Frau Knotz - Runway of Reality

Let's talk about Frau Knotz' latest single 'Runway of Reality', a single that's fun for the most part aside from a misstep here or there. Lauren Nottingham, the founder of Frau Knotz, has stated that she's aiming to craft danceable darkwave with her music and she's nailed that down hard. From the get go, there’s a soft techno dribble that eventually transcends into a smooth electropop jingle that’s fun and fluent. It’s a toe-tapper for me, as I sit here and type these words; if I’m not moving, I’m not enjoying myself. The single frolics through these two stages of darker techno territories and happy moving electropop beats without ever sounding like a different song. It’s for that that I applaud her. 

However, there are times when Nottingham makes the mix a bit fucky and it stands out hard. For example, around the one-minute and forty-eight second mark Nottingham does a bit of a vocal solo. I don’t much have a problem with this, but her voice dominates the mix so much that it can sound a bit overblown in comparison to the rest of the song. I wouldn’t say I exactly wince at this, but I do question why I feel as if I should be adjusting my volume. I also found her delivery to be a bit at odds with herself. An example of this would be during the beginning minute of the song. Nottingham begs the question, “If the future’s a game would you be playing with me?” The final word in that question is extended, and while the rest of the line is delivered quite well, she fall flat and nasally with an extended “meeeeeeeeeee”. This may sound like nitpicking, but when Nottingham goes from sounding like a siren to sludge, it really, really stands out. 

The rest of Nottingham’s lyrical delivery is quite sharp. Whether she’s speeding up in a chopped tone to sound almost robotic, committing to spoken word styles, or flat out letting her angelic chords fly in the air, Nottingham sounds rather lovely for most of the song. 

Frau Knotz’ single ‘Runway of Reality’ is a perfect primer for an up and coming artist within the scene. It begs the question as to what else she can bring to the table. And I’m hungry. Seven out of ten.