Australian dance duo Knife Party have always been known for doing things a little differently, all while still keeping their music far above the status quo. They have quite the track record, gaining over a million streams on nearly every track off of every album they’ve released, landing huge collaborations with high-tier bass acts such as Pegboard Nerds, and having heavyweight artists such as JAUZ remix their tunes. After only a small handful of releases in 2018 (aside from their podcast titled Knifecast) Pendulum’s Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen return to the bass music scene as Knife Party once again with their brilliant escapade of head banging entitled Lost Souls.
Starting off the project with a tune called ‘No Saint,’ Knife Party makes it crystal clear that this EP is the farthest thing from a joke. Simplistic yet intricate drum patterns and unique sound design intertwine for this huge house tune, before leading us into the Dubstep utopia of the EP’s title track, ‘Lost Souls.’ Staying true to their sound as well as their aesthetic and F-You attitude, ‘Lost Souls’ opens with huge cinematic drums and vengeful brass hits, leading into to some rather peculiar vocal samples before tossing us into one of the heaviest songs on the EP. Lightening the mood, Swire & McGrillen bring us feel-good house tune ‘Death & Desire.’ Recruiting Harrison’s immense talent on vocals, this tune is the perfect medley of melodic, heavy, and uplifting. Concluding this 4-track monster of an EP, Knife Party draws their curtains with the sinister track ‘Ghost Train.’ This track uses many railroad related samples as they build us up and drop us into bliss with this huge house tune. Lost Souls is most definitely not a project you want to miss, so do yourself a favor and sit back, listen, and enjoy.
