This chronicle for Lights out was released in the October Issue of French magazine “Rock&Folk”. “Rock&Folk” is the most respected music magazine in France, some kind of a French “Rolling Stones magazine” (RS exists too in France but it is less famous than R&F). Excuse me for the bad English, it is sometimes hard to translate images and metaphors given in French:
What we remember of Anathema is the lesson of dark and psychedelic rock given on ”Alternative 4”: a perfect album, shared between metal guitars, pop melodies and visions of mental torture à la Roger Waters. This album was mainly due to Duncan Patterson. “Lights out”, second album of his “Antimatter” project, is following the visions of the past. Things get stretched: the essential is targeted, the equilibrium between fragile melodies and tense ambiances is reached.
The cohabitation with Mick Moss reveals the influences: “Everything you know is wrong”, with its syncope bass and atmospheric keyboards, is a true love declaration to the Floyd. But skinny textures are leaving the 70 for the linearity of trip-hop (“Expire"): electronic or real slow rhythms offer a dedicated space for a few acoustic guitar chords. The role of the piano is to give the notes that are the basis. Patterson is playing it with economy, constantly: going straight to the point, highlighting the contrasts (the guitar introduction in “The Art of a soft landing” is terrific). The combination of male and female vocals is never jailed to passions, like Massive Attack, these voices caress, finishing to build the cocoon.
Sweet, foggy, the music of Antimatter stays…vicious. You feel the pressure growing. There is something insane here, something is not going round. Duncan Patterson, as a conscientious orchestra maestro, has stopped using artifices. In the heart of the cocoon you will find a venenous snake. Behind the binary rythms and minor chords, this snake is waiting for souls, and will catch them all.
Note: 3/5 (Which is good, considering that the magazine rarely give 4, and that only The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Iggy Pop and a few others can reach a 5)
This chronicle could have been less focused on Duncan, but it’s nice to notice that no reference to Portishead or Radiohead is made here… ;-P
What we remember of Anathema is the lesson of dark and psychedelic rock given on ”Alternative 4”: a perfect album, shared between metal guitars, pop melodies and visions of mental torture à la Roger Waters. This album was mainly due to Duncan Patterson. “Lights out”, second album of his “Antimatter” project, is following the visions of the past. Things get stretched: the essential is targeted, the equilibrium between fragile melodies and tense ambiances is reached.
The cohabitation with Mick Moss reveals the influences: “Everything you know is wrong”, with its syncope bass and atmospheric keyboards, is a true love declaration to the Floyd. But skinny textures are leaving the 70 for the linearity of trip-hop (“Expire"): electronic or real slow rhythms offer a dedicated space for a few acoustic guitar chords. The role of the piano is to give the notes that are the basis. Patterson is playing it with economy, constantly: going straight to the point, highlighting the contrasts (the guitar introduction in “The Art of a soft landing” is terrific). The combination of male and female vocals is never jailed to passions, like Massive Attack, these voices caress, finishing to build the cocoon.
Sweet, foggy, the music of Antimatter stays…vicious. You feel the pressure growing. There is something insane here, something is not going round. Duncan Patterson, as a conscientious orchestra maestro, has stopped using artifices. In the heart of the cocoon you will find a venenous snake. Behind the binary rythms and minor chords, this snake is waiting for souls, and will catch them all.
Note: 3/5 (Which is good, considering that the magazine rarely give 4, and that only The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Iggy Pop and a few others can reach a 5)
This chronicle could have been less focused on Duncan, but it’s nice to notice that no reference to Portishead or Radiohead is made here… ;-P
