The Know consist of husband and wife duo Daniel Knowles and Jennifer Farmer. Knowles had previously worked as a producer and guitarist for UK shoegaze band Amusement Parks on Fire. This pedigree shows.
Their new EP, ‘wearetheknow’, out now through those purveyors of extremely high quality music, Shore Dive Records is an indelible, sparkling release that perfectly captures a shimmering shoegaze dream pop brilliance.
Opening track, ‘143’ is a coasting, sparkling journey, with Farmer’s beautifully delicate vocals distant, haunting, melancholic. The sweeping guitars recall classic shoegaze drone – woozy and sublime. There is a Beach Boys echo in the divine melody. It is cinematic, hypnotic.
Second track, ‘Someday Maybe’ ramps up the wall of noise: a cathartic blast of distortion and reverb that stomps and thunders its way into your head. There is a golden thread though: the sublime vocals infused with mountain-high melodies – distant, studied. Think of The Jesus and Mary Chain Psycho Candy-era fronted by the Ronettes. There is an organic wildness to the instrumentation – contrapuntal grit to the sweet vocals.
Farmer’s voice takes centre stage in ‘Dreamlike State’: soaked in reverb and sadness, melancholic, melodic, with a powerful kick drum base pounding below the surface.
‘Hold Me Like You Know Me’ maintains this floating, mesmerising pace with a clattering euphoric chorus – a quiet/loud ethos over a wandering bass and layers upon layers of harmonies building up and receding.
The EP ends with ‘The Tiny Door’: woozy waves and noise bubble under the vocals mixed with an acoustic jangle.
‘wearetheknow’ – like the band itself – is an unassailable joy: thick syrupy guitars, undulating pulsating waves of sound beneath the delicately fragile and beautiful vocals. The strength of the melodies adds to the epic nature of this release – a stand out in the genre. This is a magnificent release.
You can get the EP now through the link below – there is a limited edition LP version available here.
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