Back in February we previewed TV Ready, the new album from Denver, Colorado ‘soda punk’ band Knuckle Pups, with single ‘Soft Attraction’. “The track is an encapsulation of what such a genre entails,” we wrote, “taking the fizzy energy of indie and adding an anarchic punk edge, though the songs are far from one-dimensional sugar rushes.” Now the full album has been released, and it is clear from the bright hand-clap introduction of opener ‘Last Whim’ that the release lives up to the early promises.
TV Ready “will take you on the road trip you never knew you needed,” the band claim, their ability to combine fun energy and emotional earnestness harnessing the goodwill of a spontaneous summertime sojourn. The dual vocals of Olivia Hendrick and Oliver Holloway help to develop this affirming mood, building a sense of community that underpins everything. Not only is this a trip you didn’t know you needed, you get to take it with friends you didn’t know you had.
Strapped in for the ride, the album drives you across the various highways and backroads. Be it the high speed energy of ‘Trapper Keeper’ with its irrepressible drums and runaway momentum, the easy going cruise of ‘New Reckless’ or the nuanced heart of slow-burning single ‘Standing At All.’ “I’ll laugh when you tell me that we could be hopeless,” Hendrick sings:
Or maybe I won’t laugh at all
because I’ll be standing here
and you’ll be standing there
at least that’s something
at least we haven’t given up yet
[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=2494478256 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small track=2827779166]
This sentiment runs through the Knuckle Pups sound like a rich seam. Whether on the reflective ‘Cheap Flesh’, the moody groove of ‘Letters’ or impassioned catharsis of ‘Sandwich’. The sense of going through something together, both good times and bad, often with no idea of what lies beyond. Finding strength not in the knowledge that things will work out fine and all the answers will reveal themselves, but rather the knowledge that we need not ask those questions alone. Closer ‘Wealthy Diner’ encapsulates the spirit. A smouldering track which burns brighter and brighter, full of uncertainty an confusion but finding empowerment in its shared feelings.
Lovely the way you lie with me
Just where we’re supposed to be
All across the moonlit line
We would watch the wealthy dine
Upon our time
TV Ready is out now and available from the Knuckle Pups Bandcamp page.