Daniel Knowles and Jennifer Farmer formed what would become “The Know” back in 2018 as a mutual gift to their marriage. The band was to be -and it is- a signifier of mutual love as well as their shared taste in music, combining and paying respects to Beach House, Julee Cruise, Ye Ye, The Jesus and Mary Chain, 60’s girl groups, dream pop, and the storytelling prowess of Patsy Cline and The National.
“And I did not wait for you
cos you did not wait for me
We looked in all the places it used to be”
Who better than a married couple to log and chronicle the complexities of a relationship? Some days may be pure bliss, others a taxing battle of patience and will. And what of the pandemic? Months on end stuck at home. A looming threat to livelihood and health and almost a complete re-organization of daily life made it a huge challenge to meet for all of us, especially those who were suddenly locked in with their spouse or partner in ways they’d never been before. Knowles himself states: “people all around us were having their relationships tested in lockdown with significant others, some relationships came out stronger, some didn’t survive. And on a more universal scale lots of people worldwide were dealing with a loss of normality, loss of connection with other people, suddenly not being able to do simple things like buy groceries, things we’d all taken for granted.”
All the highs, lows, and plateaus of day-to-day life as a couple must be reckoned with, and a bit of clarity and inspiration can go a long way to help, this is where the music video for “Used to Be” comes into play. The video was created and directed by Jennifer Farmer herself with the help of Joe Rubinstein and Colin Coleman, and it follows a couple’s journey in a non-linear sequence capturing all of these contrasting moments.
Though the experiences relayed aren’t all exactly pleasant, the song itself is nothing if not warm and colorful, using divinely distorted and hazy guitar riffs coupled with a rhythmic profile seemingly styled after 80s pop-rock romantic ballads – all of these elements tied together by Farmer’s entrancing ethereal vocals.
The Know’s upcoming highly anticipated second EP (EP2) is lyrically full of relatable snapshots of love, loss, isolation, uncertainty, sadness and connection. Completed during the pandemic and in a time of intense isolation, the EP was produced by Farmer and Knowles and mostly recorded in their home studio in a short span of time.
Story: Samuel Aponte Photos: Courtesy of the artist
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