Bent Knee finished as a touring band?

[polmico]

Really? I see it on the bandcamp page that I'm looking at. Right beneath the track listing.

Neil

Swear it wasn’t there earlier today. Oh well.

[doh]

Swear it wasn’t there earlier today. Oh well.

You're not crazy. I had the same experience both this morning and now.

[boilk]

^^That's really weird. If you click on the new album, Twenty Pill Without Water, on bandcamp, the CD ordering option is there for me.

Neil

[doh]

^^That's really weird. If you click on the new album, Twenty Pill Without Water, on bandcamp, the CD ordering option is there for me.

Neil

Sorry, I mean it wasn't there in the morning but was added later that day. Just letting polmico know it wasn't him.

[boilk]

^^Ah. That makes sense.

Neil

[polmico]

Ha ha! I guessed I wasn’t crazy!

The band’s description of the song is pretty good:

“Have you ever found yourself retreating into a fictional world to escape from the brutality of modern existence? "Illiterate" is about the numbing behaviors we deploy to cope with everyday life. The earliest incarnation of the song started as an improvised, boneheaded groove that Vince hated, but once we began to re-orchestrate and iron out the dad rock vibes, it really came into its own. We tried to keep this one feeling live and informal, with Asher Kurtz (guitar) and Peter Danilchuk (synth) providing additional performances that really leveled up the track. Courtney has been mildly obsessed with the word “goblin” after stumbling upon the neologism “Goblin Mode”, so this is, essentially: “Goblin Mode: The Song”.
Scott Siskind is the wizard behind the lyric video and all of the art that accompanies the new album. Please show him some love in the comments. You'll be seeing a lot more of his work very soon.”

[Dok]

Hmm... I actually kind of remembering liking Frosting though I've not gone back to it since it came out. Anyway, got an email that the shipping label has been created for this new one.

[polmico]

Arrived today and spinning now, and it’s quite good. I’ll need a magnifying glass to figure out who plays on it, but that’s pretty typical these days.

I was bummed that I couldn’t catch them when they swung through the area this weekend; now I’m bummed-ier.

[boilk]

^^Sorry you missed the show, but thanks for the review. They are swinging through Toronto on Sunday night, and I intend to catch them. If they have their new album with them, I'll buy it.

Neil

[Crawford Glissadevil]

We plan on catching their show in Fort Worth...day after the new album is released.

[Progatron]

Well, to my ears the new album is better than Frosting, but that's hardly saying much. Unlike with that album, I didn't listen to this one and think 'WTF?! What did you DO?' ... but I also didn't think 'OMG this is fan-f***ing-TASTIC' as with the earlier ones. It's certainly not going to put them back on my Auto-buy list, let's put it that way.

I may come around to it more if I can get excited enough to spin it again soon, but it's worth noting that with every other album, that was never necessary.

How was the Toronto show? I couldn't make it, but I've been curious about their 'And Then There Were Four' vibe on stage.

[Baribrotzer]

I didn't listen to this one and think 'WTF?! What did you DO?'

After the first few releases, their albums started to sound more and more like Vince Welch demo reels - in which he showed just how many gimmicky, intrusive effects he could ladle on, and just how much he could chop and splice and remix the whole band's music. It didn't surprise me too much when Ben (and Jessica) left, because his guitar was becoming just another sonic effect, and his composition-oriented approach had almost gotten thrown out.

[boilk]

Well, to my ears the new album is better than Frosting, but that's hardly saying much. Unlike with that album, I didn't listen to this one and think 'WTF?! What did you DO?' ... but I also didn't think 'OMG this is fan-f***ing-TASTIC' as with the earlier ones. It's certainly not going to put them back on my Auto-buy list, let's put it that way.

I may come around to it more if I can get excited enough to spin it again soon, but it's worth noting that with every other album, that was never necessary.

How was the Toronto show? I couldn't make it, but I've been curious about their 'And Then There Were Four' vibe on stage.

I was at the show in Toronto on Sunday night. It was exceptional and great to see them live again. As to how they handled the arrangement with the four piece, it went very, very well.

It was sort of a tale of two shows. For the first half violinist Chris Pine played all guitar and sang Ben's vocal parts (and quite well, like on Way Too Long) and did a great job. And Vince played a very punchy 5-string bass with a pic. For the second half Chris split time between guitar and violin, Vince switched to electric guitar and Courtney played bass. All done very well by everybody. The sound was still massive and Courtney's voice still sounded as big as the Grand Canyon. I mean, after awhile I really wasn't even thinking about them being a four piece and it was another great live Bent Knee show. They played a variety of material (not much, if anything from Frosting from what I could tell) and the new tunes sounded great and had a lot of guitar and bass featured.

As to John's point and Ben and Jessica leaving, my understanding is that it had a lot more to do with them being tired of life on the road. Whether guitar and bass being featured less on Frosting was an isuue, I don't know, but again, the new tunes they played live had prominent bass and guitar.

I look forward to hearing the new album. What I heard I liked. For me, at least, You Know What They Mean was a great, top-to-bottom album and my album of the year, so if they can get anywhere close back to that level I'll be happy.

Neil

[doh]

Ben's solo stuff wasn't that far from Frosting, so I don't think he was upset with the band's direction. They just really felt like the touring life wasn't working out for them.

[zombywoof]

Gavin Wallace-Ailsworth, drummer extraordinaire from Bent Knee and friend of the channel, joins me today to talk about their new album "Twenty Pills Without Water." Most of our conversation centers around influences, but we also discuss production, drumming and Gavin's song "Cowboy."

Don't forget to comment-like-subscribe ! Gavin will be back on the channel soon to chat about the new "Apostrophe (')" 50th anniversary boxed set. You won't want to miss it !

[Digital_Man]

I also noticed they have a new album out. Most bands typically go on tour when they have a new album out so maybe they aren't done as a touring band?

[NogbadTheBad]

They are touring right now

[boilk]

Having listened to the new album a number of times now, I can say that I really like it and am back on board. There is a lot of good stuff here, things really flow well. Some songs are huge and powerful (Forest) some pack an emotional wallop (Drowning) and some just flat out weird (Cowboy), but this one sits as, to me, a more natural follow-up to You Know What They Mean.

Lots of hooks throughout also, and the production is as rich and full as ever. Another record from this year, that really sinks in after a couple of listens and only gets better from there. It'll be up there on my albums of the year list, I think.

Neil

[Crawford Glissadevil]

My favorite Bent Knee LP? The new album. Extremely catchy...keeps getting better with repeated listens.