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Man Become Me
Artist: 31 Knots
Album: The Days And Nights Of Everything Anywhere
Label: Polyvinyl Record Co
Genre: Alternative/Punk
Styles: Indie Rock
Album Review
In the three short years leading up to this record, Portland, Oregon's 31Knots became a veritable juggernaut of punky, quirky pop power. From the tight-as-hell compositions on The Curse of the Longest Day and Talk Like Blood (both out in 2005), to the alternating tense-loose-expansive experimentations of 2006's Polemics EP, 31Knots continued to break new musical ground without losing any of their signature pop/punk/prog/math-rock tendencies. The 31Knots' style filter often put the boys in the same camp as Modest Mouse (and other strict math-rockers), but a deeper look revealed a more Police or Fugazi-like aggregation of influences. Strictly speaking, 31Knots could drop their guitars, drums, basses and synths for tubas, pan flutes, zithers and banjos, and it would still sound like 31Knots. And so it is, with 2007s The Days and Nights of Everything Anywhere, that we find the boys broadening their sound palette, while honing their singular, signature style. Not too many bands could utilize jarring, stop-start musical passages and still be called 'relaxed', but that is one of the chief elements that makes 31Knots so enjoyable overall and The Days and Nights...so enjoyable in particular. The fellas seem to have achieved that laid-back, comfortable confidence that only comes with virtuosic musicianship and bandmate-to-bandmate telepathy -- and they make it sound so easy, you may be fooled into thinking it is. The album is packed with odd time signatures, dramatic dynamic variations and prog-rock-level riffery, but you'd hardly notice it -- as the songs presented are so carefully serviced, and so fully realized, that they exist as individual works rather than musical dexterity showcases. The technical precision is just a bonus and songs like "Sanctify" and "Imitation Flesh" remind that, for all of their musical skill, 31Knots are as keen on serving a song as they are on rockin' it out.
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