Composer/Musician Reacts to Bent Knee - Catch Light (REACTION!!!)
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- Опубликовано: 19 сен 2024
- Bryan reacts to and talks about his thoughts on Bent Knee - Catch Light (Live at Big Nice Studio)
ORIGINAL VIDEO // • Bent Knee - Catch Ligh...
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I've dug into Say So and I'm enthralled. It's incredibly dense and will take a few listens to really 'get' it but I'm enjoying my time with it. You'll definitely be seeing some purchases from me in the near future. 😂
@@CriticalReactions So, how's Say So been treating you so far? Any favourite songs/parts? Fantastic and very versatile album imo! (Hey, it's Bent Knee!....)
Hi Ben! When will Say So album be available in streaming services?
@@Dukhevych Available @Bandcamp 😊
@@Dukhevych he has said in the past, there are some contractual issues that are time based. Look for the Q&A on his channel for the full response.
Amazing band. They have a really unique sound and a really diverse range of styles. Courtney Swain the vocalist is a powerhouse. They all met at Berklee. They did an amazing long piece with the Berklee percussion ensemble called Paper Earth which is fantastic and well worth a watch. For a studio track I highly recommend the song Terror Bird. The video for it is great (and disturbing).
I found out about them when they opened for Haken on a US tour a couple of years ago. The guitarist Ben Levin also appears on Richard Henshall's solo album The Cocoon (which deserves a reaction!)
Same here! Which show were you at?
@@justynsullivan507 Austin
@@brandonbarry6834 Extremely late but I also found out of them like that (through Leprous) and saw them live in Austin! It was like late 2018-ish at the Barracuda if I'm not mistaken and the vibe was amazing
I've listened to this band for a bit but never seen a live performance of them, this was really impressive. Wish I got the chance to see them when they came around here with Thank You Scientist. The song did feel very 90's, the vocals really reminded me of Alanis Morissette.
I saw them during that show!!! They stole the whole thing! Great stuff
At any chance you can, see them live. I’ve seen a fair share of metal/death-metal/punk shows and Bent Knee is the most powerful band I have ever seen live.
WOW. I hadn't heard of this band at all before this video, I am so happy you made this. I agree with the grunge vibe - I was a teen in the '90s and it hit me in the heart. Thanks for this!!
I'm listening to their 2016 album "Say So" while I'm responding to comments and it is fantastic. As a fellow first time listener to their work, if this grabbed ya then I highly recommend giving it a listen.
Saw them open for Haken and Leprous at one of the last shows I got to go to pre-pandemic...so these guys have a special place in my heart. They are so good live and their energy is infectious, had never heard of them before that show but damn were they memorable
Fuckin' love this song. So damn good live, completely demands the attention of the audience
Found your channel through Bent Knee. They are the band connecting seperate bands for me like modern proggy crafted music like KGWL with genre breaking uncomfiness of The Residents. Loving this channel for jumping into some wild music and getting a bit of help digesting the first few listens :) Keep up the great work!
Check out their song Sunshine live for a real exercise in dynamics. These guys/gals are incredible.
Best cover ever made? Completely new take on an old classic!
Dear Bryan 😊
There's two back sides of "letting you" explore bands further on your own:
1. When you've really got amazed by a lesser known band (like the last couple of days) your reactions can give good help to the bands and if you drop reactions after the first one they get lesser attention (I know you're aware of this)
2. We don't get to know how other songs hit you. (Which you're obviously aware of as well)
I'd suggest that YOU'd give yourself the opportunity to do att least two more reactions (whenever you see fit) from every band that hit you at "album-bying level". It not meaning you have to wait with all listening besides, but for some songs frequently requested or taken from a special poll maybe?
Or/also, I'd like some videos now and then where you do a go through with bands that you've checked out further. Favourite songs and why etc. I would really love that!
That's something that I've wrestled with a bunch. I'll be doing more "exploration reactions" when we finish up the Special Selections and that first week of each month opens up. The plan is to have a personal week to check out whatever I want and hopefully the Special Selections are kept to manageable number to just do them on weekends again.
@@CriticalReactions Great!
Then there's only the biggest problem to solve: How to limit special selections requests. Guess you'll either have to find the right "market price" - what's a SS limited to twice a week worth to your "market"? Or you'll have to restrict the requests in some other way.(to prevent ending up with hundreds of $5-paid requests in queue....)
That's the two options I've landed on as well. Price adjusting to keep the list manageable (while excluding some from participating) or manually closing submissions at thresholds. I'm not a fan of either but I don't see any other method working either.
@@CriticalReactions There might be another option. I recall that the channel Vin and Sori do community choices where patreons form alliances round their favourite category. The greater the alliance, the more often they get to choose the song and within the alliance there's polls for each choice. So, if there's 30 in a prog metal alliance they get two choices for every choice the 15 member song classic prog alliance gets (unfortunately 😉) Each alliance could have it"s own administrator - so you just have to receive the pick.
