Review: Knucks, Strange Brew – ‘There is a sheer brilliance of Knucks’ intricate wordplay’

Knucks’ ascent through the scene’s twisting, precarious tiers of notoriety has been long and arduous. Watching contemporaries, from Dave to Not3s, rocket skywards – he must have wondered when his vessel would be arriving. With a feature from Stormzy on his new track Die Hard, recognition as Radio One’s Future Artist of the month in April, and the release of heralded debut album Alpha Place – the impression is of an artist looking out, through thick threaded dreads, over the precipice of his own meteoric ascension. Although there can be no doubt that we will be seeing a lot more from Knucks in the coming years – his spaceship may have stalled momentarily during Friday’s gig at Strange Brew.

Just two nights prior the South-Kilburn native had played to a sold-out crowd at the prestigious London venue, KOKO. It looked, from all angles and Instagram stories, a raucous affair. This homecoming gig marked the penultimate date of his album tour ahead of the final performance at Strange Brew on Friday – a peculiar running order and possible cause of a rather anti-climactic swansong. Although both events were sold out, there seemed a distinct sparseness to the Bristol crowd due to capacity restraints.

Strange Brew’s manager admitted they were still feeling out the limits of their capacity following a tumultuous start to life – having opened in the throes of several COVID lockdowns in 2020. The space has a crafty charm not dissimilar to an arts university common room. Illuminated cotton-wool clouds dangle from the cavernous ceiling alongside disco balls and glowing spheres, while the walls and pillars are covered from floor-to-ceiling with murals from exceptional local artists.

What cannot be taken away from the performance is the sheer brilliance of Knucks’ intricate wordplay and the distinct musicality of his beats. The marriage of these two assets are what set him apart from his peers. From the mellifluous piano chords of Alpha House to the ingenious sampling of Toshifumi Hinata’s violin from Reflections on Leon the Professional – Knucks has one of the keenest ears in the business. Overlay these tracks with inspired lyricism, delivered with a uniquely sublime flow and it becomes no mystery why there is such fanfare surrounding this talented artist.

The album’s breakout single Los Pollos Hermanos was the clear fan favourite of the evening, featuring jazzy sax and yet more of his signature wordplay, penned in homage to Breaking Bad. Despite his hype-man eagerly, and at times gratingly egging on the crowd, it was clear that not all of them were as familiar with Knucks’ back-catalogue as he would have liked. While some of the die-hards amongst the crowd spat back the bars word for word – it was clear that most, myself included, lacked the lyrical dexterity. Some things are best left to the professionals.

Main photo: Sam Roberts

Read more: Review: Batu: A long strange dream, Strange Brew – ‘Both transcendent and heady’

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