Album Review: Five Knives ‘Savages’
Five Knives Savages Combines Pop Appeal with Electronic Beats and Rock Personality
When I named electronic pop-rockers Five Knives the Artist to Watch in 2012, I never expected their debut album would (finally!) drop more than three years later. To be fair, the band released The Rising, an EP featuring five updated mixes of the band’s best tracks from before they inked a deal with Red Bull Records, in 2013. And now, after a handful of successful viral music videos, a stint on the Van’s Warped Tour and endless opening slots for bands like The Smashing Pumpkins and Twenty One Pilots, the born-to-be headliners drop the most exciting album of the year, Savages.
Five Knives debut album Savages is a fresh take on the electro-pop format, combing rock personality with a hip-hop flair. Songs like the lead single “Savages,” “Wild Ones” and “Dirty Souls” deliver some of the best anthemic pop hooks in music today, which take this Nashville-based band from underground cool kids to certified music masters. The electronic driven tracks “Oblivion” and “Love You To Death” are album standouts on the record, while hints of their underground beginnings are still evident on songs like “Ratatat” and “Love Is a War.” “Criminal,” “Money” and “Take My Picture” incorporate a hip-hop flavor that could serve as the soundtrack for the next Fast & Furious movie or version of Grand Theft Auto, proving there is something for everyone here.
It’s not just the band’s sound though that has gotten a makeover, frontwoman Anna M’Queen shows off more vocal range than she did on their previous efforts, giving these songs mainstream, radio appeal.
Overall, the thirteen track album is a well crafted product from start to finish, proving that it takes time to master perfection. And while it may have been a three year wait to get to this point, Five Knives Savages is well worth it.
Pre-order Five Knives Savages on iTunes now and check out the video for their lead single on ‘Listen! It’s Vetrano’ here. Read Anna M’Queen‘s ‘LIV’ column, “All Hail M’Queen,” here.
