Album Review :: Great Apes / Know Your Saints :: Split

Written by: Andrea Janov, CC2K Music Editor

Great Apes / Know Your Saints :: Split :: Say-10 Records

This may be one of my favorite splits. I must admit that I was unfamiliar with both Great Apes and Know Your Saints before I listened to this record. I also must admit, that I feel like I must have been living in a cave, not to have been aware of either of these two bands.

Great Apes have the first two songs on the split. The first track, The Quack and the Leper kicks off with “We like the damaged ones” and sets the tone for the rest of the split. It is aggressive yet intoxicating. I can’t put my finger on just why, but something grabs me and doesn’t let me go through this whole track. Class(war) Room is a societal commentary on poor children and the education system that harkens back to the early days of punk where punk and hardcore were the same and politics were always a part of it.

Know Your Saints have a catchier sensibility but they never lack a punch. Skyscrapers, Smokesignals is super catchy due to its iambs of unstressed/stressed syllables. Don’t let the poetry talk scare you, this metering creates aggression instead of lilting sing-song-y-ness that we usually associate with iambic metered lines. Deconstruction has a bit of a Strung Out vibe to it, you know that perfect balance of punk, metal, and a beautiful voice? This song is one of the smoothest punk songs I have ever heard.