knives are dead’ didn’t have much of an impact. The new album looks likely to reach a much larger segment of the public and if ‘Here comes the rumour mill’ manages to get as much radio play as it deserves it could boost the popularity of the band ten fold.

There is an unexplainable charm to The Young Knives that can be likened to the happy-go-lucky magnetism that Madness maintained. The band doesn’t take themselves too seriously, which is a good thing because if they decided that they were the next Coldplay or Radiohead it just wouldn’t work.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable gig and the support from The Needles and Clearfall was of exceptional quality. I would urge anyone who has a dry sense of humour and admires bands that can efficiently communicate important messages regarding this countries political sphere without taking themselves seriously to go and see The Young Knives.

FUTURE GIGS