WHO'S NEXT: Knives At Noon

Self-styled purveyors of what singer/guitarist Tim McCartney describes as ‘doom pop', Dunedin four-piece Knives at Noon have a pretty good sense of humour. As Tim continues, "It was a bit of a laugh really... we were talking about genres I think, how we were normally lumped under indie rock, so we thought we'd try doom pop out and see what happened. It probably sounds a bit silly now I guess? I think another one we will try is slime fuzz, (music with) just a bit more muff pedal."

Active since 2008, Tim and his associates Oli Wilson (keyboard), Paul Gavin (lead guitar) and Tim Couch (drummer) are best friends. They all live together, bonding over music, hard work in home studios and practice rooms and lots of beer (Emerson’s Pilsner). "We are a unit", Tim explains, "but there are a lot of disagreements, [because] we all want it to be the best it can."

Having hooked up with Liberation Music through Paul McLaney, Knives at Noon convinced them to pass through a show in Auckland, scoring a deal, plus some touring assistance. As a result, they released their debut EP Glitter Guts earlier this year, and, aside from national tours and tackling the world of music videos, have fit in the odd spot date supporting the likes of Vampire Weekend. Running with a sound equal parts heavy guitars, clear vocals and dance style beats and textures, as opposed to their jovial self-invented genre names, Knives at Noon are probably best defined as new(est) wave, a 2010 continuation of - drum roll please - new wave.

And while they've seen a profile lift, don't get it twisted. Knives at Noon are still in the struggle. As Tim concludes, "I was at a gig and a (drunk) girl came up to me and said, ‘I saw you on C4! You're a sell out!’ I was like, ‘we have a clip on C4, how is that selling out?’ She was like, ‘you're only in it for the money,’ and I was like, ‘well, we haven't made any money.’"

Listen at: www.myspace.com/knivesatnoon

by Martyn Pepperell