Chicago-based garage punk/alt-rock duo Lemon Knife recently released their new album, Ignite!, featuring elements of ‘80s and ‘90s punk, riot grrrl, prog-rock, and distort-punk, all wrapped in contagious nerd rock savors.
Made up of Mia Blixt-Shehan (vocals, bass, guitar) and John Retterer-Moore (vocals, drums, lyrics), Lemon Knife formed in 2017, followed by dropping their album, Songs About Water and Death, and their EP, In Our Darkest Hour, both in 2018.
In 2019, they released I Know That This Is Vitriol, followed by 2021’s Endlessly Expanding.
Lemon Knife’s latest album, Ignite!, comprises 11 tracks, beginning with the title track, which opens on growling guitars riding tight, raw rhythm. Blixt-Shehan’s voice stars, while Retterer-Moore’s voice bounces into raspy, punk-lite textures.
Entry points include “Kirkwald in a Day,” with its deliciously gleaming, low guitar coloration topped by Blixt-Shehan’s wonderfully melodic voice, at once slightly portentous and dark. A personal favorite because of the ebbing and rising harmonics, this track is both innovative and alluring.
Retterer-Moore’s abrasive voice highlights “Grow Old In Maine,” imbuing the lyrics with snarling tones. The visceral percussion gives the rhythm a dirty, grungy punk feel.
Stripped down to bare harmonics, “Extremely Bizarre Love Triangle” blends alt-rock and hints of garage punk into a lusciously naked structure that provides the perfect matrix for Blixt-Shehan’s evocative vocals, shaded with smoky timbres and clear melodicism. There’s a scrummy lilt to her phrasing that’s very contagious.
“Meet Me in the Mountains” starts off with a great rolling snare, followed by grimy, grinding guitars that juxtapose against Blixt-Shehan’s amazingly honied tones, accentuated by nimble inflections.
“Escape Plan” ties the album off with crushingly, sleazy, buzz-saw guitars atop mangled, walloping percussion as both voices display their distinctive textures – Blixt Shehan’s clean and graceful, Retterer-Moore’s grimacing with serrated edges.
With its simultaneously uncooked and primal harmonics, made palatable by Blixt-Shehan’s willowy voice, Ignite! Is a grand album.
