THE TREE THAT BEARS THE EQUINE FRUIT

This is a really interesting new spotlight on the prog scene. The four ANTA members are experienced musicians coming from different origins. Bassist Joe Garcia and drummer James King for example used to be regular members of Rose Kemp's tour band, Ganiel Seruu (guitar) in fact collaborates with noise rock group Geisha. They played together more loosely in recent years - but now, after a string of gigs in the Bristol area, ANTA finally have offered their debut. It shows a rather unique style, provided with a 1970s touch, sometimes reminiscent to Astra or Hypnos 69, however certainly decorated with some heavier elements all in all.

Leaving the spacey intro Alex Bertram-Powell's symphonic styled organ immediately strikes on the opener Abyssal Ibis - a stomping stoner rhythm with a powerful bass playing provides the fundament. Later they change into a floating section, nice psychedelic guitar input - as for the compositional aspect an outstanding track for sure. When you're hooked on repetitive organ riffs the following Needling Seamaw is something special. The song shows some jam character, great spirit, my favourite track by the way, getting close to Anekdoten playing live in some way.

The next two tracks are reserved for some melancholic cosmic stuff - the short Firn comprises a piano sequence backed by decent post rock guitar walls. Based on slight synthesizer drones the meandering Abtenauer Oak is the most experimental exemplar, could also fit to every exceptional krautrock production with ease. Now Apical Dominance rounds this album up, linking to the trickiness of the opener again - which means an entertaining heavy psych atmosphere basically, overshadowed by fine organ and synth contributions.

Well done! It only remains for me to claim that they'll continue, hopefully this album is not a flash in the pan so to say. Recommended in general to lovers of heavy psych with proper organ substance and especially to fans of those aforementioned bands.

Anta are a psych/space band from the UK. This is their first album. The instruments include guitar, bass, drums, organ and synth. The organ and bass are what stand out the most. The music is generally slow-paced and heavy. This sounds like a combination of '70s metal and space rock with modern 'stoner rock'. The music is entirely instrumental. The sound is very loud and gives me a headache if I listen to it on headphones at a reasonable volume.

"Abyssal Ibis" opens with the sound of a gong being hit. Later on the band joins in. The organ and bass stand out. Most of the song revolves around what the organ is playing. Over halfway changes to a repeated melodic organ figure. This part is nice and stays until the end of the song. "Needling Seamaw" starts out focused on an organ playing in 7/8(I think). Then more attention to the guitar and bass. Later the organ reminds me of the hypnotic electric piano in Soft Machine's "The Soft Weed Factor". Some spacey feedback noise just before the middle. Organ changes a lot but bass and drums mostly stay the same. Goes back and forth with loud/soft dynamics.

"Firn" is, in contrast to the first two songs, more mellow and atmospheric. This song is more about texture than riffs. Basically various feedback type sounds. No drums. Some piano later on. "Abtenauer Oak" is more atmospheric, spacey sounds. Some organ and gong here. "Apical Dominance" gets back to the slow paced heavy rock. Again the organ stands out. I think a part of this is reprised from one of the first two songs. Nice synth playing in this song.

All the songs segue together, creating a long piece of music. Not sure if you call this 'retro- prog' or not, but it is good music. But not great. I'm sure fans of modern space bands will like this. The bass most of the time has the same distorted sound which gets annoying after awhile. The guitar doesn't really stand out much. Overall, a decent effort. 3 stars.

Anta's The Tree That Bears the Equine Fruit was an unexpected gem in 2010. Combining space rock with stoner and symphonic music, this album possesses melodic character with an edge. Musically, the band relies on repetition but not to the point of stagnation; the compositions are unhurried and heavy, achieving just the right amount of mileage from each riff. Production-wise, this album has a faux-retro sound, which is to say, it is muffled and lacks a polished resonance. For those who enjoyed Astra's The Weirding from 2009, this is highly recommended, and recommended regardless.

"Abyssal Ibis" A weighty moodiness fills the atmosphere as a crashing cymbal beckons the listener to feast. Jarring bass with two pairs of organ notes create a sinister texture. Midway through, the organ adopts a flowing series of quarter notes, as the rhythm section adds a calm, victorious panache.

"Needling Seamaw" A sprightly yet lumbering piece in 5/4, this tune features a lively organ riff with an electric guitar, heavy on the reverb, puncturing through. The instrumentation rambles around this same rhythmic skeleton throughout, yet enjoys a measure of dynamism with respect to volume and sonic textures.

