Friday, March 27, 2009

Knight School














Knight School's debut album, The Poor and Needy Need To Party, rattles deliriously through 14 tracks in under 25 minutes. All unforced charm and rough-hewn pop sensibility, they take their cue from the Television Personalities (1980 vintage) with their clumsy clattering and wry humour (check out one of the many highlights, Mrs Tambourine Man, for proof).

A non-album track, Death And The Cleaning Maiden, on the Skatterbrain compilation suggests they've an affinity with The Verlaines, but really, like much of the best new music from the American undergound, the menacing post-punk atmosphere is closer to The Clean's blueprint.

Knight School's glorious amateurism and wide-eyed wonder will take you back almost 20 years to the days when Slumberland 45s carried inserts declaring the releases were available from "cooler record stores"; they'll also remind you of fellow Brooklynite's Cause Co-Motion!'s basic garage rock; but they're closest in spirit and endearingly ramshackle execution to the TVPs' best work.

2 comments:

Daniel Novakovic said...

Speaking of the TVPs. I read a interview with Dan here http://www.televisionpersonalities.co.uk/reviews/juniper.htm

And at the bottom they mention "Sometimes I'm Sorry I'm a Boy". Is this a song that you have in your, oh so mighty and may I say, sexy, collection?

Fire Escape said...

Hi Daniel. Sorry I'm A Boy is unreleased; unfortunately I don't have a demo copy...