married knot is a 4-piece band from Long Island, New York. To describe their sound, they use terms such as “silvery shoegaze” and “auditory whiplash”. Oh, and there definitely should be a comma in their name!
The new single, ‘powht’, is only their second ever release.
A scratchy, lo-fi beginning suddenly gives way to a tempest of guitars – they smack you in the face like a freight train. I loved the rolling energy and that slightly dissonant bassline. It creates a dirty little groove that drags you into the song’s punk swagger.
John Brigandi’s vocal manages to cut through the track perfectly. His feral screaming sounds like a wounded animal.
The sound the band manages to extract from those guitars is great, and ‘powht’ goes to some strange, dark places. The band is as tight as tight-as-hell and seems to be battling a hidden menace. Both sides put up a damn good fight, and there is only a slight let-up in the energy during a great interlude where things brighten and clear ever so slightly.
Themes of misunderstood youth and raging against the establishment are evocatively conveyed in only a few lines:
immolation never shakes the nation
media only proves it true
they look down on us in pure disgust
it’s time to turn the knife on you
This is menacing, grungy shoegaze with shades of jazz – in fact, I think they may have just created a new genre!
Apparently, this is one of the band’s oldest songs and a staple of their live shows. It sounds fresh, exciting, and totally brutal.
With ‘powht’, married knot have given us something musical, menacing & mesmerizing. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
Written by Grubby
