Casper Skulls - Knows No Kindness

KNK is about Melanie St-Pierre’s life growing up in small-town Northern Ontario. Each song tells a different story about a certain event or experience that has affected or changed the course of her life. Some experiences date back to her childhood when she had to testify in court because she’d witnessed the murder of her best friend’s father who was shot by their neighbour in their backyard (“Witness”). These sorts of stories are contrasted with her own personal and emotional struggles of coming to terms with her own identity and womanhood (“Thesis”), fear of death and what it is to die (“Knows No Kindness”), wanting to speak to late relatives who took a similar life path, but have passed away (“Ouija”), and figuring out how to love eternally in an ephemeral world (“Rose of Jericho”).  

Dynamics and clarity are sonic priorities on this new album. We wanted to create breath and movement in the music to match the sentiments of the storytelling. For example, the song “Witness” has this feeling of being pulled around into chaos. Neil’s guitar playing is more lyrical than on previous Casper Skulls recordings, this time drawing inspiration from artists like Neil Young and George Harrison. The songwriting has become more mature and developed, especially working with bassist Fraser McClean and drummer Aurora Bangarth, both of whom have wide and varied music backgrounds. We really enjoyed the strength that came from writing in such a collaborative and democratic environment.