Emily Haines - Knives Don’t Have Your Back

I find that reviewing a record is often like writing a made for TV screenplay based on a novel - one can never really present the whole story. That has never been more clear to me than while listening to Emily Haines’ solo debut release Knives Don’t Have Your Back. Under the namesake Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton, (a group of her favourite friends, musicians and producers) this album boasts eleven haunting yet soulfully melodic songs with artistically articulate titles like “Crowd Surf Off a Cliff,” “The Maid Needs a Maid” and “Detective Daughter”

From the opening note of “Our Hell,” the piano-guided melody reels the listener in for a deep, dark and intensely reflective ride:

First went wrong is hard to find
We’re paralyzed, we apologize
Our hell is a good life…
All this weight, is honest worse
We’re moderate, we modernize
‘til our hell is a good life…

The oddities in her melodies are heavily accented with a strong piano base but a few other instruments creep in where needed (Evan Cranley of Stars plays trombone on “Mostly Waving”) and add texture to this fairly minimalist production.

The release of this work, however, has been met with a lot of negativity and cynicism from a number of online ‘zines. Many reviewers (who will remain nameless) have referred to Haines’ solo work as “under-developed” and “premature.”

First off, I would like to heartily disagree with the naysayers as Haines has her own definitve sound and style and there needs to be more musicians of her caliber making major records. The criticism that has been unleashed upon her, mainly regarding the “stripped down-ness” of this disc, is not really warranted for a couple of reasons:

1. There are not enough major musicians who strip things down and just rely on the power of decent songwriting instead of studio tricks.

2. This album spans four years of backlogged material and is all quite personal and heartfelt, including dealing with the 2003 death of her father, the poet, Paul Haines (seen mainly in the song “Reading In Bed”).

3. It’s her first major solo release.

All that aside, I would like to jump back to my original thought of the made for TV screenplay; even though one gets a sense of Haines’ pain and lyrical discord, listening to this disc makes me realize there is so much more that I wish I could know about her as a person.

I wish that in reviewing this CD, I could have had a few intensive interview sessions with her to cogently record the thoughts behind the words and melodies. Even the title of this album alone incurs a “Whoa!” from the listener, sounding the alarm of someone who is not willing to go out quietly.

Unfortunately though, I don’t know Emily as a person. All I am is a listener trying to piece together her message through eleven pieces of music. Even though the critical negativity towards this album has brimmed over to a point of excess, I do see a few minor flaws in the fabric of this disc. Using songs from her main band Metric as a reference point, I wish that Emily could have made things a little lighter for a song or two because after thirteen songs of woeful experience, it’s almost a little too much for the ears and the soul. The truth must always be told, though, no matter how horrid its message may be as the depiction of ugly depression can bring light to beautiful art. If you’re up for a challenge, I’d suggest picking up this album - it’s no easy listen but it is definitely something to be appreciated and mulled over.

Before you press play, though, make sure you wear your knife dodging helmet. As for this hyper creative Montreal-based singer/songwriter, one can only hope the truth will continue to be told and that there will be more knives flying at us in the future.

To purchase a physical copy of this album, click here. For a digital copy, click on the button below: