The Knife & Fork Band
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Reviews of Cold Cereal & Juice
The Big Takeover
The debut EP from this Philly-based septet is rich with cello and the kind of exotic instrumentation that ought to tickle the heart of any sensitive, sweater-wearing Belle & Sebastian devotee. With vocals shared between the brother/sister duo of Meg and Denis Murphy, there's also a nice evocation of Richard and Linda Thompson---presumably without the dysfunction. But enough with the comparisons. The seven songs are strong efforts, ranging from the searching folk/rock of "Crazy," to the hooyy "MBH/RIP," wich evades the temptations of tweeness with some cutting electric guitar work from Denis. [ed - Actually, that's the MHB's Chad Coulter!]
Fufkin.com
A friendly EP from a band that mixes strings and an accordion with the usual rock line up to make music that has hints of British folk, The Delgados and early 10,000 Maniacs. The band also has a strong vocal presence. Meg Murphy's insinuating lead vocal is joined by Denis Murphy and George Shirley in a powerful call-and-response chorus on the fine opener "Crazy". The band takes a detour from its sophisticated folk on the breezy "Sun, Moon, & Stars", an excellent piece of swaying ‘60s light pop, which is only enhanced by the creative use of strings. But they should not detour from folk music too often, because we need a 21st Century version of Fairport Convention (yes, I know Fairport Convention still exists -- but a younger one, at least). Songs like "Diamonds" and "2000" are far from trendy, but they are exceptional examples of folk rock. A band to keep an eye on, they have a special sound.
What they said about Almost Friday Night
The Bob
...[the band has] that rarest of qualities: to sound endearingly familiar yet...unerringly uniques.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
...sturdy songs...that celebrate traditions without slavishly copying them...and reappropriate old forms...to tell unexpectedly bitter tales.
Dirty Linen
The group deals with various aspects and hardships of life, but never in an overly serious or preachy way. The music covers so much territory and the group's approach is so much fun that...