Meet Knives, the brilliant Bristol punks cutting through with cathartic noise

“I basically got bullied into it!” teases Jay Schottlander, who ended up as the vocalist of Knives by necessity more than anything. But when you hear the impact of his bullish, coarse voice that gives a constant swagger to their debut album GLITTER – Rage Against The Machine’s Zack de la Rocha and IDLES’ Joe Talbot would be proud – you’ll understand why he's the man for the job.

“I'm very much into hip-hop, it was the first genre of music I can remember loving,” he reflects. “I remember being 13 years old, writing raps and showing my mum. I'm sure it's all very embarrassing.”

But the peppering of harsh feedback, goliath riffs and spirited grooves quickly show that Knives are not a hip-hop band. Moreover, the way they incorporate saxophone and sprinklings of melody confirm that they’re much more than another noisy punk outfit.

Knives formed in Bristol in 2022, when drummer Erin Cook reached out to Jay in a university group chat. “There's probably 200 bands who gig in Bristol consistently,” says Jay, explaining how the city is a breeding ground for people to meet like-minded musicians. Having navigated line-up changes, the present-day six-piece has been constant for a year.

“Going on tour definitely helps [the chemistry],” adds Erin. “Being that close to everyone for a prolonged period of time, you’ve gotta figure everyone out and learn how to get on.”

Bonding time peaked when Knives decamped to Llanbadarn Fynydd in rural Wales to record debut album GLITTER, which they rattled through in six days.

“It was like a school trip – we had girl and boy dorms!” says Erin.

“It’s important to how the recording goes down. If you’re feeling stressed, you can step out and have this view of this breathtaking mountain,” adds Jay, who filled the wait-time before vocal takes by playing Heroes Of Magic And Might 3.

“You want to be locked into it for the whole week, and not have any external distractions,” continues Erin.

GLITTER thrives on its breathless momentum, be it Knives’ takedown of the music industry in PHD, the animalistic CHROMA or unsettling jazz-punk opener THE DAGGER, written about a time Jay encountered a person being Islamophobic on a bus.

“Lyrics are a way for me to project how these shitty things have made me feel, and put it on a page [so] I can move on from them,” he says. “I don’t think any of us really wanted to be this open, political band that makes politics our thing. We all are very political, but we like to do it instead of speak about it… [take] action when we need to.”

Meanwhile, “wildcard” album closer I SEE THEM FALL echoes the spookiness of Lamb Of God’s Memento Mori or System Of A Down’s Aerials, opening the floodgates for where Knives could go next.

“I wanted a conclusion,” explains Erin. “It's a stepping stone into future stuff.”

Alongside fellow noise-botherers like Enola Gay and Maruja, Knives are primed to win people over with their ambitious noise-punk. Nevertheless, their feet remain on the ground, keeping things fun but purposeful.

“If we never played a bigger stage, I’ve [already] achieved everything I could have dreamed of,” concludes Jay. “I could probably die happy.”

GLITTER is out now via Marshall

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