"Firn" Low, haunting tones set the mood initially, but an eerie, nostalgic piano surfaces, serving as a poignant, sorrowful, beautiful interlude.

"Abtenauer Oak" Following the quiet intermission, the repetitive organ returns, emerging plaintively. This mournful piece is akin to post-rock in feel, only awash with organ and effects rather than guitars.

"Apical Dominance" Perhaps the most memorable of the five tracks, "Apical Dominance" relies more heavily on a synthesizer lead, rumbling bass, and ponderous yet effective drumming. It is certainly the most dynamic of the music on the album, especially in terms of composition. The synthesizer-led theme is a great motif, and is a perfect catharsis for the strident bit that precedes it. After hearkening back to the beginning of the piece, the album concludes in a raucous manner.

Anta is a new band from the UK, formed by four experienced musicians that came from different previous bands. In 2010 they released their debut album entitled "The Tree That Bears the Equine Fruit" in which we can listen to five compositions whose starting point is the psychedelic rock, so be prepared to enjoy this 35-minute trip to ANTA's realm.

The album opens with "Abyssal Ibis", the first minute is calm, almost quiet with only a gong sound, then the organ, bass, guitars and drums appear and begin to created an excellent psychedelic tune with a strong mood, here in moments I would say this band could fit under the heavy prog genrem but well, the organ makes a great job, giving the necessary nuances to the track. Then it progresses and makes a change at minute five, creating a softer atmosphere, but without leaving the inherent psych tune.

"Needling Seamaw" starts with a gentle sound, with a repetitive organ that puts the rhythm, but what makes this song special is how the other instruments are adding figures, notes, textures little by little while the seconds pass. The sound of the bass is great, heavy, while the guitar riffs are like of a stoner rock band. It has different passages, though the rhythm is the same, there are moments where it is faster and more intense, while others are soft and charming.

"Firn" is the shortest track here, and it contrasts with the previous ones because what they offer here are four minutes of soft, atmospheric music that may put the words of post-rock or even new-age in your mind. After one minute and a half a beautiful piano is added, while the atmospheric background prevails. "Abtenauer Oak" continues with the same sound at least for the first minute, later the organ reappears and with it the psychedelic tune, though this song does never explode, it prevails calmed.

The album finishes with "Apical Dominance", in which the mixture of heavy prog and psychedelic rock is shown once again. After two tracks I can say I missed the heavy bass and the constant participation of the guitar. There are moments where they give more intensity and create a dynamic tune, this is a very cool song. Well, in general Anta offers a good album with this nice blend of heavy psych rock and with those two post-rockish moments, though I must say it is not a memorable album, honestly. My final grade will be three stars.

Enjoy it!

From the city of Bristol hails this interesting and fairly retro-packaged Psych/Prog band, found in early 2010 by the quartet of keyboardist Alexander Thomas, bassist Joe Garcia, guitarist Ganiel Seruu and drummer James King.The band produced its first album the same year with the enigmatic title ''The tree that bears the equine fruit'', released on the independent label Diogenes Recordings and offered again by the band's own Thrones And Dominions label a couple of years later.

This is a file along the lines of DIAGONAL and CRANIUM PIE, although much more energetic and pounding in terms of music, that is British-styled organ-based Psychedelic Prog Rock with inventive arrangements and deep textures full of instrumental madness with KING CRIMSON and ATOMIC ROOSTER evident signs blended with discreet Post Rock fashions.The album is all instrumental, having an inner power created by the powerful guitar fireworks of Seruu and the vintage organ of Thomas, starting from psychedelic, rhythmic lines and competing the prog league with soaring organ breaks and dark orchestral themes.At least this happens in the three long tracks of this effort, which are executed with passion and sheer dynamics, evolving from the obvious 70's inspirations of the group.The two shorter pieces, placed in the middle, lean towards Psychedelic Instrumental Music with minimalistic leanings, built around synthesizers, organ and effects and offering narcotic soundscapes.However even these seem to work nicely for the whole concept of Anta's debut, which is haunting, dramatic and often bombastic with calmer bits supporting.

Another group, that combines the principles of a genre invented in 1970 with the contemporary facts and issues of modern Prog.Great and challenging debut, essential for followers of vintage-styled Psych/Prog...3.5 stars.