Vin and Sory do have the "filthy capitalist option" alongside where those who can afford it get a pick for $125 ($75 after some 125 payments) They've got maybe 150000 subscribers though.
Ironically, I literally just found this band last night. Lol.
Bent Knee are frikkin awesome - just soooo listenable but utterly unique. Fab.
Ahhh, finally :D Glad to see you smile so much!
Yeah, this was way too long in the making. Should have done this a lot sooner. My apologies 😂
@@CriticalReactions You can't be responsible for what you couldn't know. Responsibility is abot what's within your power. You CAN however do another bonus video with them whenever you feel you have the space and feel for it. There's all too few of them out there and some of the reactors didn't get them at all (I had one react "in vain"...)
I was really waiting for this reaction, so glad you liked this band. I discovered them in 2019 and I just couldn't stop to listen to their previous album 'Land Animal', I love the energy of their live performances.
YESSS! I was hoping for either this, Hold Me In, or It Happens from this session or Being Human or In God We Trust from older sessions.
Super happy either way. Thanks for finally getting around to them and glad you enjoyed it!
A lot of people were exposed to them during the Haken and Leprous tour a few years ago, but for me it was the spring afterwards when they went on tour with Thank You Scientist. I tried listening to a few songs before the show (from Land Animal) and nothing really grabbed me, but then they played Catch Light and that just commanded everyone's attention at the venue. I then spent the rest of the show in awe and immediately purchased some music and merch.
Ben (guitarist) and Jessica (bassist) were hanging out at the merch table after the set and they were SUPER cool and down to earth to talk to. I was really excited/nervous and Leprous' new album that was due to come out and Ben was very polite in entertaining questions I had about touring with them, Einar's vocals, and what to expect from the new record. I felt bad for not discussing their band more, but I had really just been exposed to them and I'm not musically inclined enough to really be able to pick stuff out on stage and discuss it with a musician.
I must have talked his ear off for 15-20 minutes about touring and different bands and he never once seemed bothered by it and I really appreciated his time.
My buddy purchased Land Animal on vinyl and Jessica did some doodling on the sleeve (I believe she drew pee) and it was just a great time.
Cockroach King by Haken also played in between sets and I remember just jamming the fuck out to that and basically no one around knew what the hell was going on.
That was my second to last live show that I was able to go to before everything got shut down (last tickets were for Caligula's Horse May 2020) and it was a phenomenal night.
Really cannot wait to get an opportunity to see them again and talk their ear off about their own music instead of being that guy talking about other bands lol.
I also already owned Land Animal and You Know What They Mean, but this video made me NEED to get my hands on more of their material so I bought Say So and Live and Nearly Unplugged from Bandcamp and also grabbed the video performance of Say So at The Space. The band absolutely deserves all of the support.
and "Be critical, not cynical" has me thinking about changing my discord name to CriticalEntity lol.
Keep it up, Bryan! Love the work.
Playing with dynamics is a pretty common theme with their songs. They have a _lot_ of fantastic tracks - I don't even know where I'd start with the recommendations, haha
(Edit: Although their live version of Being Human would be a dang good start 👀)
(Edit 2: This song is from their latest album - which, while being pretty similar to their previous albums, is based in various jam sessions they had that they then turned into proper tracks; rather than a more-meticulous writing process like their previous albums)
So glad you got round to this!
Trust me... you ain't seen nuthin' yet! Each album has a slightly different style and this song IS indicative of their style but at the same time they change a lot between pop/grunge/prog/rock/weird (they have a song about being dry. Yes in that way).
Live is definitely far more powerful but the studio recordings also have some very unusual effects and virtual instruments, which create some amazing textures.
The live recordings that exist simply show off Courtney Swain's incredible vocal talents and put SOME of the studio versions to shame as she's come very far since their first album. It also lets you hear some of the intricate violin playing that is often 'lost in the mix'.
Honestly if you check out more, you can't really go wrong with any song but I'd love to see a reaction to some of their more hard hitting emotional stuff like 'Leak Water' (studio) or 'Being Human' (live) which are more on the 'prog' side but without losing this magnetic feeling they have.
You could also go for 'Commercial' (live) if you're feeling adventurous. It's a good example of 'fun prog' where they're not taking it too seriously but it's still a genius composition.
BONUS: FYI, the guitarist Ben Levin makes extremely weird music with some of the people from this band. If you're interested, Freak Machine is the album. It's like sophisticated shitpost music. I can't explain it any other way.
I've got Say So running in the background while I'm responding to comments. Amazing album so far.
@@CriticalReactions That's the one i started with as well. It took me a while to get into but features prominently on my list of favourite albums.
