Knife in the Water, 'Reproduction'

Hear the whole thing here.

I was horrified very recently to realize that Knife in the Water’s astounding debut, Plays One Sound and Others, will be twenty years old next year. Still, there is good news for those of you who for one reason or another, possibly involving not being so aged, have never heard it: It was just remastered and released on vinyl, which should hopefully draw the valuable but fickle attention of young people to it.

Knife In the Water “Plays One Sound and Others” VINYL LP

Even better, the band is about to put out its first new record in nearly fifteen years. Reproduction is immediately recognizable as a Knife in the Water work, with the slow, loping sadness and low-pressure beauty that made Plays One Sound such a revelation those (JESUS HOW?) twenty years ago. They sound just a little more scuffed up with age, but look in the mirror, the last twenty years have been much rougher on you.

Keeled Scales

This is a record that could easily have come out any time in the last twenty years, and a continuing demonstration of what makes Knife if in the Water so special: Reproduction clocks in at 44 minutes, and even for a band that loves to let things take their time there is no excess on the album. (“I Can Go On” — the double meaning of which is so perfect for a song that it is hard to believe it has not been used to more success by anyone before — is a great example: What could be a classic rave-up stays at its own considered pace, to lasting effect.) You can stream the whole thing below, and I recommend that you do. Enjoy.

Also, if you’re in Austin this Thursday I am very jealous of you, but more importantly you should for sure go to this:

3/2 Knife in the Water LP release, Dallas Acid …

Reproduction is out on Friday.