The Knux - Remind Me in 3 Days

By DJ Solespin - Eclectricity - 10/28/2008

I learned about The Knux weeks before their debut CD Remind Me in 3 Days was to be released in October 2008.
 
When I interviewed them hours before they would take the stage at Club Coda during Pop Montreal, one of my first questions (to break the ice and to get an understanding of where the brothers were coming from musically) was what they thought was a criminally underrated album. Unanimously, they replied with The Fugees The Score. That answer floored me because I did not believe that the album that launched the careers of Wyclef Jean & Lauryn Hill and was a commercial and critical success would ever be considered underrated. This would be the beginning of a series of bafflements for me during my listening of Remind.
 
The record is by no means your typical hip-hop album. It defies classification, which works both for and against them. Almost none of the average expectations of a hip hop album are met.  Knux present a unique style and sound that hip hop has not experienced since Outkast at their most experimental.
 
The inside photos of Remind help prepare the listener for what they are headed for. The mentality behind Knux's debut must have been "party like a rock star" because the photos of the duo lounging with two lovely ladies in what looks to be a VIP section applies completely to the music on the CD.
 
There is a very Hollywood sound to the album that makes one think they created it to be part of a playlist on "The Hills.” There has not been so much glam pop/rock guitar on a hip-hop album to date. Over half the album has a rock guitar undertone. In this sense, the Knux aim to distinguish themselves from their contemporaries and succeed.
 
Another issue that needs to be addressed are the vocals. The lyrics are so indistinguishable that one is disappointed to learn the lyrics do not accompany the glossy photos. In one case, a second listening of a track gave a better sense of what Krispy & Al were saying. The choruses are so sing-songy that one feels the Knux were aiming for pre-teen audiences or, again, the limelight seeking Hollywood club heads. 
 
The pre-album internet publicity almost gave the impression that The Knux were serious hip-hop contenders. It is up to the listener to determine whether Knux will be around in the future or just flashes in the pan. Between the Hollywood soundtrack, VIP lounge photos and inaudible lyrics, the listener will have to decide if they need to be reminded in three days to listen to it again.

Tune into Eclectricty with DJ Solespin every Saturday from 6PM - 8PM