the Young Knives - Voices of Animals and Men

Genre indie rock

year: 06 - review: The Young Knives certainly show that they know their way around hooks and power chords and thus produce catchy, chart-friendly singles like the frequently out-of-tune Futureheads soundalike "The Decision," the Gang of Four-meets-the Darkness freakfest that is "Here Comes the Rumour Mill," and the Mclusky rip-off "She's Attracted To." "Loughborough Suicide," reminiscent of Barat/Doherty, is perhaps the strongest song here, bringing together the myriad influences and vocal tricks into a strong anthem that declares "I will never go down fighting." There's really not an original moment on Voices of Animals and Men; it's uneven in its sequencing, and more than a few tracks reek of filler, but thanks to Gill's production help, the dynamics are satisfying enough to almost make up for the youthful inexperience of the songwriting. A young audience helped the album's singles into the Top 40, but one can't help turning to thoughts of Kula Shaker, Razorlight, and other unhip bastions every time catchy, derivative, and purposely uncool bands release average-at-best major-label efforts like this at the tail end of revived genres.