Knats: A Great Day In Newcastle

Led by two lifelong friends from Newcastle, bassist Stan Woodward and drummer King David Ike Elechi, Knats are not the easiest band to pin down to a single genre. So they created their own: "Geordie Jazz," or as they sometimes call it, "Geordie Noir." Drawing on their Tyneside roots (a "Geordie" being a person from the Tyneside area in the North East of England), the name captures their edgy fusion of soaring melody, driving danceable rhythms, rock energy, and spoken-word poetry.

The result is contemporary and deeply rooted in place—a homage to their hometown. Through evocative instrumental passages and hard-hitting regional accents, Knats channel the mining heritage, sporting culture and present-day realities of the North East, crafting music that vibrates with raw energy.

A Great Day In Newcastle is their second album, complete with a cover echoing Art Kane's famous photograph, A Great Day In Harlem. Over the past years, they have built up a considerable following from their UK and European dates, alongside praise from the international music press as well as being nominated for Best Breakthrough Artist at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards.

This album of contrasts opens with "7 Bridges To Burn," where Cooper Robson's unsparing poetry and whip-smart delivery set the album's tough themes against a backdrop of sweet strings. The menacing horn phrases and thrashing drums of "Gainsborough Grove" follow, gradually evolving into a danceable groove that leads directly into one of the album's central tracks, "Wor Jackie." Built around Olivier Messiaen's modes and featuring solos from Woodward's bass and George Johnson (UK)'s tenor saxophone, the track channels the simmering anger of Robson's poetry into a portrait of working-class life in the mines—embodied by the figure of Jackie Milburn, the legendary Newcastle United footballer (soccer) who, by all accounts, would spend half the day underground before heading to the football pitch.

There are further Messiaen explorations in "Messy In," with vibrant rhythmic drive from Ike-Elechi. Those rhythms intensify in "Azure Blue" before the piece quietens, offering space for interweaving solos from trumpeter Ferg Kilsby and keyboardist Sandro Shar before Robson returns to describe the drinking culture and frequent violence in the introduction to "Bigg Market Scrappa."

Producer Geordie Greep adds guitar to the mix of "Carpet Doctor." This narrative of a reformed convict starts bluesy but builds to frenetic moments. There is a touch of fusion in "Never Gonna Be A Boxer" before the folk tune, "Farewell Johnny Miner," utilizes an introduction using words from a BBC interview about the closing of the mines, a fine string arrangement and some moving trumpet work to find beauty in adversity.

The album buzzes with life, raw energy and musical ideas. They bring punk levels of anger as they delve into the dark sides of the North East but also find passion, pride and a refreshing honesty. At times, they bring a club-friendly approach; at others, they are musically and verbally aggressive. Their narrative style demands attention and may well form a template for others to follow. For Knats, it feels like this is just the opening act of something bigger.