One might be inclined to think that Michael Knott's tortured howl on "Jesus," the first track from Aunt Bettys' self-titled debut is aimed at the Christian music industry:
I'm gettin' screwed, I'm gettin' used I'm gettin' kicked, I'm gettin' tricked, I'm gettin' out Getting out, getting out, getting out...
Then again, maybe he's just being Knott-guaranteeing the raising of a few eyebrows in every sector. As with most things that Knott puts his name to, interpretation is everything.
This offering from the latest incarnation of Knott's seminal alternative powerhouse Lifesavers Underground-the only one to ever land a major-label record deal-is everything Christian music industry types worried that it would be, and then some. Aunt Bettys takes the listener on a raw, lurid ride on the fringes of pop culture, stopping to visit all the places and people suggested in the album's artwork-a motley bunch, to be sure. Knott has used his disillusion and the sad fact that there is more artistic freedom to be found on a mainstream label to create a bizarre, almost comic-book world that is also strangely real. Such is Knott's great gift for songwriting: that he can write a lyric like
She started dancin' like a mad-hatted star-gazin' love makin' nympho-killin' psychotic tail-waggin' cloth-rippin' body whipper Needless to say, we were dumbfounded...
and still make us feel for the poor "Lush."
Aunt Bettys is much more than just Knott throwing off of the chains of expectation and obligation from an industry that too often scorned what it rarely understood. There is a blistering undercurrent of anti-drug sentiment here, most notably in songs like "Addict" and "Little Fighter." The difference now is that Knott can follow his characters even further down their often self-destructive paths.
Other interesting topics are also covered in inimitable Knott style: alien abduction in "Star Baby," cannibalism in "Kitty Courtesy," which includes the tasty lyric:
She never lets me in Whenever she's cookin' Don't you find that kind of queer? That woman's so old and scary You know once she was married But her husband disappeared
and sexual tension in the gender-bending "Feel." The Bettys take a humorous turn with "Skinny Bones Jones," a satirical poke at so-called "dinosaur bands"-at least on the surface. However, as with most of the tracks on the album, it's not hard to read something autobiographical into it:
What's up with this band? It's been around forever Played New York City before most of the world was born Made it big, made it bigger, made it biggest But it keeps on comin' back all tattered and torn...
Aunt Bettys serves up a delicious slice of Southern-California pop-punk, combining L.S.U.'s sonic fireworks with the melodic singer/songwriter feel of Knott's solo work. This is especially impressive when you note that three of the album's tracks ("Double" and the revamped "Rocket And A Bomb" and "Kitty Courtesy") are culled from previously released Knott and L.S.U. projects. Knott's voice drips with passion on every song, and he does an amazing job of holding the listener at arm's length with attitude-laced vocals (no one double-tracks his own voice like Knott does, and killer harmonies don't hurt, either), and then effortlessly drawing one in with an intimate Knott-and-guitar moment. The rest of the band is in stellar shape on what is easily the best-mixed album I have heard this year (kudos to Knott, Gene Eugene and Mark Rodriguez). Lead guitarist Andrew Carter gets the gold star for tone, and displays a heck of a lot of rhythm for a lead player. Knott's longtime compatriot Brian Doidge, who has played both lead and bass guitars for L.S.U.. plays bass this time around, and sometime-L.S.U. drummer Chuck Cummings rounds out the four-piece.
Whatever led to it, Knott and Co. have crafted a fantastic and thought-provoking album. It will no doubt draw fire for its content and its attitude (is that "Ship! Ship!" that Knott cries in "Rocket And A Bomb"?), but fans of Mike Knott and his bruised and battered psyche should not be disappointed. John J. Thompson perhaps puts it best: Knott is "a living example of dangerous art... Sometimes he scares the hell out of me. It's good to be scared. Thank God for him."
Other coverage for this album
The Lighthouse December 1996Reviewed by Todd BrownBe warned. This is not even remotely a Christian record. If you come to it looking for Christian content, not only will you not find any, you will most likely be offended by a song or two. Rather, this album is Mike Knott's secular project. Fans of LSU, The Lifesavers, and Knott's solo work take note. This is essentially the same band that made the Grace Shaker record, and musically, Knott and…Similar sounding releases
2002The LineMonsters We Breed
1996Room Full of WaltersSleepy-Head
1999BushbabyMedicine
1995PlankeyeThe Spark
1997Kosmos ExpressNow
2000The Mustard SeedsRed
