The Know – ‘EP2’ [EP] [Album Review]

On their new EP, entitled EP2, The Know provides relevant snapshots of love, loss, isolation, uncertainty, sadness, and connection; all conveyed on hazy guitars, warm melodies, and cinematic soundscapes.

Based in Los Angeles, The Know is a husband/wife shoegaze/dream-pop duo – Daniel Knowles and Jennifer Farmer. In addition to The Know, Knowles is an engineer and producer who co-produced Sharon Van Etten’s album. We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong.

The Know began in late 2018 when Daniel Knowles suggested to his wife that instead of travelling home for the holidays (to the UK and Texas, respectively, they stay put and try to create music together, just the two of them. This would be the married couple’s gift to themselves.

In 2020, The Know dropped their debut EP, wearetheknow, a collection of intimate songs delving into the couple’s personal lives, set against a kaleidoscopic sonic palette.

Made up of five tracks, highlights on EP2 include “Used To Be,” travelling on lusciously thick washes of shoegaze, highlighted by a thrumming bassline. Farmer’s bewitching, dreamy vocals imbue the lyrics with gentle, warm hues juxtaposed against atmospheric surfaces.

With hints of new wave aromas merged with shadowy dream-pop textures, “Me” thrums with low-slung pulses as Farmer’s ethereal voice permeates the lyrics with gossamer timbres, silky with misty coloration.

The Know

A personal favourite, “You” rides a temperate, syncopated rhythm topped by jangly, gleaming guitars, infusing the melody with smooth, creamy textures. Almost lost in the cloud-like flow of the harmonics, Farmer’s sighing tones add breathy, diaphanous resonance, dripping with cashmere patinas.

Lusciously blurry, replete with gliding harmonic veneers, and the evocative, delicate voice of Jennifer Framer, EP2 delivers luxurious dream-pop.

EP2 Track Listing:

1. NCJC
2. Used To Be
3. Me
4. You
5. Just Say It

Run Time: 21:31
Release Date: April 27, 2023
Record Label: 45Percenter