Lil Pocketknife - Pants Control

Name: Lil Pockeknife
Album: Pants Control
Year: 2004
Style: Pop, Hip Hop
Similar Bands: Cibo Matto, The Go! Team, Le Tigre, Gravy Train!!!!, bis
"One-Word" Review: lo-fi geek-hop
Based Out Of: San Francisco
Label: Narnack Records

Cover

Back, Case Back, CD

Pants Control (2004)

1. Disco Dancer 2:41
2. East Coast / West Coast 2:09
3. Red Hott 2:36
4. 5'2" - 2:24
5. A.D.D. 3:03

Album Rating (1-10): 7.0

Members & Other Bands:

• Lil Pocket Knife (Kristy Geschwandtner) - Vox
• No Skills (Lynae Burns) - Drums
• George (Patterson) - Keytar (Knodel)
• Keren Richter - Artwork

Unknown-ness: I've never heard of this artist/band. Just from the chosen artwork, who is given just about as much info as the band, i'd imagine the music will be whimsical, energetic pop, with a little darkness, thanks to the name. The artwork is a little reminiscent of  Of Montreal, and perhaps just because of the shared word knife in the name, i am also imaging a bit of a Shonen Knife sound.

Album Review: Lo-fi 8-bit keytar sounds and rhythms and a solid drum beat create a minimal, and sparse musical backing to Lil's rapping, sometimes harmonically layered. The themes on the record are mostly non-stereotypically hip-hop; rapping about disco, short but powerful height, A.D.D., Dungeons and Dragons, and astronomy. The one "rap-themed" song about East Coast / West Coast combines a polka accordion and weird synth blips all swirled together and even name drops the Atari. 5'2" steps up the 8-bit sounds with a synthesized vocal introduction to Lil Pocketknife. But the production feels empty, and the songs fall flat.

This San Fran band apparently offers a fun energetic live show, but that doesn't quite come across on the recording, which sounds more like a bedroom recorded project.  San Fran transplant from New Jersey, Lil Pocketknife was named so by bandmate No Skills, by saying "Kristy can cut like a knife, but not very deeply, and she is very practical like a toothpick and crafty like a pair of scissors." After playing the San Fran party venue circuit, they recorded this one and only album. Another one was planned for 2004 after this Ep was picked up by the label, but nothing materialized

Stand Out Track: East Coast / West Coast

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