4 out of 5

Label: Ranghok

Producer: Larry Crane, Joanna Bolme

I miss this version of 31 Knots.  Climax / Anti|Climax definitely has the band at its most prog-y indulgences, but this was when they still felt like a band to me, and not just a Haege solo project.  Not to criticize Joe, of course, as I consider him an amazing songwriter and lyricist, but the flavor of the last Knots outing is a far cry from their 54’40 era stuff, or the first couple Polyvinyl entries to follow.  At some point, shouting became the only vocal delivery for Joe, and, sorry to drummer Jay Pellici, but the loss of mathy tap-tap wizard Joe Kelly on the drums also immediately seemed to urge the band toward more of a rock stomp and less of the intricate emo post-punk they were delivering during the mid 00s.

Now I mention Kelly, but according to the allmusic entry for this album – which was a limited release in 2000, reissued in ’09 – Kelly only stepped in when original drummer Matt Walsh left, so… to Walsh’s credit, I wouldn’t have picked out a difference.  The recording session is dated 7/98 and 6/99, with Larry and Joanna recording mostly the even tracks and Larry, solo, recording mostly the odds… so if we assume the listed order corresponds with the dates, that means Kelly played on those odd tracks.  But whatever.  I have favorite tracks all over, so it don’t matter.  (RIGHT?)

The recording style is also pretty unique amongst ‘Knots career.  Allgut Allbrain was just indie central, so the recording was dim and mushy, and post ‘Climax,’ Pat Kenneally would define the rough sound that Pellici would favor on the rest of their releases, but ‘Climax’ is clean.  It speaks more to the Fugazi ethic/sound than on any of their other albums, but that’s not to say that this disc is more of a soundalike than other releases.  It is still, absolutely, 31 Knots, its just a version of the band more willing to go the whole guitar doodly nine than you find elsewhere, except hinted at in some of their instrumental intros.

Now I could read further into the name of the disc and say that things start off with the ‘climactic’ tracks – ‘Throwell To the Stairs,’ ‘Gavel of Hammers’ – these are all in your face, hitting the beat right from the start and not letting up for 3 or 4 minutes.  Things aren’t quite as smooth as they would become – ‘Gavel’ tries to cut in and out of some intense moments and feels a bit patched together as a result – but that’s the overall composition; in terms of each musician’s craft, Haege is on point with his guitar and kicks out some unique finger tapping and solos they wouldn’t really re-use later on, and Kelly / Walsh are just effing amazing on the kit, inserting so many touches beyond your basic beat that help to flesh out the sound without it being showy.  And bassist Jay Winebrenner used to get the chance (before the shouty era) to do more of his awesome juxtaposing, finding these oddly atonal lines to play against the guitar that, again, only support the act and don’t distract.  Crane / Bolme put the guitar a bit more upfront than other recordings, but all the same – this is Knots as a group.  There’s not a moment you feel like they’re not playing in the same groove.  Aanyhow… post this climax, the disc enters some transitional pieces – the ditty to explosion ‘Symphony Mediocre,’ the soothing indie jaunt of ‘Exponential Glitch’, before what I would consider the ‘Anti-Climax’ of ‘Selfie’ – which is just an instrumental mish-mash that never quite finds its way – and ‘Heed the Two Crier,’ which starts off with a shouted lyric but then stumbles through the rest of its lyric-less tune without building on the momentum.

But you can’t end on a bummer, so we get the nigh-epic (and well named) ‘Kowtow To Rock & Rolldom’ to close out the show, which – in its quiet to loud dynamics – brings to mind the intensity that Joe and crew would bring to their next EP, ‘The Rehearsal Dinner.’

So it might lack the more raw emo overtones of their Polyvinyl stuff, if that’s where you started, but if you missed that hardcore prog wankery, this is a disc to pick up.  The group sounds young, for sure, and Haege’s lyrics aren’t quite as poetic, but these songs aren’t just sketches – they’re fully realized in their own way, and definitely provide value in the band’s catalogue.