the kniφe - shaking the habitual

They've sort of made a techno version of the last couple of Scott Walker records. Probably why I like it so much.

what I might like most about this is how it stops people using the lazy description "this sounds like the Knife" for EVERYTHING

until everything starts sounding like this

this is pretty wack

Might sound crazy but this sure as hell feels like a new Creatures album, and I mean that with full approval. Now that Siouxsie and Budgie are pretty well split on all levels, this doesn't so much take its place as stakes out its own particular space. Anyway, this is great stuff.

Given they're not actually that good at ambient/drone, I'm not sure we really need 35mins or so of it here. The rest I'm still getting my head around.

I'm enjoying said drone...but I would.

I like the drone too. The long one sounds like Chatham's Two Gongs.

loving the drums on this. the ambient tracks aren't bad, but drag a little. all in all, they create a great atmosphere for the record, though.

"without you my life would be boring", "wrap your arms around me", "stay out here" and "ready to lose" are stunning imo

It will have to be a banner year for this not to make my best of 2013 list.

Third full listen and this is a phenomenal piece of work. Can't wait to spend some time with this on headphones. It's moved the goalposts so far ahead of everyone that copied them over the past few years. And fortunately for me even further into the dark foreboding territory that I am a total sucker for.

would like to read an enthusiastic defence of the 19-min drone

It sets the stage for "Raging Lung" really well

you can't kill that many civilians in just 19 minutes

actually "fracking fluid injection" might be more indefensible

i mean, i guess it sounds like fracking might? well done?

Old Dreams would be totally fine if it was no longer than five minutes long. It kind of reminds me of the Chromatics album which has a great start but then half way through is just killed by those boring instrumental tracks. Like that album I think this would be just brilliant if it was edited down.

Agree with Lex that Without you my life would be boring and Wrap your arms around me are amazing.

can someone make a gif of sunglasses falling onto an unmanned drone & then it says "drone with it"

I believe "Old Dreams Waiting to be Realized" could easily supplant some of the soundtrack currently used near the end 2001: A Space Odyssey, particularly, the Star Gate sequence.

My defense of the drone is simple. It places the band in a context of "the Coil that mainstream music press talk about" instead of "the M83 that make you uncomofortable" and I like Coil a fuck of a lot more than M83.
It basically guarantees you can't approach this as a pop record. Forces you to evaluate what they're doing by a different set of yardsticks.

oh so it's not to do with the music then

i'm into the drone now

it's a nice lil drone

there are little things that happen, noises and chittering and stuff
it's a nice quality drone so far

around 10 some rhythmic tones and melody comes in

Lex, my defense of the drone would be - I like drone, drone is good. I like this drone in this context.

Assuming that most people's dislike is based on them not liking drone I was defending it's use in context.

13 mins the drone is growing more powerful
i fear it may consume us all

16 the drone grows stronger still
now what sounds like tapping on hollow pieces of wood
some static in the right channel

built to a nice climax
now it's done

nice drone! it's not formless, had development and drama, would drone again

leeds quite nicely into the next song "Raging Lung", which has a bit of a Flowers of Romance vibe

Really interested to see how this will be review this week. It's only had six reviews on there so far but at the moment it has 89 on Metacritic. Silent Shout only got 74. I love that going through the Silent Shout ratings you get to Q magazine's one star review right at the bottom..

A hideous mess of electro noodling and maddeningly obtuse, tuneless vocals. [May 2006, p.126]

I wonder just what they'll make of this one?

i like how the last seconds of raging lung segue back into a short drone, seems like it's all pretty planned out and sequenced in a cool way. drone is great!

but yeah i think the drone is interesting in itself and also i think makes the album feel different more expansive and better for what it does to the pacing, don't know if that's what u wanted lex but i have positive feelings about it and i'm not some hussy that falls for every drone i meet

would like to read an enthusiastic defence of the 19-min drone

If you insist...

Really getting into A Cherry on Top

would have been a cool april fools day joke if pitchfork had put up the stream yday but it was actually jane's addiction - ritual de lo habitual

does everyone know that 7. "Old Dreams Waiting to Be Realized" 19:22 is not included with the standard CD issue of this album. it is only going to be on the deluxe version for around $10 more and comes with a two CD set.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B9JDBSY/ref=s9_simh_gw_p15_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=04WJ99XAASTT9CAJ3CQS&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938811&pf_rd_i=507846

$6.85 isn't really "around $10"

i was going from memory but $7 was close

like I wasn't buying the deluxe version of this album no matter what

Really liked this on first listen to the Pitchfork stream but I couldn't get the 19-min track to play all the way through despite trying several times. I take it no one else had trouble?

everyone else had trouble because everyone who bought all of the other Knife albums was trying to stream this today

Ha, OK, fair point.

I'm really enjoying “Wrap Your Arms Around Me”. I was going to say that the track sounds sorta-Dead Can Dance-ish, but reading Ned's remark about The Creatures I can totally see that too.

does everyone know that 7. "Old Dreams Waiting to Be Realized" 19:22 is not included with the standard CD issue of this album. it is only going to be on the deluxe version for around $10 more and comes with a two CD set.

― Bee OK

On Amazon.co.uk it's 50p more to get the single disc version, they are charging us more not to own that song.

I was all ready to buy the vinyl version (it does have much better artwork) but think I'll be getting that single disc CD now.

Andersson is the happy mother of two children and by no means a dark or haunting individual. She is a woman who Skypes with her brother (Olaf now lives in Berlin) and talks freely about her obsession with Miami Vice. In one of the rare instances of emotion, Andersson becomes animated when discussing the hit 80s television show. “I really like watching old Miami Vice,” she confirms as I await some deep musically inspired reason. “It looks so good when it’s warm dark nights and they just go out driving their boats and everything. It looks really nice,” Karin reaffirms with a bit of a chuckle.

Kinda reminds me of Beth Gibbons in interviews, way less fraught than image suggests.

generally speaking, the people who are actually that fraught kill themselves or go crazy

Minor differences.

One of the most impractical pieces of music i know of is a 3-pc 50-minute Guyuto Monk chant that resonates and echoes far more impressively in the silence that follows the end of it's audition. I imagine that "Old Dreams Waiting to Be Realized" is an entire album side, and thus (will require a new slab of vinyl, and), should only be continued once the listener can reconcile themselves to a new thought. Five minutes of silence would seem appropriate, but, to each their own.

Reference: The Gyuto Monks: Freedom Chants from the Roof of the World

They should do real songs instead of mindless drones.

more news - http://d-e-f.com/2015/01/23/def-2015-knife/

Seems weird they're doing just one Europa Europa show, keeping my fingers crossed for some additional dates...

This turned ten years old a few weeks ago

!

Right? It's still a recent album to me. Although maybe the time is demarcated by how pivotal it felt at the time compared to how little I think about it or want to play it these days.
Maybe it's to do with the album's topics now having become much more mainstream and centre-table than at the time? Although I can't remember a time when financial equality and gender rights weren't big topics?

feels like 10 years ago tbh

these two posts above sum things up pretty well imo

Favourite album of the last ten years (plus a few weeks)