Music
should be a constant journey between all you’ve ever heard and all
you’ll get to know one day. One’s
taste evolves by the grace of
what you hear. This statement sure can be said of Duncan Patterson,
songwriter and bass player of Anathema until the summer of 1998, leaving the
group after the intense, high recommended ‘Alternative 4’ album. Duncan
returned to the scene in 2001 with his own sound and vision of what music
should be, called ‘Saviour’. It
needs some time to get used to, ‘cause this has nothing to do with metal,
nor with Anathema, nor with whatever else : it’s Antimatter !!!
But soon enough this music gets a grip on you and you’ll become
addicted to it. This swearing
sounds won’t let you go. I’d like to say : after the intense sadness of
‘Alternative 4’ an inner peace and freedom had led to a free flow of
inspiration. This album has
been made without stress and I understand why Duncan wanted to call the
group ‘Angelic’ in the beginning. This
is heavenly music, not of this world, but made for its inhabitants. Together
with an old friend Mick Moss
Duncan worked out his ideas, helped by two female singers, Brian Moss and
Les Smith for the samplers and Mags for some peaceful guitarwork in the
spacy composition ‘Going nowhere’.
On the re-releases we can enjoy some extra tracks (Over your shoulder
and Flowers) with a beautiful contribution of Danny Cavanagh (Anathema). Titletrack
‘Saviour’ opens with a solid riff and a growing tension.
The chorus is very catchy and keeps spinning in your head.
This should be a great single !
‘Holocaust’ holds a solemn atmosphere of keyboards, loops and
bright chants by Michelle (once Dominion, now part of Sear) discreetly built
on a Portishead background with resounding vocals and dry percussion.
But above all it’s the gloomy feeling that gets a grip on you, we
are cautiously led through a field of trip hop psychedelica.
Rock and ambient amalgamate in a perfect way on this album. In
‘Over your shoulder’ we hear Micks warm voice for the first time while
the guitar work lights up little flames of remembrance.
This is one of the songs that stands the closest to the whole idea of
‘Alternative 4’. These are
superb compositions brought to the essence of themselves and performed in a
devoted way. The performance is
sober and yet very spacey, like an echo of what we always wanted to hear.
When I’m forced to make a comparison I should mention Massive
Attack and Portishead, but with a Pink Floydish rocksauce. ‘God
is coming’ is the most instigated, adjured track of the album. After a
moody whispering voice, strings bring up a bombastic sound and soon it
becomes an eruption of drums as if water splashes around your wondering
ears. The percussion in all of
its forms is centralized in this song, guided by a heavy symphonic
background. Yes folks, this is pure expression where further explanation
kills the magic. I can only say
: listen and give it a go and enchantment will come your way.
It’s almost a movie soundtrack and sometimes it reminded me of the
atmospheric parts of the last Mercury Rev album. ‘Angelic’
probably contains the whole intention of this creation.
Acoustic guitar and slightly husky voices give us a lot of sensitive
moments. The orchestral
programming adds some grandeur to the song.
This is a purifying track, it makes you accept your fate in this
world as long as there’s music like this.
Hearing ‘Flowers’ I wondered on which song it made me think.
There was a link to the past but I couldn’t find it. Now I think
it’s ‘Hang on to a dream’ from Tim Hardin.
It gives me the same feeling without being a copy.
Desolate, mystical, caught in the loneliness of an empty city by
daybreak. This music makes me
dream and muse of the things in life that really matters, like friendship,
love and a loss you can hardly bear. It
lightens up your spirit and opens new perspectives. ‘The
last laugh’ is a plain wink to Duncan’s past.
It’s a Pink Floydish ballad, sung by Mick in good Roy Harper
tradition with a strong chorus and echoing guitars : charming melancholy
that spins around in your head for hours later.
Introspective floating towards another height. And
the clock ticks further … and further … and further … to dive in some
dark nihilistic sounds of ‘Going nowhere’.
Soft glowing guitar, sec drums, somebody somewhere your life’s
goin’ nowhere … we are caught in the middle of a new Twin peaks episode,
as it seems. Heavenly music
with a structure as fragile as a cobweb.
The haze of our memories passes us by, untouchable as our dreams on
the rhythm of a heartbeat (bass and drums), decorated by laid back
guitarlicks of Mags. It’s
obvious that performing all these beautiful sounds on stage isn’t that
simple. But music has to live
and I am happy to announce some acoustic gigs of Antimatter on the
continent. (4th
of October – The frontline club – Ghent – Belgium) I’m looking
forward to see all of them on stage !!! Be there ! Reviewed by : Vera "Gothica" |
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