ShredNews.com CD Review: by Jonny Drybanski Rating: 10/10 Will Knox leads listeners on a musical journey through narrative, personal lyrics simultaneously laced with poetic symbolism and absolutely dripping in unique style. The painting that serves as the cover art calls to mind abstract images of a sort of circus of mystery and corruption. This actually ends up being a perfect accompaniment to the overall mood that the music creates. I greatly enjoyed inspecting every pixel while listening through the record. Featuring a band comprised of acoustic guitar, banjo, violin, upright bass and drums, the instrumentation on this album is one of my favorite things about it. The music has an organic and earthy atmosphere to it right away because of the timbre of these instruments, in addition to how well the album flows as a complete musical thought. The album begins with the first of three short excerpts of one musical theme. The Matador and the Acrobat I ends abruptly but with purpose, setting the mood for the rest of the CD. The second part serves as an interlude halfway through the album, while part III is the final track. These 30 second pieces enhance the overall flow of the album, bringing the music back to its original theme at key moments. After a few seconds of modest banjo plucking, Buckled Knees explodes into a narrative of an artist struggling to make his name. Painted Smile sounds delightfully haunting, and allows listeners to catch a rare glimpse of a more edgy, rock sound to Knox’s voice, which normally is smooth and melodic. These moments are few on this album, but the use of restraint in this vocal style as well as the remarkable dynamic intuition of the band, are really indispensable in terms of the emotion they add. Painted Smile segues seamlessly into Three Blind Mice, an effective conclusion to the theme constructed in previous track. The light and airy Belly of Beast tells the story of a love hate relationship with the notoriously chaotic and rough style of live in the big city, especially for artists searching for their path to inspiration. Knox touches on tales of love, loss and heart-ache on Heart Strings and Never Letting Go. In between these love songs, Cog In The Machine and Immigrant Hands take a darker sounding approach. Will Knox’s The Matador And The Acrobat the most musically coherent collection of songs I have heard all year. The emotion and atmosphere conveyed by the vocals, all of the instruments, and the way they all interplay with a keen ear for dynamics make this album a most interesting and enjoyable experience from start to finish. • Joel Crane (NME, Q, Mojo, Rebel Spirit Music]: "To label Will Knox as just another UK import simply wouldn’t justify the man’s ability with written word. His songs are clean and delightfully orchestrated but his strengths lay in lyrics of originality that sooth, inspire and encourage. Knox writes with a wisdom and experience that belies his years." • ShredNews.com: "One of the most enjoyably unexpected pre-show acts I’ve ever seen." • Nashua Telegraph [Nashua NH]: "His music has been compared to the likes of Nick Drake and Damien Rice. I think, though, given time, Knox will soon be cited as an influence of up-and-coming young folk musicians." • WERS 88.9FM [Boston MA]: "Will Knox proved to be a true imported gem with his curious lyrical arrangement and soft-spoken guitar bits.. The man has an impeccable voice, one that even prominent folk rock artists strive for." • OurStage.com: "Will Knox served as the show’s standout, combining vivid imagery and complex chord changes with passionate, heartfelt delivery. I still can’t get his song “Never Letting Go” out of my head." • The Cherwell, [Oxford UK]: "No pretension, just lush strings and effortless atmosphere: lovely, lovely stuff."