Our weekly fix of the best new music as Julia Mason (aka The Decibel Decoder) brings us her new music review with singles from Knives PHD and Dead Pioneers The Caucasity
Artist: Knives
Track: PHD
Bristolian noise collective Knives release another track from their debut album GLITTER. PHD shoots out the blocks at breakneck speed. Raw and scuzzy it's a wild ride fuelled by the toxic practices that plague the music industry, which artists and creatives confront daily, ranging from gaslighting and belittlement to devaluation and everything in between. The rage is palpable, the frustration and anger boiling over into a three minute tirade which only takes a few seconds out midtrack to ask "Can you connect the dots? Can you feel the heat?"
Drummer Erin Cook expands: "PHD is about how some companies within the music industry can be immoral, yet simultaneously so integral that there’s no escaping them. When the band was starting out, an industry person we worked with told us that our entire success was due to them - not to the hard work and effort that the six of us constantly put in. It's fair to say we found this so infuriating that we had to write a song about it."
Knives want to be a tool for good in a scene that often forgets its roots. By promoting inclusivity and diversity and celebrating this as much as possible in their art, the band understands that it is an ongoing commitment. Thus Knives isn’t just a band; it’s a movement. Through their music and live performances, Knives aims to cultivate a community that celebrates marginalised voices - an inclusive space of rebellion for people of colour and the LGBTQ+ community.
"We're all completely different people, from different backgrounds," bassist Ben Marshall comments. "It's a space I'm happy to have curated because growing up and listening to Metallica, I would never find other black people in that audience. Now we have so many queer and people of colour coming to our shows, and it feels nice to have been able to cultivate a place like that. Creating a place where people feel they belong."
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Artist: Dead Pioneers
Track: The Caucasity
Denver punk band Dead Pioneers release new single The Caucasity from their forthcoming album, PO$T AMERICAN, out 11 April via Hassle Records. Fronted by renowned visual and performance artist Gregg Deal, a North American Indigenous vocalist, the band unapologetically confronts social, political and cultural issues, a focus central to their identity.
Of the track, Deal states: “In the spirit of Bad Indian, this song tells the story of a true moment with a common set of languages and communications by non-Native people. While tongue in cheek, it’s also a true reflection of a marginalized person being asked to justify their actions, if not their entire existence. A culmination of the words Caucasian and Audacity, Caucasity is a word created in activist corners denoting a special level of being shamelessly bold. It’s credited to writer and comedian Joel Martinez, known professionally as The Kid Mero. His first mainstream use of the term was in a music review he wrote for Vice in 2012. Kid Mero has used caucacity on Twitter since 2014.
This piece is the true story of an interaction with a shamelessly bold white college student that turns into a perfect example of the word while also showcasing the hurdles put in front of professional People of Color despite age, education or perceived authority. These are everyday occurrences in public spaces, academia and throughout our lives.”
The Caucasity is a powerful track, even more so with its straightforward structure. Here the narrative is the most important element. It is vital that the lyrics are heard. Accompanied by a constant oppressive drum beat, an anxious echoey guitar which ebbs and flows and an occasional deep bassline, the instrumentation does almost imperceptibly grow until the abrupt end, the spoken word having the final say.
Written in February 2024 and recorded in July, the new album, PO$T AMERICAN, forecasts the turmoil of the 2024 American election while reflecting on the fears and disillusionments of modern life. “The title reflects a collective disillusionment with the so-called American Dream,” explains Deal. “It critiques capitalism, colonialism, and white supremacy while imagining a path toward unity beyond those oppressive systems.”
PO$T AMERICAN balances minute-long punk explosions, impassioned explorations of modern-day America and spoken-word interludes elegantly, the shifts in form and tone not distracting from the central themes. The aural palate draws on the confrontational writing of Rage Against The Machine, the unapologetic voice of Chuck D and Public Enemy, the storytelling of Johnny Cash, the evolution of IDLES, and punk stalwarts including Black Flag, Rollins Band and Dead Kennedys.
Dead Pioneers US live dates
24 April - Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Florida, US (with Pearl Jam)
26 April - Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Florida, US (with Pearl Jam)
29 April - State Farm Arena, Atlanta, US (with Pearl Jam)
1 May - State Farm Arena, Atlanta, US (with Pearl Jam)
Dead Pioneers UK tour dates
13 May - Voodoo Daddy’s, Norwich, UK
14 May - Downstairs @ The Dome, London, UK
Dead Pioneers - Reconstruction Tour with Pennywise, Propagandhi, Comeback Kid
16 May - Poble Español, Barcelona, ES
17 May - Carroponte, Milan, IT
18 May - Koplex, Zurich, CH
20 May - Media Center, Ljubljana, SI
21 May - Arena, Vienna, AT
23 May - Gaswerk, Augsburg, DE
24 May - Berendrecht, Booswegske, BE
25 May - Schlachthof, Wiesbaden, DE
27 May - Live Music Hall, Cologne, DE
28 May - Melkweg, Amsterdam, NL
29 May - Docks, Hamburg, DE
31 May - Zitadelle Spandau, Berlin, DE
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