Since their emergence proper towards the end of last year there have been few plaudits that Antlered Man have not been offered. For an arty yet punky noise rock group / thing, this London based quartet have picked up more attention than one would be quite within their rights to expect. Partly this is because of their genre-busting sound. Despite taking clear influence from the likes of American legends Queens of the Stone Age, Melvins and Mr. Bungle, Antlered Man also sound completely a product of the grubby underbelly of London and are all the better for it.
It is rather pointless to try and explain what this band sound like. They’re a bit metal, a bit prog and very noisy. They have a singer, Damo Holmes, who likes using a megaphone to make his point, and who also dabbles in a bit of slide guitar when he feels like it. They have a guitarist, Danny Fury, who seems happy to dot between the epic and the “I’ve got a guitar but I want to try and throttle it to the point that it sounds like it’s about to die in a haze of smoke”. Then there is bassist Slam Ray, who plays like he’s about five times more important than the guitarist, and drummer Oliver Parker, who plays like one determined to put the ‘rock’ into ‘rock solid’. Oh, and Sarah Townsend pops up with some welcome flute parts every now and again - because flutes are DEFINITELY rock and roll.
It is not as individuals that Antlered Man stand out, but as a whole. A collective whose music manages to be desperately intriguing and naggingly immediate, this band really are going places (mostly places just off the motorway probably). If the Brits and the Grammys were given out to bands for giving a shit and for making an effort to think outside the box, Antlered Man would have shiny trophies for their living rooms by now. Instead, they just have this monolithic debut album. There really isn’t very much to criticise. Sure, maybe a couple of songs could be a bit shorter, and yes six of the songs have been previously released by the band, but other than that this is pretty much the rock debut you have been waiting for if you are one of those cretins that thinks guitar music is dead.
Antlered Man are alive and they’re coming for your ears.
“Giftes Parts 1 & 2” is out on Monday via Goo Grrrl Records. See www.antleredman.co.uk for more details and tour dates.
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
.jpg)
.jpg)
