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YOU KNOW WHAT THEY MEAN

Bent Knee

Crossover Prog


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Bent Knee You Know What They Mean album cover
3.81 | 161 ratings | 2 reviews | 23% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
prog rock music collection

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Studio Album, released in 2019

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Lansing (1:22)
2. Bone Rage (4:14)
3. Give Us the Gold (3:51)
4. Hold Me In (4:50)
5. Egg Replacer (3:10)
6. Cradle of Rocks (4:00)
7. Lovell (1:27)
8. Lovemenot (5:10)
9. Bird Song (2:56)
10. Catch Light (4:39)
11. Garbage Shark (5:38)
12. Golden Hour (5:51)
13. It Happens (5:05)

Total Time 52:13

Line-up / Musicians

- Courtney Swain / lead vocals, keyboards
- Ben Levin / guitar, backing vocals
- Vince Welch / synth, guitar, sound design, producer & mixer
- Chris Baum / violin
- Jessica Kion / bass, backing vocals
- Gavin Wallace-Ailsworth / drums

Releases information

Artwork: Riki Nitabaru

LP + CD Inside Out Music ‎- IOMLP 535 (2019, Germany) Full album on both media

Thanks to mbzr48 for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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BENT KNEE You Know What They Mean ratings distribution


3.81
(161 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(23%)
23%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(32%)
32%
Good, but non-essential (26%)
26%
Collectors/fans only (13%)
13%
Poor. Only for completionists (6%)
6%

BENT KNEE You Know What They Mean reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by TCat
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
5 stars Bent Knee is a crossover prog band from Boston, Mass. Formed in 2009. The band was original formed by Courtney Swain (lead vocals, keyboards), Vivian Welch (sound design, producer and mixer) and Ben Levin (guitar, backing vocals). After their first album, they brought in more musicians and the line-up has remained the same since then; Chris Baum (violin), Jessica Kion (bass, backing vocals), and Gavin Wallace-Ailsworth (drums). Their fifth full length studio album is called "You Know What They Mean", consisting of 13 tracks and a run time of 52 minutes. None of the tracks exceed the 6 minute mark. The album cover looks like crinkled aluiminim foil with various psychedelic colors reflecting off of it, all multi-faceted, bright and shiny, yet a bit chaotic, and that is how the music sounds.

"Lansing" starts off the album with a short introductory piece with a feedback noise and some chatter, it sounds like some concert field recording. "Bone Rage" suddenly smacks you on the side of the head with a noisy beginning, but soon moves into a hard and heavy guitar riff and Courtney's wild vocals. Some solid music follows, with a start/stop descending chordal riff while the vocals swings every which way. The staccato notes of the guitar end up melting together and we enter a loud and chaotic section that suddenly ends with voice and minimal music, which soon jumps right back to a loud ending. "Give Us the Gold" is much softer at the start, with Courtney singing with a only a throbbing percussion and a clicking cymbal. As she sings along in until the band suddenly kicks in and give the track a solid direction. The music ventures from several styles, but you can pick out a melody with verses and chorus among all of this. The great thing is, nothing really settles into any kind of repetitive groove, but pretty much swings around intentionally avoiding any repetition.

"Hold Me In" begins with quite a catchy and rapid drum beat and guitar interplay which eventually brings the vocals in. Again, just as you think the music is going to settle in to something, it wipes out the staccato beginning and turns it into something lush and textural. Courtney's voice swoops and swirls everywhere, and it's quite a sensation, especially with the use of cool effects that include a lot of echo and such. It all culminates in quite an emotional delivery in the vocals, which continue to move about freely in her amazing range. "Egg Replacer" begins minimal and kind of sneaky, but be careful, because it will get intense at times with some crazy outbursts with the entire band. "Cradle of Rocks" is a heavy, more straightforward rocker with a fast and exciting beat. This one seems to be quite a bit more accessible and would be a good single. Since it's more straightforward, it isn't the best example of their music, but it is still an attention getter that could be more radio-friendly, and it still has a good amount of power behind it.

"Lovell" is a bit strange with thick and heavy washes of guitar and synth all blended together. Noisy, but short with some band chatter at the end. "Lovemenot" goes hard, heavy and actually quite sludgy. Courtney's vocals and some string effects lighten it up a bit for a while, but when the full power comes in, it's surprisingly thick and heavy, almost even extreme. As with the other tracks, dynamics are very important, but the noisy sections are pushed to the extreme. "Bird Song" takes off from the last track and the sudden turn to minimalism. The vocals come in on the sparse keys, and there is some interesting vocal layering going on here, but it is quite beautiful and soft. Wow, what a contrast between those tracks, and I love it! "Catch Light" has a looped percussion, and starts off fairly standard, but suddenly becomes heavier when the synth and guitars come in. It's another catchy rhythm but with some outbursts of dissonant chords and a solid ending.

