While listening to 31 Knots' fourth proper album - Talk Like Blood (and first for the excellent indie label Polyvinyl) two things immediately popped up into my ever-curious brain. One, how can a three-piece band like this sound so atmospherically epic (a la The Secret Machines) and two, with this much obvious talent, how have they gone virtually unnoticed by lovers of the Indie-Rock scene? Not being noticed is certainly no fault of their own; they've opened for countless other great acts such as Modest Mouse, Calfone, Enon, Liars and Deerhoof over the years - but somehow 31 Knots have flown below the radar except for in Japan where, for whatever bizarre reason they are big and beloved.

Now, to say that 31 Knots owe everything they are to power trios such as The Jam and The Police just simply isn't true. The Secret Machines showed us last year that even a three-piece can emulate acts such as Pink Floyd, and to be honest, with 31 Knots outstanding technical prowess, The Secret Machines may be the their closest comparison. But where The Secret Machines like to spend most of their time Prog-Rocking about, 31 Knots tend to angle towards that more jagged edge. At times sounding a bit like Sonic Youth, Fugazi, or the recently defunct Q And Not U. Vocally, main man Joe Haege sounds very reminiscent of The Dismemberment Plan era Travis Morrison. All those influences would probably lead you to believe that you have to be a fan of artier Punk-Rock to get your head around Talk Like Blood, but remember what I said about The Secret Machines probably being their closest comparison. 31 Knots take all that jagged Art-Punk and put a Prog-Rock sheen on it that makes it hard for any person who appreciates musical talent to not instantly appreciate this album. Hopefully, Talk Like Blood will be the album that finally bounces 31 Knots into an armful of appreciative listeners on this side of the world; God knows it's good enough.