Begin Yr Singing

Yr Knives is a Chicago instrumental quartet built around two distinct guitar voices. Composer Paul Karner first asked Andrew Trim and Brian Sulpizio to play separate parts on his recording; once they rehearsed together, the band clicked. Trim leads Hanami and Retroreflector, while Sulpizio is the constant behind Health and Beauty.

They’re joined by Chicago mainstays Douglas McCombs of Tortoise and Eleventh Dream Day, plus drummer Quin Kirchner. Two come from rock and roll, two from jazz, and the spark is in how carefully they listen across both traditions.

On debut album Begin Yr Singing, two overdriven guitars fuse over a rhythm section that can either lock in or let go. Recorded live in one room at Palisade with Nick Broste, then mixed by Cooper Crain and Sulpizio, it draws on Sonny Sharrock, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Albert Ayler, Erik Satie, and Television. The band has toured with The Messthetics.