Discography
The Young Knives - Voices Of Animals And Men (2006)
Andy produced and mixed the debut album for The Young Knives, which was released on British indie label Transgressive in 2006 to great acclaim. In 2007, it earned a best album nomination for the annual Mercury Music Prize (UK).
In October 2023 the album was re-released on vinyl for the first time in 15 years. Remastered with an entire bonus album created from the band’s prolific B-sides, it comes on 2×12″ milky-white coloured vinyl with extensive liner notes from the band.
Excerpt from a Drowned in Sound interview with The Young Knives, by Robb Webb, March 9th, 2006.
“DiS: You’re working with Andy Gill on your album. How did that come about?
Henry: We sent him some demos last year and he called us and said, ‘I’d like to work with you’.
House of Lords: It was nice. It wasn’t our label calling him and offering him squillions of pounds. He wanted to do it.
Henry: So we got a loan and did it.
Oli: He even gave us a mate’s rate.
Henry: Yeah, but his idea of a budget rate is different to most people’s.
DiS: What did he bring to the recording process?
House of Lords: He’s got a great ear. There’s one guitar part we wrote and we had this really complicated thing. He just said, ‘Why don’t you break it down?’ He simplified it to two drawn-out notes, and you’d never think to do that because it’s too pretentious.
Henry: But he did, and it sounds really good. It creates a tension and he’s really good at that. He’s also good at making us put the chorus in the right place. We always want to leave it until the end, but he said, ‘The chorus is the best bit, put it at the start and repeat it again and again’.
House of Lords: That makes it sound really formulaic… but it’s not!
Henry: It’s just about highlighting the best bits, like Gang Of Four. People always say they’re a big influence on bands like Franz Ferdinand, but they write finely tuned pop songs that are about as Gang of Four as the Tweenies. And Bloc Party are more like an emo band.”
“I did The Young Knives quite recently. I loved working with them. Very strong lyrics — you don’t need to ask what they’re about. You hear it. One song will be about somebody living at the seashore and losing her child at sea. And it’s not a 17th century folk song — it’s a post-punk thing.” – Andy, Tape Op, 2009.
Album reviews:
“This year’s most eccentric pop buttons they might be, but don’t underestimate The Young Knives’ might. You’re not supposed to hit men in spectacles, but as this debut constantly reminds us, there’s nothing to stop them from flooring you.” – Jamie Fullerton, N.M.E, Aug 18th, 2006.
“What sets this album apart is the fact that all the songs are clever. They are more than simply a catchy riff and a good sounding chorus – the lyrics are intelligent, funny and engaging.” – Helen Broom, BBC, 2007.
“So who better to produce an album about all this than the Gang of Four’s Andy Gill, whose band showed, in the post-punk late-Seventies, how to make us dance to unpalatable truths? He frames Henry’s voice – a lovely, friendly instrument that carries echoes of Steve Marriott, Wire’s Colin Newman and Damon Albarn – beautifully throughout, leavening the pills with falsetto shrieks and three-part harmonies, in a manner not entirely unlike the Futureheads.” – Garry Mulholland, The Guardian, Aug 13th, 2006.
“Coming across like three decidedly uncool geography teachers, The Young Knives defy their bookish image by blasting out the freshest agitated pop, inspired by the ennui of British suburbia.” – Clash, July 1st, 2006.
Discography
The Young Knives - Voices Of Animals And Men (2006)
Andy produced and mixed the debut album for The Young Knives, which was released on British indie label Transgressive in 2006 to great acclaim. In 2007, it earned a best album nomination for the annual Mercury Music Prize (UK).
In October 2023 the album was re-released on vinyl for the first time in 15 years. Remastered with an entire bonus album created from the band’s prolific B-sides, it comes on 2×12″ milky-white coloured vinyl with extensive liner notes from the band.
Excerpt from a Drowned in Sound interview with The Young Knives, by Robb Webb, March 9th, 2006.
“DiS: You’re working with Andy Gill on your album. How did that come about?
Henry: We sent him some demos last year and he called us and said, ‘I’d like to work with you’.
House of Lords: It was nice. It wasn’t our label calling him and offering him squillions of pounds. He wanted to do it.
Henry: So we got a loan and did it.
Oli: He even gave us a mate’s rate.
Henry: Yeah, but his idea of a budget rate is different to most people’s.
DiS: What did he bring to the recording process?
House of Lords: He’s got a great ear. There’s one guitar part we wrote and we had this really complicated thing. He just said, ‘Why don’t you break it down?’ He simplified it to two drawn-out notes, and you’d never think to do that because it’s too pretentious.
Henry: But he did, and it sounds really good. It creates a tension and he’s really good at that. He’s also good at making us put the chorus in the right place. We always want to leave it until the end, but he said, ‘The chorus is the best bit, put it at the start and repeat it again and again’.
House of Lords: That makes it sound really formulaic… but it’s not!
Henry: It’s just about highlighting the best bits, like Gang Of Four. People always say they’re a big influence on bands like Franz Ferdinand, but they write finely tuned pop songs that are about as Gang of Four as the Tweenies. And Bloc Party are more like an emo band.”
“I did The Young Knives quite recently. I loved working with them. Very strong lyrics — you don’t need to ask what they’re about. You hear it. One song will be about somebody living at the seashore and losing her child at sea. And it’s not a 17th century folk song — it’s a post-punk thing.” – Andy, Tape Op, 2009.
Album reviews:
“This year’s most eccentric pop buttons they might be, but don’t underestimate The Young Knives’ might. You’re not supposed to hit men in spectacles, but as this debut constantly reminds us, there’s nothing to stop them from flooring you.” – Jamie Fullerton, N.M.E, Aug 18th, 2006.
“What sets this album apart is the fact that all the songs are clever. They are more than simply a catchy riff and a good sounding chorus – the lyrics are intelligent, funny and engaging.” – Helen Broom, BBC, 2007.
“So who better to produce an album about all this than the Gang of Four’s Andy Gill, whose band showed, in the post-punk late-Seventies, how to make us dance to unpalatable truths? He frames Henry’s voice – a lovely, friendly instrument that carries echoes of Steve Marriott, Wire’s Colin Newman and Damon Albarn – beautifully throughout, leavening the pills with falsetto shrieks and three-part harmonies, in a manner not entirely unlike the Futureheads.” – Garry Mulholland, The Guardian, Aug 13th, 2006.
“Coming across like three decidedly uncool geography teachers, The Young Knives defy their bookish image by blasting out the freshest agitated pop, inspired by the ennui of British suburbia.” – Clash, July 1st, 2006.