Knives, ‘GLITTER’ | Track By Track

Knives guide us track by track through the creation of their new album ‘GLITTER’, out now.

THE DAGGER

“THE DAGGER tackles the way immigrants are greeted when they first arrive in the country, the lyric ‘What’s a knight to a king to a queen to a pawn’ is a crucial reference to how right-wing groups manipulate their influence over the working class, leading them to believe that immigration is to blame for their rising bills and the increase in crime. These voices seek to evade all responsibility after neglecting to lead the country for the past 14 years. This is my favourite lyric on the track, written during the rise of Islamophobia in 2024 when the horrific riots swept across the country. We began writing the song the night of our second headline show at The Crofter’s Rights in 2023. On the way home, Jay had the idea for the guitars and saxophones to be playing the same note simultaneously. As Josh bends the string of the guitar it makes it sound like the saxophone is bending, which isn’t possible on the instrument. Most of the time, we come up with 180bpm hard-hitting drums and aggressive basslines, The Dagger is one of our slowest songs, focusing more on groove and lyricism. We chose it as the opener and first single of the album to showcase this different way of writing that we haven’t shown off before.”

RHINESTONE COWBOY

“RHINESTONE COWBOY is about how landlords are full of greed and are the cause of the housing crisis in the UK. At the time of writing, myself, Jay, and Josh were living together in a student house. The walls were covered in mould, the shower was leaking through the ceiling into the kitchen, and so much stuff was broken. It’s mad because, realistically, we were lucky to even be able to find a house to live in, at the time, we knew people who were paying 6 months of rent in advance to get a place to live. The song is a vessel for our anger, as everyone has the right to a safe place to live, and yet people are exploited constantly by money-hungry landlords.”

I HOPE YOU GET IT

“I HOPE YOU GET IT is about the way people tend to paint a picture of someone before they truly get to know them. People tend to bury themselves in presumptions and ideology to make them feel better about the way they carry themselves. The song was originally called ‘Gotterdammerung’ after one of the lyrics. Metaphorically, Gotterdammerung describes a cataclysmic downfall or collapse of society or regime. We twisted this in a way to explore the way people get dragged into pursuing the downfall of others, typically to make them feel better about themselves.”

EAT THY NEIGHBOUR

“EAT THY NEIGHBOUR reflects on suburb culture and how we often exchange pleasantries with our neighbours – we trade smiles, make small talk – and yet, as soon as we’re behind closed doors, we tend to badmouth them. It’s almost somewhat metaphorical in a sense as well as I think this behaviour is most present on social media. It’s so easy to hate on people when you don’t have to hold accountability for it, yet in this case, hating only poisons the hater.”

PHD

“PHD is about how certain companies within the music industry are sometimes immoral but at the same time so integral – there’s no escaping them. When the band was starting, an industry person we worked with told us that our entire success was due to them, not to the hard work and effort that the six of us constantly put in. It’s fair to say we found this so infuriating that we had to write a song about it. PHD is one of our darker songs, and its meaning plays into how we perform the song. It’s a way for us to channel our anger, the “you owe your success to me” lyric especially hits us all hard and creates this emotionally charged dynamic lift.”

PUBLIC JUICE

“PUBLIC JUICE reflects on the ego that feeds musicians. The constant dopamine hit from playing shows, gaining fans, and reflecting on streams – they allow this ego to grow out of control and give them delusions of grandeur. There have been multiple times where we’ve supported bands and been shouted at to get off stage, had shared green room doors slammed in our faces, and been treated awfully because we’re just the ‘support’ band. We’ve been so fortunate to support some of our favourite bands, and it always makes our day when they turn out to be the nicest people ever. All bigger bands started somewhere and have been the support band. The music industry is a tough place, it’s easy to get wrapped up in all of it and forget your roots.”

CHROMA

“CHROMA is about the corruption behind the government, corporations, and higher powers. The elite’s hunger for money is destroying the world around them, and no matter how loud we are asking for change, it seems like they never will, like it’s cheaper for them not to care. It’s more important than ever in the political climate we’re in at the moment for us to join together as a community and work together to try and make a difference. If each person does one thing, big or small, that helps the world become a better place, that’s progress.”

POST MACHO

“POST MACHO is about how older, more experienced people within the industry at times will groom younger, less experienced ones – offering their help, support slots at their shows, etc for them to seem powerful. So many bands/artists, when they’re just starting, get exploited, for example, by being paid in ‘exposure’ with the promise that it will do ‘huge things’ for them. It’s definitely more difficult in the UK for bands to be treated how they deserve. We’re so lucky to be in a position where we can tour around Europe, and we do it so much now because of the overwhelming difference in attitude they have towards live music. Their government funding means they can pay artists a fair fee for playing gigs, and there is so much care and dedication towards their venues. All bands and artists deserve to be treated well and paid fairly, and unfortunately due to the significant cuts of Arts funding, it’s difficult for this to happen in the UK.”

ULTRAVIOLET

“ULTRAVIOLET was written about football hooligans and their tendency to cause violence, ruining the sport for everyone else. Although football was the inspiration for the lyrics, it’s also important to acknowledge this behaviour within different contexts. For example, people getting into fights or being harassed at gigs. People shouldn’t have to fear going out to see their favourite band due to the disgusting behaviour of others. I’d like to shout out Safe Gigs for Women, an incredible community fighting against sexual assault and harassment at gigs. Gigs should be safe, inclusive spaces where everyone can enjoy and be themselves.”

YOU THINK YOU KNOW

“YOU THINK YOU KNOW reflects on people who manipulate those around them. All 6 of us are quite vocal, and we won’t be bystanders, especially in regards to calling people out for poor behaviour. We’re incredibly close, and really, it just comes down to the amount of care we have for each other and the people around us.”

I SEE THEM FALL

“I SEE THEM FALL is about the stagnancy of everyday life and getting stuck in routines. We often look for escapism and ways to leave these parts behind. The melancholy meaning definitely reflects musically as well; it’s the song people wouldn’t expect us to write, and I think it’ll end up being quite polarising once the record is released. I hope people like it because it’s a taster of what’s to come with our future music.”