Unsurprisingly, excellent.
06/02/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"No Knife, in a word, rock. The band's previous two efforts, "Drunk on the Moon" and "Hit Man Dreams" were both excellent collections, putting this San Diego band head and shoulders above the rest of the emo-core pack, and are revered in that scene. "Fire in the City of Automatons" slows down the pace a bit; most of the songs lean closer to NK's slower previous cuts as "Bad Landing," "Ephedrine" and the title track from "Hit Man Dreams" (with the exceptions of "Academy Flight Song" and "Short Term Memory") but the mid-to-slow-tempo songs are a sight to behold. Songs such as "Minus One," "Secret Handshake" and the moody "Angel Bomb" are some of the most beautiful songs that easily defy the soundalike "emo" category and are in a class all their own. My advice to you, the self-respecting music fan: buy this album immediately and if you haven't already, pick up this band's earlier records as well. I promise you will not be disappointed."