Like the cigarette quashed beneath the heel of a cowboy whose embers continue to burn, The Jacknives are a band that just keep on keepin’ on. Having endured a turnstile of band members, a guitaristist’s life-threatening illness and at one time a still gigging 8 months pregnant bass player, here’s a band whose sleazy no-nonsense rock is all the more genuine because they’ve earned it. At a time when every supposedly gritty garage band wants all the limelight and none of the hard work, The Jacknives are real outlaws.
Fortifying potential obstacles into sexy battlescars, The Jacknives revel in their stamina: buzzing, vigourous and plenty of grrr in their three-lady, two gent line-up. Kylie Coufos provides a lithe voice to the pulp narratives while Zoee Martson and Melbourne native Matt Radford provide the crucial back-end on bass and drums respectively. Rounding out the group is the barbed guitar-work of Maisen Hall, the group corralled by gangleader – and guitar player - Krystal Maynard.
Having conquered the high plains of their native Perth (as well as Triple J’s Taste Of Chaos competition) they recently settled in Old Melbourne Town, bringing their welcome take on punk-rock-a-blues to the local scene.
Best described as ‘stab you dead swamp rock and roll’ their spiky no-nonsense music does just that, and if it’s not well… then you may be one of the shuffling living dead already. Their songs are like condensed B-movies with style, exploitation and attitude in three minute serves; you can almost hear the film scratching through the projector reel on their first independent EP, 2006’s Cannibal Love Affair.
A year later, they tightened their compositional grip for their debut full-length Cobra Combat Boots, again recorded and engineered by Al Smith. Underpinning their sound with an irresistible groove and an infectious spirit that’s hard to deny; and one that translates wholesale to their energetic live show.
Having shared stages with the likes of The Misfits, Bob Log III and Six Ft. Hick, The Jacknives’ witches brew of sordid garage, gutsy blues and edgy punk will have you moving, whether it’s swinging your hips or pogoing along. Their survivor’s mentality means they’re as likely to raise the roofs on seedy dives as they are light up larger stages, their attitude matched only by their force.
And now The Jacknives are ready to unleash their latest beast, Back Handed Sting, tamed and captured in Sing Sing and Sound Park Studios under the auspices of producer Matt Maddock. The aural equivelent of the running of the bulls, album number three benefits greatly from Maddock’s influence, bringing a welcome punch to the band’s already bare-knuckled sound; his winding CV includes acts as diverse as The Casanovas, Dan Kelly And The Alpha Males, Mach Pelican and even Eskimo Joe. Meaning he’s more than capable of handling The Jacknives’ musical Frankenstein. Back Handed Sting is the result, eleven ripping tracks that solidifies the five piece’s ability to patch together styles once thought long-dead, and shooting them through with a bolt of electricity. It’s the kind of characteristic, energetic rock that’ll have you cooing “it’s alive, It’s Alive!”
'BACK HANDED STING' the new album from THE JACKNIVES out July 17th.
REVIEWS:
Faster Louder
Beat Magazine
