Album Review: Knots by Crash Of Rhinos

Crash Of Rhinos - Knots 

Release Date: July 22, 2013 

Record Label: Topshelf Records

Rating: 8.4

For Fans Of: Braid, Nai Harvest, Prawn

By Brian Nissen

 

Starting immediately with the opening track, “Luck Has a Name”, Crash of Rhinos make it hard not to be mesmerized by the compelling automaton-like conformity that the two guitarists, two bassists and drummer achieve. Staring into this cleverly crafted machine, where each turning gear knows its role and executes it perfectly, can take you further into the music than the punk-like energy or the sincerity of the vocals ever could alone. Here are call and response melodies, like in the middle of “Luck has no name”, performed with candid communication that feels like honesty you only share with your closest friends.

As it is that time spent together creates this open communication between you and your best confidantes, we can assume that time and many late nights were put into practice while preparing for this record. There seems to be a friendship between the instruments and we can feel the instrumentalists’ personalities coming through that of their creations. Subconsciously personifying the melodies, harmonies, and rhythms of the music happens because we can imagine the band putting work in to this music. Maybe friendships were strained and solidified, maybe it was difficult or perhaps the process was without hindrance; no matter what happened during the preparation for this record, it was honest and we can feel it. We can see the mechanics that birthed the machine, the clockmaker that fabricated the clock, and we can see the architects through their constructs.

The first five songs (besides the short acoustic tune “Everything Is”) progress with a braid-like emo accompanied by math rock guitars and with hoarse post-hardcore vocals. There is a lot of energy to the music and here is where their emotion comes through. They are not just relying on whiny sounds to validate their emotional lyrics, but the energy refuses to let your attention wane, so that you are continually connecting with the music and this gives them ample time to spew forth introspective thoughts. “It could’ve been a waste of your time…it wasn’t a waste of mine!”

The fifth track, “The Sum of All Parts”, can be seen as a transition. While it is not a transition for the purpose of creating a cohesive blend of the two different sides of the band that soon become apparent, it is a definite changing point. This song is a palate cleanser between two courses. The music is tamer and the lyrics have an almost Joan of Arc repetitive one liner thing going. The next six tracks we see the different side of Crash of Rhinos. The first of the six, “The Reason I Took So Long”, is an instrumental that could be the opener to a different album. The songs continue with less aggression. “Impasses” is blatant in its vanguard of emo. “Standards in Practice” is an indulgence in their math rock side. Overall the latter half of this album feels like an experimental sophomore release, while the former is a perfection of their sometimes cumbersome 2010 Distal.

The great musicianship and energy on Knots continue through to the end, and rather than being disappointed by their lack of cohesiveness with style throughout the album, it's exciting at the halfway point to hear a new take on the personalities that came through so well in the first half.