‘Another condo coming up, Another hole in the ground, Tearing down our history, Just to build another box’ (Renovict Arnold)

Knife Manual hail from Victoria, British Columbia and their name calls back to the solitary 7-inch from 1980s’ Seattle punks, Silly Killers.  This is the European press of their debut single, Step 1, and it similarly takes its inspirations from that first wave of West Coast hardcore punk.

The eight tracks are unleashed in ten helter-skelter minutes, none lasting beyond the ninety second mark, each packed with an acerbically fizzing energy.  Indeed, Fucking Metal Song acts as their admirably concise musical manifesto (‘Gotta keep it short and sweet, two minutes is the max’).

The jerking rhythmic patterns of the vocals rather unexpectedly spin me back to early Bad Religion, albeit a rather burlier and irreverent delivery.  Meanwhile, the lyrical themes dissect the relentless gentrification of the band’s home city and the mental toll inflicted on us all by the age of surveillance capitalism.  The bruising Renovict Arnold and the atavistically spiralling Cake Jumper land with a particular relish.