"Garbage Shark" has a dark and ambient feel to it in the beginning, but soon works up to a heavier tone with tortured guitars and a sweetly squealing violin. There are sections with dissonant tension that build and then release, but the track remains dark and eerie throughout. At 4 minutes, ?. Wow happens. A sudden cinematic texture takes over as all the while, vocals continue to keep up with the texture changes. "Golden Hour" starts with long, sustained low synth chords, almost droning along, and then Courtney's echoing vocals come in almost heaven like, sounding like she is singing in a cathedral. What a sound. Well into the 2nd minute, ticking cymbals, tonal percussion and bass push it into a more standard melody, but it is still layered with great accompaniment, which continues to be as intriguing and interesting as the vocals. "It Happens" seems to end it all on a more positive notes, but as the song continues, weirdness creeps in more and more as it goes on. It does end up resolving itself, ending on a lush and atmospheric texture.

I think I have a new vocalist to add to my favorite female vocalists list. I would put her right there with the amazing vocal talent as Kate Bush, even though their styles are quite different, they do share one thing, their sound and styles are both breathtaking. It also helps that the musicianship and instrumentation on this is stellar, the production is great and the use of dynamics, dissonance and unique styles is all top-notch. This album is definitely another favorite for the year, and I am definitely going to put the band on the list of groups to explore. I love the fact that the music can easily fool you, thinking at times that you have something that is somewhat "normal" that suddenly and unpredictable becomes totally unhinged. The music is quirky, no doubt, but it is also extremely well done. I really enjoy this album, and it always seems like it goes by so fast because I enjoy it so much. It never gets stale or boring through it entire length. I really don't know who to compare it to, but to me, its what I always wanted Portishead to sound like, with more outbursts and a large dose of progressive exploration, dynamic and expressive singing and instrumental backup, where the noise and music are just as important as the singing. I really love this! 5 stars. Unhinged and unpredictable with an amazing vocalist.

Review by BrufordFreak
COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
5 stars The avant prog Berklee grads are back with their first really refreshingly new and idiosyncratic album since 2014's masterpiece, Shiny Eyed Babies. And what a welcomed sound it is!

1. "Lansing" (1:22) a weird mic outtake from some concert on one of their tours. Not sure why or what it means.

2. "Bone Rage" (4:13) despite the roiling opening, this one kicks in like an early RUSH song--but it's trumped by Courtney's vocal and some of the other unexpected shifts in directions that the band and the music takes. (8.5/10)

3. "Give Us the Gold" (3:51) near-disco electro-pulse opens the song before a heavily effected guitar strum opens the door for Courtney's vocal performance to enter. For the first minute it's pretty much her voice and some occasional bass and click track, but then everybody kicks in, each instrument contributing something unique, creative, and bold. The band comes together for each "give us the gold" chorus but then scatters to canvass a wide spectrum of sounds. Such an unusual sound and rhythm palette! Bravo! for your courage and confidence! My first top three song. (9.5/10)

4. "Hold Me In" (4:50) Courtney's heavily reverbed voice is still singing all-out despite being mixed a little more within (or behind) the rhythm instruments. The band is very busy with many layers of information noodling in and out and around Courtney--but it all somehow blends together so well. I think because the melody line of the chorus is so powerful. There is a dreamy section in the second half which provides some great contextual perspective from the heavier, more dynamic sections before and after. (9/10

5. "Egg Replacer" (3:10) founded on an odd rhythm as produced by an unusual combination of percussion instruments. As the choruses build a cool and unique plus one of layers start to finish of each. (8/10)

6. "Cradle of Rocks" (4:00) part BLONDIE, part TOM TOM CLUB and TALKING HEADS, this is a hard rocker with a techno edge to it over which Courtney's heavily reverbed voice is tucked back in the mix. (She still manages to steal the show due to her full on 100 decibels voice.) (9/10)

7. "Lovell" (1:27) I love these little cut outs from crowd interactions during their concert tours. I'd love to know the reasons they chose the ones they did.

8. "lovemenot" (5:10) opens like something from THE BEATLES Revolver and remains bass heavy throughout. (8.75/10)

9. "Bird Song" (2:56) so raw and unadulterated--as if Vince just happened to catch Courtney playing at the piano while she was trying out some new song for her next solo album. Very cool! I love this song and the authenticity of the raunchy, choppy sound. (9.25/10)

10. "Catch Light" (4:39) opens a little like Madonna's "Justify my Love" before the heavy power chords of the second minute. The contributions from each and every one of the instruments on this song are remarkable and fascinating throughout. Courtney's singing is actually the rock that holds it all together. Cool! Genius! Top three song for me. (10/10)

11. "Garbage Shark" (5:38) rolling single note bass and plucked violin with heavily effected guitar form the sparse background over which Courtney sings in a very ethereal, delicate voice--until the heavy chorus sections, the final one of which is particularly powerful. Very psychedelic. (9/10)

12. "Golden Hour" (5:51) a little MEW, a little ANATHEMA, an extraordinary song. Top three for me. (10/10)

13. "It Happens" (5:05) sets up as a kind of quirky New Wave jazz tune (Arto Lindsay & The Ambitious Lovers come to mind)--very engaging and relaxed with a kind of relaxed Ska beat and dissonant de-tuned instrumental tapestry. So cool! A dream sequence in the middle that is very pleasant and effective. (9.5/10)

Total Time 52:12

I love this album! I love this new direction the band has chosen! I endorse this wholeheartedly. Bravo and kudos Courtney, Ben, Jessica, Chris, Gavin, and Vince!

Five stars; a minor masterpiece of refreshing new and creative modern progressive rock music.

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