Knives in the Attic

The lousy CD cover to Knives in the Attic's 5 song EP, Death Pop, does it a great disservice. Sure, the blood-spattered, knifed teddy bear doodle fits the angst/death-obsessed lyrics, but it comes off amateurish. And this is a band that should be in the midst of a bidding war, not causing reviewers a crisis of conscience about whether to relegate this CD to the crap heap. Maybe this band knows what it's doing -- hell, it made us play the thing twice just to make sure it was as good as we thought it was. In fact, it's better. If Courtney Love had these songs in her back pocket right now, she could earn enough to salvage her sagging career (and breasts) and still have enough pocket money to send Frances Bean to a reputable psychoanalyst. But she wouldn't have the energy to pull these songs off -- this is the kind of music Hole only managed to make when Kurt Cobain was still drawing breath in the next room. Singer Christen Shaw's lyrics read like the student suicide notes that give guidance counselors cause to close the school ("Why do we always hate on Mondays/Tuesdays and Wednesdays aren't much better, Thursday, Friday we'll kill each other/Waiting for things as they don't get better") and give lovers of agitpop cause to rejoice. After a listen to Death Pop, you'll feel giddy for this band's chances for success, not unlike the gushing audience at Springtime for Hitler's intermission. To wit: "Did you ever think you could love a song called 'Saws in the Basement'?" (www.myspace.com/knivesintheattic) - Phoenix New Times