5 out of 5

Label: 54’40 or Fight!

Produced by: Pat Kenneally (recorded by)

Several of the ‘Knots’ releases are notable, but for various reasons, most of them are imperfect.  Their initial 54’40 EP, though, is the perfect quantity of their proggy rock to allow for the sound to be distilled to that of the utmost quality; artists should be proud of their recordings, but I always imagine wrapping this record was just one big wave of “nailed it” satisfaction.  I mean, after all, it’s what caught _my_ attention, and it’s what had me listening to their followup albums again and again, in search of replicating the awesome stomach-dropping thrill of such building, intense tracks as ‘i mean, come on’ or opener ‘corporal’s lament.’  It’s true that Joe Heage’s lyrics were still a little rough at this point, relying on some repetition for some yelly parts and fairly obtuse subject matter elsewhere, but the passion was undeniably already in full swing by this point, and the brevity of the five tracks prevents this from being a sticking point.  Pat Kennealley, producer of ‘A Word,’ is present here as well, capturing what I’d argue is the best possible representation of the group’s potential for noisy grandiosity; it’s a clean but busy sound that I feel like Pellici has attempted to mimic during later years, but the band’s sound isn’t as dynamic as it was here to fill the speakers in quite the same way.

Yes, expanded to album length, this era of 31Knots can become overwhelming.  That’s the trade-off for the more relatively accessible work to come.  But that’s also why the slim minutes captured here are such a pristine example of the band: it’s all the good stuff, in a bite-sized but satisfying format.