Knife Girl (Finland) – Beautiful (track from the album Cum)
There is no chance of misunderstanding the title of Knife Girl’s (Lilo Aslo) latestalbum ‘Cum’, as she shifts way from the indie-rock of her 2022 debut album ‘Uniform’, opting instead to straddle the worlds of hyperpop and dance music.
Like Cardi B straddles Megan Thee Stallion.
It is a deeply personal record based on her experience of sex as a transgender woman.
I was first alerted to Knife Girl a year or so ago with her rollicking single, ‘The good times are coming your way’ which featured on ‘Uniform’ and which made it onto NMC’s Singles of the Year list.
To be honest I’m not sure I want to know the minutiae of sex as a transgender woman but there will be a market made up of people who do. According to the last census in the UK 0.5% of the population identify as being transgender so I guess it is the same in Finland and everywhere else Knife Girl has an audience.
Putting that aside I wasn’t sure I was going to find favour with the musical variation either but having selected the last track, ‘Beautiful’, for no other reason than that it bears the same title as the Perry/Aguilera classic from the early 90s, I’ll give Lili the benefit of any doubt I had.
It’s packed full of energy from start to finish, a blink and you’ll miss it piece offered with a distorted high-pitched vocal side dish, and with a melody that will imprint on your brain. And it’s so American. If that’s the target market it was made for, then Christmas has come early for Lili.
Find her on:
Web: https://www.liliaslo.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KnifeGirl1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knifegirll/
MATD ft. Johanna (Koskiniemi) (Finland) – Driftwood of Love (single)
Considering we are getting closer to that ‘Season of Goodwill’ every day there are some gloomy tracks and albums around at the moment that are better left until January to review. But mixed up amongst them is this much lighter single from MATD, here featuring Johanna (Koskiniemi).
I had it at the back of my mind that MATD have been here before and indeed it was back in early July this year, with something of a novelty song called ‘Me and my dog’, a catchy little ditty that sang the praises of man’s best friend and supported some serious guitar riffs into the bargain.
Now they’re back with a new single, ‘Driftwood of Love’, and as before there is a video to go with it.
This song has a deeper meaning. They say,
“This song is dedicated to those who never took their chances and gripped someone they were in love with! Life is short and we flow in the big sea of love. Sometimes we remember the time when we should have taken a step and done something, be honest and fulfill our book of love!”
Hm. Most of the gripping I’ve done was accompanied by a slap around my chops but I see where they are coming from.
When I read the lyrics, which go with the video below, which is entitled ‘Grip the driftwood of love’ I thought I was reading a transcript of the Desiderata for Lovers.
They are very poetic and read well as a standalone piece:
‘Driftwood of Love’/Do you ever think you could die for love?/To give what it takes.
Fall in my arms/Have you ever rowed on a stormy sea/Without the oars.
Hard it´s gotta be.
Words you say/But hold your tears!/Faith is full of hopes and fears…”
This song is a step up from ‘Me and my dog’ both lyrically and musically. There is quite a complex arrangement to it, and a strong melody.
It seems also to be a vehicle to introduce Johanna to an audience that might not be familiar with her.
Coming from a country I tend to associate mainly with metal, hard rock and off the wall alt-pop individualism it could be a surprise release from a British band like, say, The Beautiful South.
The video blindsided me, I have to admit. It could be an outtake from Game of Thrones and apart from the kiss to the dying warrior I found it difficult to reconcile it with the drift of the lyrics.
It’s doing very well in the Finnish charts by all accounts, and on some UK and Brazilian radio stations. Give it a listen, or better still watch the video and it won’t take you long to see why.
Find them on:
Website: https://www.matd.band/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matdband
Twitter: https://twitter.com/matd_band
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matdband/
