Earlier this year, Portland, Oregon-based 31 Knots released It Was High Time to Escape, an LP of streamlined indie-prog, on the small label 54-40-or-Fight! Records. It was so immediately appealing that it quickly jumped out of the random promo slush pile and into my permanent collection. The band's technical prowess, singularity of vision, and potent songcraft (not to mention singer Joe Haege's accomplished vocal range) make it difficult to believe that they've garnered so little national acclaim. As the grassroots press network continues to ossify, it's easy to forget that there are good bands operating outside of the high-profile indie labels, and how exciting it is to stumble across one.
It's possible that 31 Knots will continue to dispatch their sleek, expansive compositions from the figurative wilderness, but as they search for stateside distribution for their new EP, The Curse of the Longest Day, I'll be shocked if one of the big indies doesn't snap it up. For now, it's available on Japanese label Stiff Slack Records (you'll find ordering information below). Even if their songs weren't so striking in and of themselves, this new EP finds 31 Knots positioning themselves for greater interest. It was mixed and mastered by Deerhoof's Greg Saunier and the band is preparing to tour Europe with Q and Not U, who-- shorn of their more spastic tendencies-- would be a feasible point of reference for 31 Knots.
The importance of 31 Knots's rhythm section, the two Jays (Pellicci and Winebrenner), shouldn't be underplayed: Their supple, delicately shifting armature is a vital component of the songs' impact. But the central figure in the band is Joe Haege, who's responsible for the lyrics, vocals, guitars, samples, and piano. It's Haege's voice that first draws you to 31 Knots-- it's a powerful instrument, evoking operatic singers from Jason Molina to Jeff Buckley to Craig Wedren. Haege forgoes the mealy-mouthed style of the day and sings from the diaphragm; his voice is resonant and clear as a bell.
The EP comprises four new songs and one untitled instrumental interlude. It opens with "Welcome to Stop", which stutters and coasts through woozy, heavily distorted slides; intense broadsides of staccato chords; and wiry runs of plinking guitar. Featuring Haege's most aggressive vocal performance and densest instrumentation, it's sharply contrasted by the EP's second (and strongest) track. "The Corpse and the Carcass" is a lean, minimally symphonic piece; the cinematic evocation of its succinct, reiterative synthetic-string-and-piano phrases instantly evoke the creeping micro-grandeur of Kronos Quartet's Requiem for a Dream soundtrack. While Haege's lyrics tend toward the ponderous and obscure, the music is sturdy enough to hold their weight, and here he pares them down to suit the leanness of the music: "Who's the gospel, and who is the plain truth?/ Who's the misprint, and who is just slander?"
The unlisted instrumental is a brief interlude of winnowing, coiled ambience in the center of the EP. "The Story of Ivan Normal" works through so many guitar modes over its gymnastic percussion-- wafting arpeggios, syncopated leads, poppy strumming, and clattering post-punk-- that it's remarkable it coheres into a catchy, hummable tune. And "Coward With Claws", a morass of rambling Shudder to Thinkisms pinioned with apocalyptic digital rumbles, closes an EP that presents a unity of vision with no discernible chinks. I'd say I expect great things from 31 Knots if I didn't feel that they've already accomplished them. Now it's just a matter of waiting for the word to spread.
