One of Milwaukee’s finest bands has been all too silent lately, but this month Red Knife Lottery returned with a 7-inch single, “Hip Bruisers,” and promises of a new album.
The 7-inch’s title track, now streaming on the band’s Myspace page, is nothing short of stunning. The early Pretty Girls Make Graves influence is still there, but the band has honed the soulful screamo of their debut and added more twists and turns, more highs and lows. In the track’s final movement the thrash dissipates as powerhouse singer Ashley Chapman drops the menace from her voice, ending the song on a sweet, reconciliatory note. Countless rocker women have the attitude, but Chapman has the whole package—the attitude, the pipes, the pathos—and after three minutes of vocal gymnastics here, she nails the landing beautifully.
