31Knots
Talk Like Blood
(Polyvinyl Records ) 2005
"My
cause is different that yours. And results speak louder than words".
 31
Knots' Joe Haege delivers his apocalyptic lyrics on Talk
Like Blood like an evangelist that received a hand-written letter
from God. That letter gave the exact details to the world's end - and,
like this preacher, Haege is determined to get the message to any able-bodied
listener willing to accept the word. Opening with the dedication ("City
of Dust") that is for "all those making factual or fiction
we can listen
to", this track is basically Haege alone - chanting, sampling
and tweaking a varied box of vintage circus-like sounds, as drummer/mixer/engineer
Jay Pellicci beats a pattern. It is the opening to an album that, itself,
stands high atop a mountain and begs your attention with it's grizzly
megaphone - and the scripture that follows it seals all exits.
31
Knots is a band of three young men - Haege, Pellicci and bassist Jay
Winebrenner - that are making a collective of sounds bands twice their
size can't even scope or focus on. "Thousand Wars" is just
one of several songs on Talk Like Blood that truly put in the
front each members importance and dedication to making outstanding,
blistering anthems. Haege's vocals, as we've come to expect, are both
biting and confident - and the true "rhythm section" of Pellicci
and Winebrenner on drums & bass are showcased. The percussion, a
static and high-hat combination of staggering proportions on level with
Winebrenner's jumping bassline pattern this 90-second blitz - and the
angelic chorus of Corrina Repp backing Haege's "Hell hath no
fury like me(!)" slice through the listener with ample vindication.
There are truly only a select number of front men that carry the conviction
Joe Haege does with their vocals - think Tim Kasher (Domestica-era)
and Isaac Brock (see: "What People Are Made Of", The Moon
& Antarctica). While we are here - I must add Ian MacKaye,
as Fugazi is a stated (early) influence on Joe Haege.
If
you're just now getting word on Portland's 31 Knots, don't stop here
- begin here.. . and intently work backwards through the entire collection
of several years (the late 90's).
This
is some of the most important music being made today
- and they've (this is what a band should sound like) been
making it for a long damn while.
"Come
now one and all".
+
kaleb
:: 10.04.05 
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