Formed in 2017, Bristol-based rock two-piece Knave have made a stunning comeback with their latest, beautifully honest track “Plain People O.S.T,” released today.
Their debut album ‘Songs For Quiet Consideration’ was met with much acclaim and saw them playing across the country alongside artists such as Feed The Rhino, Crywank, Slaves and more, and developing a loyal fanbase in the process.
Inspired by a range of artists including Radiohead, The Smiths and The Cure, the band aim to mix these styles with slightly more overdriven, post-hardcore sounds heard more prominently on their earlier material, influenced by the likes of Brand New, Alexisonfire and Thursday.
Knave disbanded and subsequently reformed in 2018, stripped down to its core components and embraced as a writing partnership, made up of Lewis Dunn & Sam Lawson. The pair completed recording their new, currently unreleased album in the Spring of 2019, set for a Summer release which will see them put together a live band featuring some new and familiar faces, play a select few chosen shows in Autumn of this year.
“Plain People O.S.T,” recorded and produced with Adam Chinner of Freefall Records, hears the band introduce their new sound with the barebones of their process, just an acoustic guitar and vocals, but culminating in a critical conversation between Lawson and guest singer Katie McConnell of Hypophora about the current state that they find their world to be in.
Knave’s new music tackles a broader range of subject matter and challenging questions than before. “Plain People O.S.T” explores several topics and tries to cover a lot of ground. It delves into monotony, being defeated and overworked just to stay alive.
It also covers global warming and what we’re doing to the planet. The planet is referred to as a “she” that is being abused, having female vocals on the track makes this point just a little more haunting. Sam’s vocals are more chastising, critical of how damaging mankind have been whereas Katie represents fragility, and the voice of the ‘Plain People,’ mostly the youth.
After a lot of back and forth, the song finally sees both vocalists singing together, instead of against each other, showing ultimately that it’s about unity.
Lyricist Sam Lawson feels like “Plain People O.S.T” is a good place to start with transitioning their fan base to their new sound. “To me it sounds enough like our old music, and draws from that place a lot, that it’ll help transition our listeners into what we’re trying to do now. That said, it’s also moving us into a new direction.”
“Plain People O.S.T,” released July 5, is available on Amazon, iTunes and Spotify.