Would love to see a reaction to another song of theirs or Ben Levin's Freak Machine if it's possible :)
If not, enjoy the music!
Such an amazing band. Saw them open for Leprous and Haken one time. Hands Up will always hold a special place in my heart❤️
Yes, finally. This is probably the only band where I've ever walked into a show not knowing them and ending up liking them just as much if not better than the band I went to see. They really did go for dirty textures on this album, so that might be where you're getting the 90s grunge vibe
Did you _also_ become a fan of them during their run with Leprous/Haken? Noticed a few people (me included) had that experience
@@BroudbrunMusicMerge No, I actually saw them with Thank You Scientist, before I got into Haken. I remember Bent Knee's lead singer mentioning Haken because of someone's shirt, and that was the first time I'd heard the name said out loud
I knew you’d love this band. It was only time for you to get to them!!
I was just about to ask again for a Bent Knee reaction.
Thank you!
I just came here to say, Yes! Finally someone noticed the pitch control thing and I finally placed the band that it made me think of .... it was KoRn. Jonathan Davis did that same pitch thing.. 👏
Bent Knee is the Bee's Knees. Amazing band.
BTW, around 3:15 in you mentioned some Deja Vu, and I actually thought of the P Diddy Godzilla song that sampled Led Zepplin. Deep cut!
I knew you’d like this! How could anyone not? The most important word you use to describe their overall sound is energy, they are pure energy at heart. The way they switch power levels from quiet and slow to heavy and rocking is beautiful and I really like the way you described them as gunpowder, primed to go off at any moment. The first time I heard them I was blown away and instantly had to listen to everything available on RUclips and now I own all of their material. Though I agree with most commentators that they are at their best live, when you can see them performing that energy comes across with real punch. One of my favourite bands of all time!
I listened to their So What album not too long ago and it's insane how I simultaneously can't stop listening but the intensity is extremely draining and I just want to turn it off between each handful of songs. I don't think I've felt that before, that push and pull of my mind.
Finally! Great live band. You described my feelings when seeing them in person. It feels like it’s all going to fall apart at any moment, but in a fun way. Her vocals remind me of Natalie Merchant.
My favorite bent knee song is bone rage it's their heaviest song I love courtney swain she's a outstanding vocalist
This group is underappreciated. 🤘
Not by me 😁
BENT KNEE!!
On my A-Z list for a very good reason😀
Bent Knee is growing on me. What makes it interesting to me is the combination of that "indie" sound (which I'm not a fan of by itself) with prog rock. Leprous did similar things with Coal in 2013 and weirdly enough, I've loved this style of music since.
Yeah, Leprous is another example of truly progressive prog!
Bent KNEE! Been looking forward to your reaction of them, very talented group with a lot of diverse skills and songs to pick from. Everyone I know has a different favorite fromthem
Love this band their live versions of the songs are amazing they toured with thank you scientist & also with haken and leprous
But they are not metal or very prog but still tour with prog metal bands and in festivals that have headlines of opeth and tesseract
I'd say they are one of few truly progressive bands on this planet since prog is originally about breaking out of mainstream frames and boarders and paving your own unique path. As prog as can get and that's what I love about them - beyond that they really touch my heart with melodies, atmospheres and passionate performance
Brilliant and innovative band, have all their albums. They deserve to play to sold-out stadiums, damn it!!!!!!
I can't even imagine what their band practices are like
The second guitarist is actually doing synth work, sound design, and production in addition to the guitar.
More Bent Knee reactions!!!! Would be great!
Their song "Time Deer" is rad
Wow new fan here
I've heard a couple of tracks from these guys but not this one. Been meaning to check them out more for years but this will inspire me to get to them faster. This was awesome. If I had to pin down the genre I'd call it alternative rock meets trip-hop with dashes of R&B and prog thrown in. Very unique combination, but unlike many other bands where the unique genre blend overshadows the individual elements that's not the case here. Every element was great in its own right, especially her powerhouse vocals and how the song builds to that killer climax. The instruments are there more for texture and support more than virtuoso leads, which can often be boring but I was thoroughly riveted here. Though I'd also be interested if they do have some songs that show off more instrumental prowess, but with a singer like that it's also perfectly understandable if they usually gave her the spotlight. Anyway, can't wait to dive into these guys' discog now!
I'm halfway through their 2016 album and it's a wild ride. It's all over the place and it's gonna take a couple more listens to really 'get' it. But it's quite enjoyable.
This entire live session they did is really... really good.
Not a band I'd regularly listen to, but for this one song, not bad.
