Richmond’s underground continues to produce bands unafraid of tension, confrontation, or contradiction, and Knifing Around seem particularly comfortable operating inside all three. Their latest full-length, Vivisect, arrives as a restless and sharply engineered collision between dark wave unease, industrial abrasion, and synth-driven propulsion. Released through Blank Verse Records, the album feels deliberately constructed to pull listeners into emotional instability while keeping bodies in motion at the same time.
What stands out almost immediately is the rhythmic discipline running through the record. The percussion rarely settles into something predictable for too long. Instead, grooves tighten and expand with mechanical precision, creating a nervous pulse that becomes central to the album’s identity. Even during its darker stretches, Vivisect refuses stagnation. The drum programming and live-feeling rhythmic accents continuously push tracks forward, often balancing rigid industrial repetition with dance-floor elasticity. That balance is not easy to achieve, yet Knifing Around manage to make it feel instinctive rather than calculated.
The synth work deserves particular attention because it functions as more than atmosphere. Across the album, layers of analog-style textures, cold electronic tones, and distorted melodic fragments act almost like additional narrative voices. Some passages shimmer with neon melancholy, while others arrive jagged and corroded, pressing against the listener with claustrophobic force. Instead of flooding every moment with maximalism, the band shows restraint when necessary. Several transitions leave enough negative space for tension to breathe, and those quieter moments often make the heavier sections land with greater intensity.
In terms of atmosphere, Vivisect thrives on contrast. There is despair here, definitely, but it is paired with movement, seduction, and flashes of dark humor that prevent the album from collapsing into self-seriousness. One of the more compelling aspects of the release is how naturally it moves between emotional states without losing coherence. Tracks can feel aggressive and strangely vulnerable within the same sequence, sometimes within the same minute. That instability becomes part of the listening experience. The record does not offer comfort so much as immersion.
Listeners familiar with the rhythmic urgency of LCD Soundsystem, the industrial edge of Nine Inch Nails, or the twitchy art-damaged energy of Devo will probably recognize certain fragments of influence scattered throughout the album. Still, Knifing Around avoid sounding derivative. Their approach feels more interested in emotional compression than nostalgia. The songs are packed tightly, almost suffocatingly at times, but never directionless.
Vocally, the performances fit the sonic environment without overpowering it. Delivery shifts between detached observation, anxious release, and near-spoken confrontation, reinforcing the album’s themes of social fracture and personal exhaustion. Lyrics frequently appear fragmented or intentionally indirect, which actually strengthens the mood rather than weakening it. Vivisect is not trying to explain contemporary anxiety in clean language. It wants listeners to feel trapped inside it.
Production-wise, the album carries an impressive level of detail. Small electronic distortions flicker beneath the surface, basslines grind with physical weight, and synth melodies often emerge briefly before dissolving back into static or percussion. Headphones reveal how carefully arranged these tracks really are. Despite the density, nothing feels overcrowded. The mix preserves clarity without sanding down the harsher textures that give the album its character.
Perhaps the most impressive achievement on Vivisect is its ability to remain danceable while exploring emotionally heavy territory. Many dark wave and industrial-inspired releases lean too heavily into atmosphere and lose momentum. Knifing Around avoid that trap entirely. Every track feels designed with physical movement in mind, even when the emotional tone grows bleak or introspective. That tension between catharsis and collapse becomes the album’s defining quality.
Vivisect ultimately presents Knifing Around at their sharpest and most fully realized. It is a dense, emotionally charged, rhythmically obsessive record that understands exactly how to weaponize mood without sacrificing immediacy. Dark, intelligent, and remarkably alive, this is the kind of release that deserves attention far beyond underground circles, and one we are genuinely pleased to feature on our webzine.
