Mike Knott

Item: Strip Cycle
Author: Todd Brown

Strip Cycle

(1995)

Reviewed by Todd Brown

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Label Tooth & Nail RecordsThe LighthouseSeptember 1995

acoustic alternative rock folk rock

You had to know it was only a matter of time before alternative wonderkid Mike Knott hooked up with Tooth & Nail. It's happened, it's on the shelves, and it's good.

Once again, Knott has taken up his acoustic guitar to spin a few tales, but those looking for Rocket and a Bomb, Part Two are in for a surprise. There's more than one way to play an acoustic. Go ask the Violent Femmes. It seems Knott has. "Rockstars on H" could very nearly be a Femmes cover tune. The similarities are less obvious on other tunes, but there are more than enough tripped out trumpets, cow punk bass lines, cellos, and pan pipes to keep things interesting. "Light My Fuse" features a harmonica bit that would do any proponent of minimalist art proud.

If there is a consistent theme to this album, it continues to elude me. Song topics range from alcoholism to hollow pop culture to money problems to a love song or two. "Rockstars on H" stands as Knott's opinion on the hype that continues to surround Kurt Cobain more than a year after his death.

Rockstars on heroin / Who's to blame for letting them in / They were cool when they were broke / Now they're just rich spoiled druggies on horse.

From pop culture to the domestic, "Milk & Peas" offers a sad commentary on the state of the family,

Daddy lost his job / Mother got a tumor / Daddy's goin' to jail / Mother heard a rumor / Don't it make you want to drink your milk / Don't it make you want to eat your peas

The biggest flaw on this album is simply song order. The first six songs set up a vibe that's just a little bit tweaked, a little bit off center. They jump out and demand attention. And they get it. The last seven are all strong songs, but they lack some of the bite of the openers. Knott would have been smarter to spread the strongest songs throughout rather than risk losing his audience mid way through.

Knott has spent years writing songs about being a fallen man in a fallen world. He is a rare find, in that you get to know something of the man through the music. He's got six more releases coming within the next six months. I'm waiting for every single one of them.