Bent Knee is an American art rock band formed in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, in 2009. The band performs in multiple genres and draws from multiple influences, including pop,

industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Cromagnon, Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

, and

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

. The band is known for unpredictable dynamic contrast and the wide vocal range of singer Courtney Swain. Bent Knee has toured with

The Dillinger Escape Plan The Dillinger Escape Plan was an American metalcore band. The band was formed in 1997 in Morris Plains, New Jersey by guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Adam Doll, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, and drummer Chris Pennie. The band's use of odd time si ...

, Haken,

Leprous Leprous is a Norwegian rock band from Notodden, formed in 2001. The group was founded by singer and keyboardist Einar Solberg and guitarist Tor Oddmund Suhrke. After releasing several demos with relatively unstable lineups, the band released th ...

, Thank You Scientist, and

Mike Keneally Michael Joseph Keneally (born December 20, 1961) is an American session guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist and composer. Early years and musical influences Keneally started playing music at the age of 7 when he received an electric organ for h ...

. In 2016, they signed to

Cuneiform Records Cuneiform Records is a record label in Silver Spring, Maryland. Founded in 1984, the label releases an mixture of musical styles, all with a Rock in Opposition aesthetic, including progressive jazz, jazz fusion, the Canterbury scene, and elec ...

for the release of their third album, ''

Say So "Say So" is a song by American rapper and singer Doja Cat from her second studio album, ''Hot Pink'' (2019). The song was written by Doja Cat with her manager Lydia Asrat, and Dr. Luke, who handled production for the song under the pseudonym T ...

''. In 2017, they signed a deal with

Inside Out Music Inside Out Music is a German independent record label originally based in Kleve, North Rhine-Westphalia, and dedicated to the publication of progressive rock, progressive metal and related styles. In 2009, it formed a partnership with Century Med ...

and released their fourth album, ''Land Animal''.

History

Bent Knee was formed at the Berklee College of Music in 2009, when guitarist Ben Levin and vocalist Courtney Swain began writing music together. The band's name is a compound of the founders' names ("Ben" + "

our Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regulato ...

ney"). The band self-released their first LP, ''Bent Knee'' in 2011, then self-released their follow-up, ''Shiny Eyed Babies'' in 2014. In late 2015, they were signed to

, an American independent record label, on which they released ''

'' in 2016. In April 2017, the band was signed by

for the release of their fourth album, ''Land Animal'', which was released June 23, 2017. Their fifth album, ''You Know What They Mean'', was released in October 2019 also via

. In November 2021, Bent Knee released their sixth album ''Frosting'' through Take This To Heart Records. An early mix of the song "These Hands" from the album ''Land Animal'' was featured as free content for ''

Rock Band 4 ''Rock Band 4'' is a 2015 music video game developed and published by Harmonix. ''Rock Band 4'' allows players to simulate the playing of music across many different decades and genres using instrument controllers that mimic playing lead and bas ...

'' Rivals in March 2017. In May 2022, it was announced that Ben Levin and Jessica Kion would be leaving the band.

Members

*Courtney Swain – lead vocals, keyboards *Gavin Wallace-Ailsworth – drums *Chris Baum – violin, backing vocals *Vince Welch – synthesizers, rhythm guitar, sound design,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

Past Members

*Ben Levin – lead guitar, backing vocals (2009-2022) *Jessica Kion – bass guitar, backing vocals (2009-2022)

Discography

Studio albums * ''Bent Knee'' (2011) * ''Shiny Eyed Babies'' (2014) * ''

'' (2016) * ''Land Animal'' (2017) * ''You Know What They Mean'' (2019) * ''Frosting'' (2021)

References

Musical groups established in 2009 Musical groups from Boston Musical groups from Massachusetts Inside Out Music artists Cuneiform Records artists {{US-rock-band-stub Take This To Heart Records artists