Short Reviews [Antistatic - 2024 - "Relics"]

Here we have the debut album by Danish experimental rock quartet Antistatic, which features Soren Hoi (drums), Laust Moltesen Andreasen (guitar), Mads Ulrich (guitar) and Janus Bagh (bass). Although it sounds as if this instrumental band have a fairly regular approach, that is just down to the instruments they play and not how they use them, which is in a far more percussive manner than one would ever expect. They are avowed huge fans of Steve Reich and his approach to minimal music, yet there is also a great deal going on here which will be recognisable to fans of complex polyrhythms and djent: if the music was heavier with longer notes as opposed to their more pizzicato approach, then one would undoubtedly see far more references to Meshuggah. This is highly experimental music which also reminds me somewhat of Disen Gage as their approach is far removed from the norm as they create a world where listeners have to work hard to get inside the complex threads. Andreassen says, “We talk about ourselves as a rock quartet turned inside out, where the stringed instruments are suddenly percussive, and the drums are singing with feedback and stuff like that.” This is stark music, with a lot of space between the instruments, and the approach is quite brutal in that it is certainly difficult to listen to (and must be a devil to play) but there is also a method deep inside the madness and it is this which the ear hangs onto while the brain attempts to catch up. The first time I played this I wasn’t too sure, but the more I spent time with it the more I realised there was to discover, and the problem was not with the music itself, but more of my approach to it. This is the opposite of easy listening as it is jagged and sharp, with the rhythms being all important, often more than the melody, and consequently it can be hard to work out what is going on but once the mind has been allowed to explore them one comes to the realisation this is a significant piece of work.