It may well be the emo kid inside me speaking, but I reckon Flick Knives and Splinters is a great band name. It stood out so much that this record jumped the review pile from bottom to (almost) top. Unfortunately this hardcore crew don’t quite stand out as much as their name might suggest, but their female fronted aggressive sound is better than most of the material we receive here at the PT offices.
I wish I could tell you a little more about the band, but (as I’ve done a bit recently) I accidentally misplaced the bio that was probably sent with the record. So, a little google-action was required, but that didn’t add too much for research purposes either. Infact it added very little indeed. Mysterious.
The record itself is pretty standard hardcore stuff. It’s not usually my bag (unless there’s a lot of melody), but in short bursts this is actually pretty good. Frontgal Laura can really let rip with a piercing shriek, but it’s the very same shriek that tests your patience after a few songs. FKAS don’t stray too much from the one formula; a formula which involves some thudding drums and rumbling riffs. But 16 songs is way too much for this style of music and it quickly outstays its welcome. ‘Mistaken Identity’ and ‘I Will Not Fight’ are good songs, but for me the tracks fall away the further on you go – and that’s probably because my interest waned rather than the standard dropped too much.
FKAS are not a bad band, but this would have been so much better had it have been a lot shorter. Size doesn’t always matter. It’s what you do with it that counts…
www.flickknivesandsplinters.tk
Paul