31 Knots pushes the boundaries of indie-prog bombast even further outward on this follow-up to their 2005 LP The Curse of the Longest Day. Singer/multi-instrumentalist Joe Haege’s sharp arpeggios weave through the album’s eleven tracks as Jay Pellicci’s drumming and Jay Winebrenner’s bass provide foundation for the band’s imaginative musical arrangements. Haege’s singing conjures images of a wailing, wide-eyed minister sermonizing with arms akimbo at a tent revival for the indie-rock set. He covers the usual array of subjects, but his off-kilter lyrics and gifted range are enough to shake the congregation from its slumber. Opener “Beauty” is a quirky mass of bluesy vocals and guitar blasts driven by Pellicci’s frantic drums, and peppered—as much of the album is—by computerized growls and the guest horn playing of Apeshape’s Toussaint Perrault. “Savage Boutique” elevates the album’s spectacle as it veers from spindly plinking of piano and strings to garage-stomp before building to a swirl of noise. The album’s tone changes, though, after the jumpy post-punk of “The Salted Tongue”. While the songs are still well-crafted, Haege seems to have tired himself out, and the blasts and gasps that drove the record’s first half are almost completely gone. Closing track “Walk With Caution” sounds like it could be a Flaming Lips outtake, and finds Haege at his most reflective, closing the sermon with eyes raised, searching for answers.
~John Frusciante
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