Knife Crazy

They sure got the crazy part right.

See also: ardent, fervent, mad, rabid, zealous.

Any of those colorful adjectives could be used to describe Buffalo’s Knife Crazy, a group who could not be pigeon-holed into a genre by anyone who’s been regaled by their unique post-punk offerings. Their off-kilter approach is one, that if nothing else, will keep listeners interested in what zany direction they’ll be traveling next, which is a gift unto itself.

At the heart of they’re sound, they’re normal…enough. The ten tracks on Delicious Delicious Science do have structure and direction, it’s only a matter of whether or not everyone else listening will have the patience to follow. In this case, to follow is to be rewarded, as beneath their schizophrenic veneer is a rollicking trip to the origins of punk and rock’n’roll just the same, a trip where music or times were simpler. Vocalist Vic Lazar does have his far share of freakouts, but beneath them, such as in “Hitting It Big on the 801’s,” there’s a sound and technical rhythm underneath it all. Simple drum rolls and simple chord progression lie beneath Lazar’s frequent hollowing and the walls of dissonance, and it’s much easier to appreciate them when looking at the big picture of a song. Each individual layer has something to offer to the track as a whole.

It’s not as difficult to listen as it may sound, and there’s some more reserved attempts like “Wow Minus the Exclamation Point” to round things out. The majority of the song is a lazy but engaging trip with a few ups and downs. The mellowed-out sounds of the guitar lead abruptly into a quick whiplash of howling and distortion, only to fade back out in whimsical fashion -- just as it came in.

The same elements of this record that some of you will love are the same elements that the rest of you will hate -- take that as you will.