A few years back, Her New Knife emerged from Philadelphia’s indie scene with a cold, unsettled reinterpretation of guitar-driven music. Their 2024 EP chrome is lullaby arrived through the Julia’s War label, and a remixed version of “mouth+++” earned a spot on our rundown of the best shoegaze tracks of the year. Since then, they’ve covered Björk and contributed to They Are Gutting A Body Of Water’s KOOL FAITH / LOOSIES II mixtape. Now, they’ve released their first new single since the EP’s release.
Her New Knife’s newest single “lyre” opens as a somber, fractured post-punk piece with a distinct Sonic Youth vibe, before it intensifies toward a heavier finale. It’s a tense, uneasy mood piece that doesn’t neatly sit within the shoegaze label. In a press release, frontman Edgar Atencio describes it as “a simple and beautiful pop song.” That isn’t exactly how I interpret it, but I appreciate the idea he’s conveying. He adds:
It began with an arrangement I crafted on classical guitar. During a period when I felt detached from music, writing this song and leaning into classical guitar gave me new energy, and this track acted as a catalyst for the final push to finish our album. The drums pay homage to UNKLE and Massive Attack. The glassy guitar textures reflect Ben and my fondness for piano-like timbres. There’s also real piano on the song. The track isn’t meant to be deeply profound; the lyrics are basically “I love music.”
Her New Knife are about to hit the road on a tour with Slow Pulp. Below, hear “lyre” and check out their tour dates.
TOUR DATES:
11/09 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club *
11/10 – Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry *
11/12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
11/13 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount *
11/14 – Boston, MA @ Roadrunner *
11/16 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall *
11/17 – Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrew’s Hall *
11/19 – Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed *
11/20 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
11/21 – Madison, WI @ The Sylvee *
03/31 – 04/04 – Boise, ID – Treefort Music Fest