I'm yet to watch any further, but I just let out the biggest, hardest, dirtiest belly laugh to your "Chyeah. Yes. Uh-huh" at 05:50. Such a beautiful and perfect little moment of a reaction. It says so much with so little and took me straight back in my mind to how I felt upon listening to this band for the first time. (Also started with the Big Nice Studio vids, which are all fucking fantastic obviously, although I think my literal first song was probably Bone Rage from what I can remember).
Cool, watched in full now and great reaction indeed, bud. I enjoyed it very much. Much love!
Thanks! I don't typically think of myself as an entertaining reactor but there are times when all I can do is my own equivalent of "omg did you just hear that?!?!". This performance was fantastic and that's all the words I could form at the moment 😂
@@CriticalReactions Well I definitely found your video very entertaining nevertheless! And that was seriously all you needed to say, or perhaps even the best thing you could have said! You somehow expressed abundantly your enthusiasm for, pleasant surprise by, reverence of, and affinity for the music -- along with a degree of speechlessness -- by essentially saying 'Yes' three different ways LOL.
... at least, that's what I read from it! And it honestly brought me great joy and amusement. Like I said, I did this sorta like super dirty laugh because your reaction really struck a chord with me and I felt like I knew exactly what you were saying in that moment, despite not really saying anything! It was the hardest I laughed all day yesterday for sure. So thanks very much :).
Please check out Twelve Foot Ninja’s One Hand Killing, if you have not already.
Bent Knee. They got that "Your favorite band's favorite band" vibe. that being said. Welcome to the club. Think of the mother mother fanbase but more jazz nerds.
As a fellow jazz nerd, we could always use more jazz nerds around here 😂
The Mercury Tree - Sympathesizer
Oh man, this was like a weird mix of Björk, Alanis Morrisette, Tori Amos, Radiohead and some grungy bits. I even get a bit of The Cranberries in the quieter moments. Really interesting, and I can't believe I hadn't listened to them before! Some catching up to do!
I'm checking out their 3rd album "Say So" right now and it's amazing. This is going to the top of the buy list for sure.
@@CriticalReactions oh, great to know that. I've checked Land Animal and it is gorgeous. It even has a dramatic, slightly theatrical vibe at times that I loved. It seems I'm going with Say So next!
Oh my, I love Bent Knee so much.
This is their best track from recent stuff.
But I still prefer their 2nd album more.
I really hope you will react to them once again, as soon as possible! They totally deserve this.
My list of tracks for reaction videos would be following:
Way Too Long, Battle Creek, Sunshine. All of these is from their 2014 album, Shiny Eyed Babies. It's more raw and heavy than their recent stuff, but still beautiful and relaxing.
Anything is amazing off that album. But for an analysis of the music, I think Being Human is the best of the lot. The section where they play a non-repeating rhythm in unison for like 20 bars is nuts. Same for Holy Ghost from Land Animal.
Also Say So is fantastic but not as easy to get into.
@@JoshStobart good track also, but I wrote my 3 favorites. Being Human is on lots of other reaction channels though...
Say So is epic, I started listening Bent Knee from that album.
Land Animal and other late stuff - I can't get into it, especially the last album. But it's still good.
@@Dukhevych yeah the latest albums are less catchy but they are better in other areas. Land Animal is more subtle whereas You Know What They Mean is really in your face and experimental but somehow simple. It's definitely not easy to get into but if you've heard what they do in their other bands, it makes a bit more sense I think.
I haven't seen Being Human being reacted to but I'll have a look. Those other 3 I have seen reacts for sure so I guess we'll have to settle on 'Dry or 'Commercial', eh? ;)
Nah bone rage is better
@@yotambraunshtein9786 it's different.
helms alee meets chris cornell :)
Yeah! Near explosion is a great allegory! Tension sprinkled with daisys might be another 😊
And you've just got to scratch the surface of Bent Knee world....
And yeah! Courtney Swain is my absolute favourite vocalist in the world - you ain't seen nothing yet....
I'm checking out Say So right now and I'm kinda upset that I waited so long to get these guys on the channel :)
@@CriticalReactions It's always easy to judge when facts are at hand. Just enjoy mate!
Mandy moore meets audio slave 😂
minus them sick guitar solos
React to A nightmare to remember - Dream Theater ruclips.net/video/ZDSi02J2CXM/видео.html
Her vocals are very reminiscent of Alanis Morissette
lol kinda reminded me of the lady that did the voice for betty boop. that annoying voice 😂
Courtney always throws me all the way back to Jefferson Airplane 😆
I can definitely see an Alanis Morissette vibe as well.
GENTLE GIANT IS THE BEST PROG BAND EVER LISTEN TO ADVENT OF PANURGE OR PANTAGRUELS NATIVITY
We should really have a 70's prog week ("again" - last time it was called "classic prog" but I believe there's no such thing...)
Everything about this band is annoying and showy for the sake of being showy. Annoyed by the singer so hard...