Knocked Loose’s ability to satisfy a more diverse fanbase than most hardcore acts owes itself to the fact that they always want to be a local band first and foremost, never wanting to give up their identity or values as a hustling, humble group of guys.
“We’ve always been the band that just grinds as much as we can,” Bryan says. “Before we got signed, before Laugh Tracks was out [and] we got our first van, we toured for 10 months out of that year.”
The last three years of relentless touring released speaks to just how important a Knocked Loose live show is. A large part of what has made them so popular across multiple fanbases is how their brutal, unforgiving sound gives way to a fun yet violent energy. So when the band finally had to draw a line in the sand and commit to writing and recording a new record with veteran producer Will Putney -- who also produced of their debut -- they were intent on capturing that raw power on the album.
“The fact that they’re so young, and they’re so excited about being a band, makes for a really fun and creative process,” says Will in our latest episode of Art Of The Record, our video series examining the bands who record with Will at Graphic Nature, the studio he runs. “I had produced Knocked Loose’s previous record Laugh Tracks, and the difference, as far as the pre-production stage goes, is that I had already known the band, we’re a lot more familiar with what we wanted to do in the studio on this record, and they were here a lot more before we started recording.”
“I think that this record is more of an entire piece of music rather than just a collection of songs,” Bryan says. “We wanted to make a piece of art that all flows together. There are certain parts of this record that I took a poetic approach to rather than just my regular cut and dry lyrics. I tried writing short stories. I tried writing just actual poetry, and then if I liked it I would maybe structure a song around it.”
Watch Knocked Loose record alongside Will in the latest episode of Art Of The Record below: