Debut album from Clevelands Knowso sees the punks dish up a record that’s spiky in your face full of challenging punk where they’ve been influenced by the likes of Fugazi, No means No, Devo Black Flag and other such luminaries of the US scene.

Take second track in ‘Chosen Sun’ and its complex time changes it’s not a sloppy three-chord smash it out that’s for sure. Lyrics that mean something and bass lines that poke and jar at the listener juping out from the verses and poking rather than swinging punches.

Cuts like ‘Calamine’ is a great hight end bass-thumping, jarring and slicing that slashes like Devo if they were full of fury.

They use tapes and try to fuck with the listeners head with ‘Wrong Calculator’ being a fitting example. They then get a bit funky with the jazzy ‘Peaceful & Extinct’ as they throw in some serious time changes and keep a tight ship on those changes whilst throwing in everything including the kitchen sink into the chaos. This record is like a Heston Bloomenthal creation what you see on the outside isn’t necessarily what flavour is on the inside once you take a bite. ‘Digital God’ is a good example.

Taking the ten tracks in one sitting is at time punishing and I found myself drifting mentally maybe you have to physically prepare like an athlete and this isn’t a record you can enjoy cold without warming up.  Maybe small bursts to begin with before building up to a full-on takedown of Knowso. I guess it was always there to fuck with you and they do that and the bass is an audio assault for sure constantly jabbing a punching your ears.  Ajit punks need only apply, is there a genre for Math punk yet? Its alternative I know that much.

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Author: Dom Daley