Like many of their countrymen, England’s Young Knives play jagged little pop tunes with a wink and a snarl. Their 2006 debut, Voices of Animals and Men, was produced by Gang of Four’s Andy Gill and, not so surprisingly, sounded a lot like a Gang of Four record: Splashes of post-punk mingled with spiky dance-rock. Gill is gone for Superabundance, and so are some of the feet-moving beats. Still, “Terra Firma” and “Counters” could slip inconspicuously onto the Gang of Four’s classic 1979 debut album Entertainment! Superabundance is a tougher, harsher record that replaces melody with volume, as one serrated guitar riff bleeds into the next. Most revealing is “Turn Tail,” a string-driven song about not going down with a sinking ship.
This article appears in Jun 18-24, 2008.