The first song ‘sacrifice/surrender’, acts as an intriguing introduction to the rocking EP. It crashes into a smattering of drums, with Buckley’s vocals piercing through in an Evanescence-esque roar of illusive sanity. Layers of ghostly whispers override the chorus, before Buckley screams the gruesomely haunting line “I’m gonna be sick!” Despite the assumption that the band’s genre would limit Knife Bride to a specific crowd of gothic soul-searchers, their songs are worth far more than that. They are dark, witty, and appealing beyond their demographic.
The following track ‘smother (make me suffer)’ sustains the band’s modern-gothic energy, while weaving in threads of electronic and robotic symphony. It has a filmic or televisual quality, with flurries of meltdowns and melodrama that add to its cinematic sheen. Although some narrow-minded music critics might view their songs as depressingly downbeat or gloomy, similar to the criticism faced by Morrissey, it is clear that there is a sliver of satire that distinctly pervades this EP.
The glamorous, clamorous track ‘permanent smile’ concludes the EP with a swatch of death-black humor. Its dilating vocals are both lucid and indulgent. The truly ear-grabbing star of this song is Millsopp’s sulphurous thunder-clap drum beats that splash between the revolving choruses.
The newly-released music video for the track features a pixie-faced woman with a bloody, Merlot-red grin, reminiscent of a gore-infested American Horror Story episode. It alternates between staged concert footage and this fearsome, blood-soaked figure, artistically alluding to the narrative of the blackly comedic, bittersweet song.
Buckley has openly shared her desire for revenge, describing ‘permanent smile’ as a “romanticized revenge narrative.” She has also discussed the band’s inspiration, citing films like ‘I Spit On Your Grave’, ‘Hard Candy’, and ‘Promising Young Woman’, as the concept for the song. Retribution is always sweet… or so says cinema.
Knife Bride’s recently released EP ‘don’t dream too much’ excels in its undiluted weirdness and whimsicality. It offers a subtle critique of unrecognized, out-of-the-spotlight women in a fantastical display of female empowerment. After making waves at high-profile festivals, Knife Bride has gained acclaim from diverse audiences and aims to attract even more dedicated followers during their upcoming live dates in September.