KNIGHT$ has been called “an animated Andrew Eldritch fronting FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD” although ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK thinks more Richard Butler fronting PET SHOP BOYS to sum up his look.
His energetic pulsing electronic style has been perfect for the live arena and the often immediate rapport he builds with new audiences that then quickly switches into a frenzy makes him a perfect opening act, as those who arrived early on Andy Bell’s German tour found out in a pounding pairing with had so much disco potential.
KNIGHT$ is the project of James Knights, previously of SCARLET SOHO. Since going solo, he has been making waves throughout Europe with his sparkling Gelato flavoured Britalo which debuted in long playing form with 2019’s ‘Dollars & Cents’. After a standalone single ‘Boom Bang Boom!’ and an EP ‘$auna Mu$ik’, as 2026 begins, the follow-up long player ‘Supernatural Lover’ is finally here and captures a period of turbulence and change.
But the opening salvo ‘Knightmares’ is business as usual and produced with regular studio partner Martin Dubka. However, those listening closely will clock a slightly different vocal approach thanks to the song being set in A minor. Following on, the ‘Supernatural Lover’ title song is a moment of pure euphoria where KNIGHT$ channels his inner Patrick Cowley; a danceable delight saucily “custom built with velocity”, it is a throbbing Hi-NRG ditty that will delight fans of DEAD OR ALIVE, BRONSKI BEAT and BOYTRONIC to tell the story of a paranormal love encounter where our hero exclaims “you gave me the fright of my life”!
‘Bite The Nite’ goes all classic New York freestyle in a delightful glance across the Atlantic but ‘Light The Fuse’ heads back to Europe with a no-nonsense rhythm section and filtered synths, crossing Italian band STYLOO with Germany’s ALPHAVILLE to fully propel that rousing Europop vibe.
Although the first half of the album has been co-produced by Martin Dubka, the second half features a bunch of outliers which shows our hero is prepared to take a few risks. First here’s a HI-NRG cover of YAZOO’s ‘Goodbye 70s’, produced and mixed by RETROTEQUE which works well before ‘I Die for This Love’, a song written and produced by Bjarne Johansson Sund of the Swedish synthpop trio CRED that provides an emotive tale of yearning shaped by a chunky bassline, icy strings and orchestra stabs.
Throwing the scent off further, ‘D.G.D’ is an unusual collage set piece shaped by arpeggiators from a Korg Prologue 8 to provide an unnerving DAF-esque pulse with the stark political message that “Deutschland’s getting darker”. This is something very unlike anything KNIGHT$ has done before, especially in its deep stoic vocal delivery. Self-referencing himself as “Mister Survivor”, a final surprise comes with ‘Can’t Cry Any Longer’ where James Knights explores his inner George Michael accompanied by Mike Gilham on piano to balance all the energy before it.
A record showing different voices sides of KNIGHT$, ‘Supernatural Lover’ is an intimate document of struggle and survival, obsession and loss set mostly to uptempo dance rhythms that is a worthy follow-up to ‘Dollars & Cents’.
“I saw ‘side two’ as a chance to experiment a bit and step outside my usual setup” said James Knights to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK, “Working with Martin Dubka on ‘side one’ gave the record its core identity, but I wanted the flip side to feel looser — a space to try new ideas and collaborate with different people.”
Short and sharp to keep proceedings tight and meaningful with each song maintaining its own purpose, KNIGHT$ could head in any number of directions for album number three but for now, he is maintaining his friendships while making some brand new ones.
‘Supernatural Lover’ is released by Specchio Uomo on 5th February 2026 as a vinyl LP and digital release, CD includes bonus songs ‘What Planet Did You Come From? (Baby)’, ‘Hi-NRG Crisis’, ‘Hit That Perfect Beat’ and ‘Boom Bang Boom!’ – pre-order from https://knights101.bandcamp.com/
KNIGHT$ 2026 European live dates include:
Paris Atomic Cat (12th February), Leverkusen Shadow (20th February), Leipzig Darkflower (21st February), London Aces & Eights (29th May), Munich Milla (31st May – with TRANS-X)
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Text by Chi Ming Lai
2nd February 2026
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