Deck?: Knuckle Puck takes a deep dive into a broken relationship and the pains of losing the one you loved the most in their darkest and heaviest album to date.
Chicago-based pop-punk act Knuckle Puck (KP) released their fourth studio album “Losing What We Love” (LWWL) on Oct. 20, 2023. The 11-track album covers the decay of a relationship and how it affects the album’s central character. This album is also their first since signing with Pure Noise Records, so they needed to show what they are capable of doing with a new record label.
The premiere track of the album, “A New Beginning”, is about being stuck in an endless cycle of bad luck and misfortune, wishing that the cycle would end and be able to start anew. It is a strong opener to the album, giving the listener a good taste of what is to come without showing all of their cards.
The song helps set up the narrative of the album, telling the story of a man “with a heavy heart that I’ve dragged around too long”. Joe Taylor, the main vocalist for the band, gives a very honest and emotive performance in this song, and while it is the shortest song on the album, it is still very enjoyable. Rating: 7/10
Following that, “The Tower” is about working with your partner to save your relationship but they are not willing to meet you where you are at. This song also features guitarist and vocalist Nick Casasanto who has a more prominent vocal performance compared to most of KP’s other songs, and his contribution is what makes this song my favorite off of the album.
“I think what’s so incredibly emotional about this chorus is the fact that the first section has Nick and Joe bouncing back and forth between lines, and then they come together in this almost war chant level second half,” @campaigner8549 commented on the music video. The heavy instrumental combined with the very jaded lyrics make this a thrilling song, but adding Casasanto’s distorted vocals — especially in the chorus — adds incredible emotion to this track and has made it a hit amongst KP fans. Rating: 10/10
The third track, “October”, is about wondering if the one you love will support you during a hard time or if they will be completely apathetic. Overall, I do not have too much to say about this song because it is one of the shortest songs of the album and the lyrics are very repetitive. While the song itself is enjoyable, it feels more like a bridge between the tracks before and after than its own song. The highlight is Kevin Maida’s guitar solo, which feels like it tells the emotional story of the album instead of being a guitar solo that is super flashy or technical. Rating: 6/10
Up next is “You & I”, a song about being stuck in a relationship with somebody who acts like they care but it is ultimately all just an act. This song is likely to be a hit outside of the typical KP audience, as it feels very 2020’s pop punk-y; something that pop radio stations would play all summer. The melody is catchy, the lyrics are simple (for KP standards) and is in general a song that emphasizes the “pop” in pop-punk. It is a lively song, however, it was the first song off of the album that I got sick of listening to due to its simple repetitiveness. Rating: 8/10
Next, the title track “Losing What We Love” is about trying to figure out who one is outside of a significant relationship. This song feels like the turning point of the album, with the songs before it being about the problems with the central character’s relationship, until it switches to this character trying to end said relationship. The repetition of the line “we’re losing what we love” in the song’s outro shows the realization that this relationship is past the point of no return and not worth fixing; hitting hard despite being during a very sonically chill part of the song. I really enjoyed bassist Ryan Rumchaks’ performance on this song, he played a very dynamic bassline with a lot of punch and torment. Rating: 9/10
Kicking off the second half of the album is “Groundhog Day”, which is about the central character’s depression, realizing the state of his relationship and his conscience telling him to “climb out and face the music”. This was the first single released off of the album, and I think it was the best song to be the audience’s first taste. The lyrical content perfectly encapsulated the album’s story, Taylor and Casasanto both rock their vocal performances and the instrumental section is powerful and enjoyable while giving a ton of emotional impact, primarily Maida’s guitar solo.
“This song is so perfectly rounded, every single instrument and vocal stands on its own, worthy of recognition.” @LaurelsCast commented on the YouTube video for the song. Rating: 10/10
Succeeding that, “Act Accordingly” is about both members of the relationship only thinking for themselves, causing it to decay. The central character’s frustration with the state of the relationship is portrayed very clearly throughout the song, and the scream to “act accordingly” at the end of the second chorus helps emphasize that emotion. While he tends to have an amazing performance in every song, drummer John Siorek stands out on this song with very hard-hitting percussion that keeps the momentum of the song going. If I had to set a bar at where KP’s songs should hit, this song is either the bar itself or very close to it. Rating: 8/10
The eighth track, “Out of Touch”, is about not being able to fix a relationship without communication, which leaves no hope for the relationship. This song has one of my favorite vocal performances by Taylor, as he sounded like he enjoyed singing this song, but as it is also very sincere and fits with the story. Like with some other songs on this album, the lyrics tended to get very repetitive as the song went on, as there were the same two lines and vocal hooks for almost half the song. While I did enjoy this song, it could have been better if it gave more depth to the musical plot of the song, and they had made the choruses and bridge more than just repeating the same thing over. Rating: 6/10
Trailing that, “Worlds Apart” is about realizing that leaving a bad relationship can eventually lead to a better sense of clarity of how bad it was. However, as the song progresses, the listener starts to get a sense of the central character wanting to try to fix this relationship due to how empty it makes him feel. My favorite part of the song is Casasanto and Maida’s guitar parts, having a great tone throughout the song but also filling the song with life. While the lyrics tend to be repetitive, I can excuse it due to how the repetitiveness is used to tell the story. Rating: 8/10
The penultimate track, “Better Late”, is about realizing why the central character was in this relationship in the first place and feeling bad about destroying it. Out of all the songs on the album, this song had my favorite theme: Don’t be afraid to express your emotions because you will never know when it is too late, but late is better than never. The final chorus being a chant echoed by Taylor makes the ending beautiful and gratifying, and I prefer it over a more scream-centric performance like KP and most of this album likes to take. Rating: 9/10
Finally, the closer “Fool” is about wanting to rekindle the relationship and build back what once was, but ultimately questioning if it is worth trying. This song starts calm and chill, which is to be expected from a closer, but eventually ramps up to a point of anguish once the final chorus kicks in. I think this song does a really good job at ending not just the album, but the story of losing what the central character loved.
“Perfect closer to this record, KP always hits where it hurts.” @Ottermelon commented on the YouTube video for the song. Rating: 9/10
A consensus that KP fans have verbalized on social media is that this is the best album they have produced since their debut album “Copacetic”, which I agree with. While I prefer Copacetic to LWWL, the album is still amazing and noteworthy in its own right. The music itself helps convey the emotions of the overarching narrative, each member of the band has their own stand-out moments and the lyrical content is at a similar level of introspection and wittiness to their best works.
“If Knuckle Puck releases a song, you know it’s time for a language and literature class cause they always use precise, strange and elegant words in their lyrics.” @JuanCruzFabi commented on the Groundhog Day video. The darker and heavier tones of the album are definitely what makes it for me, as they lean into that pain and anguish mentioned in the songs instead of trying to sound too poppy or clean.
My only drawbacks with the album are that some songs did not have their own identity outside of the tracklisting and had very repetitive lyrics, not giving enough time for the story to develop. Even so, I was able to have a good time listening to this album and enjoy the story that KP was able to tell. This is KP at their most honest and vulnerable, and I think that is what makes this album beautiful. Album Rating: 9/10
