“A noose and rusted sheers during these trying times.”
Where many screamo bands are focused on chaos through sheer volume and speed of ideas, Knumears are distinct in their simplicity. This is matched with a proudly raw sound, one they don’t wield alone – drive your plow over the bones of the dead, Bloom Dream, Blind Girls and Lord Snow are just a few practitioners. Imagine emoviolence, but make it extremely dry; a body drawn of its blood, still shambling and set on drawing more. Arguably, Knumears are the spearhead of this particular style, attracting interest far beyond expectations after their debut record A Shout to See made its way through DIY spaces like wildfire. Their new record Directions sees the band doubling down on their inelegance, creating a more than worthy follow-up.
“Introduction” begins with nervous plucked notes, an unassuming start that hints at something dark within. As the band joins it begins to resemble an early Tortoise track, though the volley of distortion and shrill feedback that emerges is its own beast. As it reprises its opening riff, this is a start that is charming but is perhaps too simplistic to justify its runtime. “One Light, Sunshine” follows to give us the first taste of Knumears’ new screamo energy, and it’s one that burns. All of its vocal parts are front loaded, with the back end a repeated riff, simple yet swirling, offering up a mood of dejection and surrender. With these frequent instrumental passages, it’s clear that the three-piece seek power from consciously forced repetition and unsaid words.
A defining element of the first side of Directions are its build ups. Most pieces contain a protracted stretch of increasing intensity, a summit where revelation is set to occur. No tracks demonstrate this better than “My Name” and “Breaking Ground”. The former brings the rolic of the bass to the fore, grinding away at a timeless riff that builds and loops again and again, whilst vicious vocals circle above. “Breaking Ground” offers much the same idea, pushing the intensity even higher for its dramatic conclusion where the screams reach their most passionate form (“Believe these words / I say are true / my pride is you”). Together these two tracks turn this stretch of the record into something spellbinding.
Side two balances intensity against melodic moments with greater frequency. After “Directions” provides a necessary interlude with a frigid atmosphere, “Untitled” brings pure cacophony and aggression. It’s tightly coupled to its partner track “Bridged”, a slow and grand piece that makes several jumps between maximum intensity and reflective doldrums. “Fade Away” was an impressive single that bounds between bursts of powerviolence and headbang-able riffwork. Perhaps inevitably, they hit another melodic stride for the two closing tracks, “Friendly Face” and “The North”, throwing emo harmonies into the mix amid blast beats and yet more shrill feedback.
As is constant in the vein of screamo, the drumwork across Directions is top notch. It’s largely the only highly technical element of Knumears; the compositions, structures, and production all feel pointedly rudimentary. This has always worked in the band’s favour, as it adds to the sense that these songs are made for that house show sweatbox setting, where every sound is a struggle, and every strum makes a new bead of sweat. It’s nothing we haven’t heard before from this realm, rendered in a way that is honest, urgent, yet doesn’t set them far apart from their forebears. Compared to A Shout to See the band now feels even more intense, especially in the guitars and vocals, captured as if they’re inches from your face.
Whilst hardcore rises to challenge larger stages, the screamo is diligently working at its roots, with plenty of signs it is creating its own form of DIY momentum. Artists like Knumears are the kind that make us proud to follow the genre, and Directions is a release that makes no compromises, capturing searing performances and crystallising the energy of hopelessness. With the scene working from basement to basement, it feels fruitless to predict which screamo acts will catch a wave of attention and ride it to new heights. It seems more important for listeners to latch onto what makes their hearts throb, and Directions is a more than valid choice among 2026’s new releases.
7.5/10
Directions releases through Run For Cover records on the 3rd April and can be pre-ordered here.