Knock Knock (Smog album)

Knock Knock
Studio album by Smog
Released January 12, 1999 (1999-01-12)
Genre Folk rock, lo-fi
Length 42:47
Label Drag City
Producer Jim O'Rourke
Smog chronology
Red Apple Falls
(1997)Red Apple Falls1997		 Knock Knock
(1999)		 The Manta Rays of Time
(2000)The Manta Rays of Time2000
Singles from Knock Knock
  1. "Held"
    Released: 1999
  2. "Cold Blooded Old Times"
    Released: 1999

Knock Knock is the seventh studio album by Bill Callahan, released under his Smog alias. It was originally released through Drag City in January 1999. In Europe, it was released through Domino Recording Company.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[2]
NME8/10[3]
Pitchfork9.7/10[4]
Rolling Stone[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]
Select4/5[7]

Heather Phares of AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5, calling it "Bill Callahan's subtlest collection of songs yet."[1] She added, "It's a moving album on many levels; not only do the songs have Smog's usual emotional intimacy, their subjects move away from difficult, claustrophobic situations toward maturity and acceptance."[1]

Michele Romero of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a grade of B+, saying, "The energy jolt serves him well, making the delicate broken spirit of his lyrics cathartic rather than depressing."[2] Meanwhile, Samir Khan of Pitchfork gave the album a 9.7 out of 10, saying, "Knock Knock will do little to expand his cult following, but judging by his haunting, twisted smoke, that suits him just fine."[4]

NME listed it as the 10th best album of 1999.[8] Steve Jelbert of The Independent named it the best pop album of 1999.[9]

Callahan has said the cover is a reference to "two zen tenets - that of life being like a flash of lightning or a wildcat's roar" (Smog interview in Ink Blot magazine).

Response

Musician Steve Adey covered River Guard on his 2017 LP "Do Me a Kindness".

Track listing

All tracks written by Bill Callahan.

No.TitleLength
1."Let's Move to the Country"3:05
2."Held"4:02
3."River Guard"6:22
4."No Dancing"3:00
5."Teenage Spaceship"3:58
6."Cold Blooded Old Times"4:14
7."Sweet Treat"2:59
8."Hit the Ground Running"6:56
9."I Could Drive Forever"5:15
10."Left Only with Love"2:52

References

  1. 1 2 3 Phares, Heather. "Knock Knock – Smog". AllMusic. Retrieved February 25, 2006.
  2. 1 2 Romero, Michele (February 5, 1999). "Knock Knock". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  3. ↑ Oldham, James (February 4, 1999). "Smog – Knock Knock". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  4. 1 2 Khan, Samir. "Smog: Knock Knock". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved August 25, 2006.
  5. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (February 4, 1999). "Smog: Knock Knock". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 27, 2003. Retrieved August 15, 2007.
  6. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Smog". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 754–55. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  7. ↑ Male, Andrew (March 1999). "Smog: Knock Knock". Select (105): 81–82.
  8. ↑ "Albums And Tracks Of The Year: 1999". NME. October 10, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  9. ↑ "The best pop albums of 1999". The Independent. December 17, 1999. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
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