Knife in the Water

Not the Polanski film, but the band. Yes, the band.

Knife in the Water are from Austin, Texas. I don't know how to describe them--the closest I have come is to call then psychodelic country. When I imported their CDs into iTunes, iTunes labeled them as country (iTunes labeled Make Up as metal; obviously iTunes is confused). In this article from the Austin Chronicle they decribe themselves as teenage gospel.

Several years ago K sent me a CD mix (he sent me a lot, but this one relates to this story), and on that CD was the song, "Party (for the people of the open wound)" by Knife in the Water. I loved the sound. It was floaty. It was dreamy. It was twangy. It was so different than the other music on the CD. It struck a cord with me.

While I was in school I listened to a lot more music than I do now. I listened while I studied and all that, but when I really listened was when I was on the bus. I'd put on the headphones, sit back, and watch Madison go by while I listened to whatever my favorite was at that moment. And when I listened to this particular CD (titled "May Mix for Pants Motherfuckers"), I realized I had a new favorite. One line from "Party..." made me stop: "Well we went to a party last Friday night / At a house on the east side of I-35." Now it wasn't just the line, the song itself is rather haunting, but that line... It's an odd one to make one take notice, isn't it?

I grew up in Iowa and I-35 runs through the state. I used to take it when I would drive back from northeast Iowa to school in northwest Missouri. So, when I first heard that lyric I thought, "When were they in Iowa?" I-35 runs the length of the country and runs through Austin. Duh. But, it did make me take notice.

I listened to this song again and again. I decided I had to have everything they had ever made. Not thinking I would have much luck finding their albums, I wandered down to My Record Store, B-Side. And much to my surprise, they had an EP and two LPs by Knife in the Water (Crossposs Bells, Plays One Sound and Others, Red River); I bought them all. When I checked out, the guy at the counter said, "How do you know about these guys? They are the best band no one has ever heard of." I told him I had a friend from Austin who sent me a mix CD, etc. He seemed impressed. (Being a girl music geek usually meant I was a girl in a boy's world, so when I could impress the guy at the music store, I was proud of myself.)

I took them home and was completely blown away. The song "Sent You Up" off Plays One Sound and Others was the first big standout. I think it was the harmonizing (I am my father's daughter), but the chorus "So I sent you up / but the angels turned you down / and the devil already had you / but he turned you right back around" just about killed me. The next song that got me was "Renee" off Red River. It isn't just a song, it is a compelling story of a woman waiting to kill an abusive lover. I think using songs as a form of storytelling is a lost art; Knife in the Water are very good at it and this song is an excellent example. Favorite line: "Renee saw the face of love / before she blew that face away."

The more I listened the more I realized their songs were about murder, tranvestites, and other things that many of the things people weren't willing to talk about... basically, the underbelly of society. And some of their lines... From "Young Blood in the River" off Red River: "Broken neck and a blow job baby / something mama never heard." Not the most common lyric or the most pleasant, but it got my attention and made me listen.

I became obsessed; I still am to a certain extent. They are haunting. They are almost country, they are almost not country. Teenage gospel? Not that I can hear, but if that is what they want to call themselve, more power to them. Either way, I have been rediscovering them, and I am damn glad.

And I have to agree with the guy from B-sides, they really are the best band no one has ever heard of.