Breakup And Die
A masterful display of tasteful musicianship and anguished honesty. A rare, moving record.
-Bruce Brodeen: Not Lame Music
Guilt
When we first wrote about the Knobs and tapped them as an A&R
Pick, we knew they were onto something -- a warm, classic pop sound
that invoked great bands like Big Star, but displayed a range well
beyond any obvious influences.
The
Delaware group's second effort, Guilt, leads off with "Pour It On,"
which flirts with glam during its winning chorus. Lesser outfits would
mine the same formula, but the Knobs mix it up over a dozen tracks,
occasionally borrowing from roots rock, but at other times pumping up
the sound with horns and strings, such as on the sunny "We've Got It
All."
The fine songwriting and tight harmonies manage to avoid
preciousness thanks to songs such as "Have Mercy Tonight," which
remembers to rock as often as it pops.
- Steve Ciabattoni: CMJ New Music Report
Happy, Sad, Drunk
The Knobs approach music making as just another way to enjoy their record collection. Enthusiastic nods to the three Bs of basement classic pop - Beatles, Beach Boys and Big Star - are all over Happy, Sad, Drunk, and it's quite evident the band's enjoying every minute of its sendup.
But like Guided By Voices, the Knobs have a way of blending these influences with the working class sentiments of a basement rock band who's dug on a good college record or two, tempering its more sweeping pop craftsmanship with the occasional rawer, off-the-cuff guitar squeak or modern studio trick.
The resultant collection plays like that great lost pop record that you can't really pinpoint - was the band at the bar last night playing that tune, or is this song from some old record you heard coming from your older brother's room in 1974? Fitting the criteria: "Moving," "Turn Down The Sound," "Story Of Destruction" and "Carpeted Night."
- Colin Helms: CMJ New Music Report
