The Book Of Knots are an anomaly in music. They are a super group of sorts entailing members of many different groups (Including Skeleton Key, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Shiner, Battle of Mice, Sparklehorse, Elvis Costello, Unsane, Pere Ubu, Frank Black, They Might Be Giants) and using members of a number of guests including one Blixa Bargled (of Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds and Einstürzende Neubauten), Tom Waits and Mike Patton (of about a million different projects and probably a few more new ones before this review is posted). Rather than use these notations as means of sales or the sole reason for someone to listen each member uses their strengths to create concept albums under the Book Of Knots moniker.
The group has made two records prior touching on the concepts of land and sea travel. With this record, their third, being concerned solely with air travel one may figure on a bunch of ambience and calm taking over the bands sound. That assumption would be almost completely out of place. As the band members past works help to inform the record with a sense of extremes. While it would be easy to call the band alternative or even avant garde both descriptions would be demeaning to how broad the bands' sound really is.
The first 3 songs alone would leave most listeners reeling with changes in style and combinations of sounds that include alternative rock, electronic, noise, industrial and spoken word. And these genre distinctions are merely the tip of a large iceberg. It would be false of me to say that those genre markers don't pop up throughout each song on the album but the band does this when it is convenient. This creates a strong semblance of a journey that the listener is on rather than solely relying on the lyrical content.
The record is beautifully played and masterfully produced. The production alone leaves each instrument it's own space within which to work. This is a nice feature as each song contains a multitude of layers whether it be the normal guitar, bass and drums down to string instruments or synthesizers and loops. Within certain songs the band and production rely on an air of creepiness and the hard work on both ends allows this feeling to bleed through without sounding overly forced.
Overall this is not an easy record to wrap your head around for the average listener. Some great records require work on the listeners part. This very well may be one of them. Without relying on one particular vocalist or even musical style throughout the record it make a strong case for the listener to put the time in to glean whatever is possible from this record.
