By Nick //
The past ten or so years have been a buyer’s market for fans of weirdo post-punk. An ever-expanding scene of “egg punk”/DEVO-core bands, following the lead of acts like The Coneheads and Uranium Club, uses angular, alien guitar riffs and paranoid lyrics about technology’s forward march while consumerism plunges every other aspect of society into retrograde.
The stream of overly-caffeinated dweebs hasn’t worn out its welcome—but the thrill of discovering yet another one has definitely dulled. So it came as a huge surprise when in January (normally a barren wasteland for album releases) Cleveland, Ohio’s KNOWSO came from seemingly nowhere to give the genre a much-needed jolt.
Amidst this sea of weirdos, KNOWSO’s debut LP Pulsating Gore stands out. The title itself forewarns of an experience that transcends the typical cold, robotic imagery associated with post-punk, leaning more towards schlocky body horror. Each ragged guitar riff throbs with nervous energy, like a creature from a Brian Yuzna film, lurching, shambling, and oozing god knows what fluids. Death and dismemberment weave through the 11 songs. Demonically modulated vocals warn of your fate in the ‘cycle of decay.”
Despite the nightmarish imagery, Pulsating Gore balances its intense themes with a dose of absurdist humor. Nathan Ward, the creative force behind KNOWSO, extends his distinctive style from his other bands (Cruelster and Perverts Again) using different punk subgenres as a platform to spotlight societal decay while offering unhinged comic relief.
The album serves as an absurdist vehicle for Ward’s unstable narrator and his internal voices, who deliver rambling screeds against war, capitalism, and being treated like a baby. Rumors are circulated about Søren Kierkegaard’s anatomical quirks. Dads are dragged down to the lake and forced to “drink from the freshwater ocean.”
Pulsating Gore proves there’s still plenty of mutant life in the DEVO-core scene, and that absurdity might be its sharpest weapon. KNOWSO invites us on an oddly enjoyable exploration of the absurdity in our decaying world.