The Young Knives: Voices Of Animals And Men

At first glance, Ashby-De-La-Zouch’s Young Knives are so sensitive and angular they look like talking heads from I Love Mid-2004. They’re arch to the point of falling over backwards, have been produced by Andy Gill from Gang Of Four, and are about to host their own summer fete for pity’s sake. But cut beneath the Knives’ tweed-cloaked skin and you’ll realise this threesome are, in fact, the anti-Franz: their broken Oxfam garbs are the geekariffic flip-side to the precision-cut drainpipes. Meanwhile, the manic, yelp-propelled likes of ‘Here Comes The Rumour Mill’ sounds just as influenced by Pixies as they are by Orange Juice B-sides. The material that post-dates their trio of indie floor-fillers (‘HCTRM’ plus ‘She’s Attracted To’ and ‘Weekends And Bleak Days’) gives further clues to their peers being Mclusky and The Automatic as much as Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party. Factor in a bassist called The House Of Lords (because he’s big and decisions have to go through him); and songs about braining your missus’ dad, and you’re left with a rowdy, boorish thump behind the art-rock manners. This year’s most eccentric pop buttons they might be, but don’t underestimate The Young Knives’ might. You’re not supposed to hit men in spectacles, but as this debut constantly reminds us, there’s nothing to stop them from flooring you. Jamie Fullerton