In July last year, the quartet comprising McCartney, Oli Wilson (keyboards), Tim Couch (drums) and Paul Gauvin (guitar) signed with Australian label Liberation, an offshoot of Mushroom Music, which is headed by Australian entrepreneur Michael Gudinski, the man who signed Split Enz when the band headed across the Tasman in the late 1970s.
In short, Knives At Noon has fans in high places.
"We were on the New Zealand stage but we got bumped up . . . we'll take it," McCartney says. "It'll be great playing there, but I'm really excited about seeing Tool and Nick Cave. We'll play, get off and then enjoy our free ticket to the Big Day Out."
Next week's gig comes on the back of a successful 2010, one McCartney describes as "quite intense, really".
From the Homegrown Festival in Wellington in February, "it all went from there . . . word of mouth got through and we got some good support slots and, now, the Big Day Out, to top it off. I didn't think so much could happen in one year, musically."
By support slots, McCartney is referring to Knives At Noon securing coveted gigs with rising British act Vampire Weekend and, more significantly, American alt-rock giant Smashing Pumpkins in October.
"That was overwhelming. I've listened to Smashing Pumpkins all my life, really, and suddenly we play a show, get off and Smashing Pumpkins are on the same stage; it was great.
"That would probably be my highlight [of 2010], apart from being signed," he says, overlooking the fact Violins and Violence, a single from the band's 2010 EP, Glitter Guts, found its way on to a Telecom television advertisement and was included on a couple of episodes of Australian soap Home and Away episodes.
Asked how, exactly, Knives At Noon signed to Liberation, McCartney suggests there are a few versions of events.
Pressed to supply the real one, he says copies of songs eventually released on Glitter Guts found their way to Mushroom Music's New Zealand representative, Paul McLaney (a notable songwriter in his own right); his interest piqued, McLaney saw the band at Homegrown before inviting it to perform a July gig in Auckland, attended by a contingent from Liberation.
Following a series of meetings, Knives At Noon signed a deal for two albums, the first of which is being recorded now.
"In terms of the way things picked up since we signed, they were good at advertising us and promoting us, so we could just concentrate on music rather than putting posters around and all that kind of stuff," McCartney explains.
"We're working on the debut album now . . . it's a case of putting it out and seeing where to go from there. There are small advances but nothing we can't repay."
McCartney says Knives At Noon has completed about quarter of the album; six songs have been captured but there are plenty of layers to be added as well as another half-dozen tracks.
Much of the engineering work is being done by Dunedin whizz Dale Cotton in a home studio, though the drums are being recorded elsewhere so as not to annoy neighbours.
"We might go up north to finish the album, to change the chemistry and all that."
The Glitter Guts EP, with just four tracks, offered a snapshot of the band's dynamic contrasts; it mixed clean funk guitar with brutal blasts of synthesisers, taut lyrical refrains and distortion seemingly designed to shake stadiums, as well as some otherworldly sounds.
McCartney says the new material has more depth to it, though is quick to add the group's staccato urgency remains.
"It's not going to be a disc full of disco-boomers or anything like that. We're bringing a little bit of acoustic and clean pianos, which is really nice.
"We only used Dale for mixing and mastering [the EP], but this time he's with us the whole time, getting the best sounds. He is always trying to do something different and so are we, so it works out well."
Playing electronic-flavoured pop-rock in Dunedin, a city known more for its pedigree of alternative guitar bands, has prompted the occasional derogatory comment, McCartney concedes.
Yet it should be pointed out there is irony in the fact keyboardist Wilson also plays in The Chills, a group that has had no small influence on Dunedin's musical reputation and, arguably, was at its best (i.e. the albums Submarine Bells and Soft Bomb) when utilising strong synthesizer textures in its songs.
"There have been comments about synthesisers," McCartney sighs.
Tired of others labelling its music indie-rock, Knives At Noon invented its own genre: doom pop.
Though the description points to a rhythmic urgency in the music, the singer concedes it might come back to haunt the band.
"Doom pop doesn't even exist. It probably wasn't the most appropriate word . . . there isn't that much doom on the EP, is there?"
The year may be young, but Knives At Noon has been busy enough; it played a New Year's eve concert in New Plymouth and will play a couple of North Island gigs early next week to prepare for the Big Day Out. After that, the band will resume recording that important first album.
The demands of music mean McCartney is taking a break from his university studies ("I've still got a bit to do, but I'm going to put it off. I can't concentrate on two things at once very well ..."). The rest of the group, all of whom are in their early to mid-20s, are equally committed, shunning other major responsibilities.
"We've made sure we've kept it that way," McCartney says. "The album will be out halfway through the year and then anything can happen. We'd be prepared to move, overseas or to Auckland, though I'd prefer to stay here."
Ah, so has there been pressure to pack the bags and head to the big smoke?"No actual pressure, but I get the vibe that it would be easier if we were up there."
• Knives At Noon performs at 11-11.30am on the Green Stage at the Big Day Out, Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland, on Friday, January 21.
