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Avg: 4.0 (118 ratings)
- Date Released: September 19, 2006
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Label: Last Gang Records
Great art from great sadness — Haines achieves fraught majesty.
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We Say...
As the brassy frontwoman of the Toronto band Metric, Emily Haines is known for inflaming audiences with her frenetic energy, executing high-kicking crotch-shots in impossibly short skirts. But Metric’s 2005 album, Live It Out, revealed Haines’ introspective side: the solemn turn of its piano-tinged songs reflected the unexpected death of her father, esteemed Canadian poet Paul Haines (who was known for collaborations with Carla Bley and Robert Wyatt, two of the younger Haines’s musical idols.)
Haines père still seems to haunt his daughter’s 2006 solo debut, Knives Don’t Have Your Back. In both her piquant lyrics and sculpted vocal delivery, Haines ventures even further beyond Live It Out’s thoughtful melancholy. The specters of Bley and Wyatt peek through on “Doctor Blind,” the album’s stately lead single — a wry interrogation of Prozac Nation that itself feels like a pharmacological reverie. Knives also features members of Broken Social Scene, Stars, Metric and Sparklehorse — whom the album’s weightless, wondrous string/horn arrangements often recall. Rarely does indie rock achieve such fraught majesty. -
They Say...
Emily Haines is so thoroughly the public face of the dance-happy neo-wavers Metric -- quite literally, in that her fetching blonde looks are the basis of both of the band's album covers so far -- that the idea of a solo album seems redundant at first. As it turns out, however, Knives Don't Have Your Back is utterly unique, far removed not only from Metric's often-hyper pulse but also from atmospheric post-rock gems like Broken Social Scene's gorgeous "Anthems for a 17-Year-Old Girl," still likely the song Haines is best known for overall. Members of both bands do appear here, but the focus of Knives Don't Have Your Back is strictly on Haines' vocals and piano. Recorded together live in the studio, with other instruments and vocals layered on afterwards, Haines' impressive keyboard skills (only hinted at in her other work) and alluring, throaty voice mesh perfectly; the combination gives Knives Don't Have Your Back the intimacy of a '70s singer/songwriter album, or perhaps that of a small-combo jazz album. That last comparison isn't at all that far-fetched: Haines is the daughter of the late Montreal jazz poet Paul Haines, and the spare black-on-gold all-text artwork is undoubtedly an homage to the similarly austere covers of her father's best-known albums, the Carla Bley collaborations Escalator Over the Hill and Tropic Appetites. An even closer comparison is Robert Wyatt, who provides a glowing testimonial on the back cover. Like Wyatt's solo work, Haines marries a sharp social conscience ("The Maid Needs a Maid," neatly riffing off an old Neil Young song, calmly eviscerates the frat-boy mentality in a single quiet verse) with a tendency toward elegiac, unhurried melodies. However, the keen pop scene that's Metric's strong suit can still be found on subtly hooky tunes like "Our Hell" and the simply lovely "Reading in Bed." Although far more low-key than Metric's nervy rock or Broken Social Scene's epic sweep, Knives Don't Have Your Back is a mature and engaging work revealing an exciting new side of Emily Haines, who is quietly turning into one of pop's most compelling presences.
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| 01. |  |
Our Hell
|
4:06 |
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| 02. | |
Doctor Blind
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3:55 |
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| 03. | |
Crowd Surf Off A Cliff
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5:54 |
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| 04. | |
Detective Daughter
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5:08 |
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| 05. | |
The Lottery
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3:42 |
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| 06. | |
The Maid Needs A Maid
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3:18 |
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| 07. | |
Mostly Waving
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3:11 |
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| 08. | |
Reading In Bed
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2:46 |
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| 09. | |
Nothing & Nowhere
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3:21 |
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| 10. | |
The Last Page
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4:46 |
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| 11. | |
Winning
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5:08 |
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11 Total Tracks, 45:15 Total Length
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Credits
- Robert Wyatt - Author // Scott Minor - Pedal Steel // Scott Minor - Drums // Scott Minor - Organ (Hammond) // Scott Minor - Producer // Scott Minor - Engineer // Scott Minor - Mellotron // Scott Minor - Drum Machine // Scott Minor - Fender Rhodes // Scott Minor - Group Member // Scott Minor - Hammond B3 // Andy VanDette - Mastering // John O'Mahoney - Guitar // John O'Mahoney - Producer // John O'Mahoney - Mixing // John O'Mahoney - Audio Production // Evan Cranley - Trombone // Evan Cranley - Group Member // Chris Seligman - French Horn // Chris Seligman - Group Member // Emily Haines - Guitar // Emily Haines - Guitar // Emily Haines - Piano // Emily Haines - Piano // Emily Haines - Vocals // Emily Haines - Vocals // Emily Haines - Producer // Emily Haines - Producer // Emily Haines - Wurlitzer // Emily Haines - Wurlitzer // Justin Peroff - Drums // Justin Peroff - Group Member // Josh Hassin - Design // Josh Hassin - Illustrations // Amanda Goodburn - Violin // Amanda Goodburn - String Quartet // Csaba Koczo - Violin // Csaba Koczo - String Quartet // Stewart Pack - Pedal Steel // Stewart Pack - Guitar (Bass) // Stewart Pack - Guitar (Electric) // Stewart Pack - Group Member // Todor Kobakov - Engineer // Todor Kobakov - String Arrangements // Rafael Hoekman - Cello // Rafael Hoekman - String Quartet // Jimmy Shaw - Trumpet // Jimmy Shaw - Harmonium // Jimmy Shaw - Organ (Hammond) // Jimmy Shaw - Melodica // Jimmy Shaw - Producer // Jimmy Shaw - Engineer // Jimmy Shaw - Horn Arrangements // Jimmy Shaw - Mixing // Jimmy Shaw - Group Member // Jimmy Shaw - Hammond B3
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