Interviews

The Young Knives

Matt Churchill 29/11/2007

The Young Knives have just released their brilliant new single 'Terra Firma', a track that shows how a band who, renowned for writing instant indie hits, can produce songs that seep into the very depths of your soul without the obvious “oh my God we need a radio friendly pop hook” which has given many a group the most severest of headaches.

The indie-funsters are gradually starting to build up momentum for the release of their second album at some point in 2008, the follow up to 2006's Mercury nominated debut 'Voices Of Animals And Men', and fresh off their recent tour, the band are taking some time out to relax, but continue to remain semi-busy, playing a series of one off dates dotted around Europe, including one night at London's canvas on December 13th.

'The Rage Out In Winter', put on by Rage Events, is aimed at the 'refined reveler' who does not want to share his or her gig with a hot sweaty indie-kid, but to absorb the music and enjoy their night out without the fear of having warm flat beer hurled over them. The Young Knives then, are the perfect choice to play at the sophisticated bash - intelligent, classy and uber cool.

Catching up with Oliver, the threesome's sticksman, who rather brilliantly is a fan of Dave (The Home Of Witty Banter) and doesn't mind the interruption in the middle of 'Who's Line Is It Anyway?', it is easy to see why the band have been asked to headline the night.

More than happy to play to the evening's supposedly slightly older crowd, Oliver's optimism is clearly evident in his jovial tones “It's gonna be good, we're really looking forward to it. We're rested and rejuvenated after the tour finished a few weeks ago. We feed off the crowd, most of our fans are older anyway, in their 30's or 40's, or 14 year old girls… and we supported Gang Of Four at the Barbican.” So it'll be familiar-ish territory for the band who look set to shine in an on-first-impressions peculiar environment.

The Young Knives aren't usually the sort of band who are quiet and reserved live, so it is inevitable that the more accepted by the mainstream they become, the more they'll be asked to play one off shows like 'The Rage Out In Winter'. This presents a different set of challenges to those enjoyed on their own tours. The Young Knives played at this year's Mencap Sessions alongside Biffy Clyro and We Are Scientists succeeding in crossing from loud and punchy to soft and subtle, “It was interesting doing the Union Chapel gig acoustically, we realise you've got to change to suit the gig so we try to make it special and interesting for people, it's much more personal. On the last tour we played more new stuff with strings, it's more like being on Jo Whiley or doing radio sessions, but we enjoy both equally”

The band's next single is set to be 'Up All Night' and Oliver is looking forward to the release. “Terra Firma didn't make the top 40, but it sold more than our other singles. Up All Night is one of our poppiest songs, It's got a far more leftfield feel, the club reviews have been weird and wonderful”

Oliver is keen that the trio don't rest on their laurels and lose their sense of what they are trying to achieve “We won't shirk our duties”, he adds “We'd rather bleed out of our eyes” and for anyone trying to push the forefront of modern music, that is a fantastic mantra to abide by; it's just a shame that more bands don't share The Young Knives' desire to create original music in a way that keeps pushing boundaries without losing sight of why they set out to do what they do in the first place.

For more information about The Rage Out In Winter visit www.rageevents.co.uk