The Young Knives

Hailing from Oxford, England, post-punk revivalists the Young Knives feature Henry Dartnall (vocals/guitar), Oliver Askew (drums), and Thomas Dartnall (bass) (aka House of Lords). The three initially started out playing Ned's Atomic Dustbin songs while living in their hometown of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, but a move to Oxford in 2002 gave the Young Knives their big break. An appearance at the Truck Festival led to the band issuing The Young Knives...Are Dead mini-album for Shifty Disco in 2002. Three years later, the trio was playing shows alongside the Futureheads and Hot Hot Heat while readying their debut EP for Transgressive. The limited-edition Junky Music Make My Heart Beat Faster sold out quickly; "The Decision," which was produced by Gang of Four's Andy Gill, followed in December 2005. In the new year, the Young Knives' growing popularity seemed unstoppable. Both "Here Comes the Rumour Mill" and "She's Attracted To" made the U.K. Top 40. Additional shows with the Rakes and Dirty Pretty Things wowed the U.K., and the band's American performance debut at the annual South by Southwest conference in Austin, TX, proved successful. The Young Knives' debut album, Voices of Animals and Men, arrived in the U.K. in August of 2006 and in the U.S. early the next year. Superabundance followed in 2008. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, Rovi