ANTIMEMORY

A band of young men from the Santa Gabriel mountains of California--self-proclaimed "keepers of the forest"--have decided to go with a change in direction from their previous heavy metal roots into the sophisticated progressive rock alter-ego that the band had been working on on the side. I've not heard or seen any of their previous music or concerts but I hear they were stunning, breathtaking. I, for one, am grateful for their new direction--and their collaboration with Lone Pine Records' producer Bill Fiorella, as together they have come up with one of the more unique and memorable sound styles this reviewer has heard in quite a while. The production, in and of itself, is quite unusual in that all of the instruments and voices are allowed to remain so clearly distinctive no matter how dense the music gets. Every subtle noise in the soundscape is preserved--which is something I adore in music: the subtleties. The vocal arrangements alone are worth noting as guitarist Chris Durban and vocalist/guitarist Jared Paris and keyboard player Allan Hennessy do some stunning performances in all of the lead, background, and harmony capacities. These are vocals that are incredibly complicated and yet so impressively executed! It's like listening to world class dance choreography! Also, notably absent are the computer "corrected," effected, "compressed" soundscapes that have become so prevalent in music production over the past 25 years. The acoustic guitars sound like they are in the room with you; the drums sound real and full, not gated; the vocals are natural and raw, not auto-tuned. All in all, Antimemory does a wonderful job capturing an 'acoustic' sound of an electrified rock and roll band. And it works! It's awesome! It helps remind and reinforce my love of the recording styles of those 1970s masterpieces.

Lineup:

Chris M Durbin - Vocals, Guitar Jared Paris - Harmony Vocals, Guitar Andrew C Sanchez - Drums Allan Hennessy - Keys, Vocals on Last Ray Of The Sun Wyatt Martin - Bass

1. "Son of Sorrow" (6:42) opens with a minute of heavily vibrating sacred bells before guitars, piano, and bass join in to set the stage. This bass play is awesome! Vocalist Chris Durbin bids us "hello" and sings an impassioned vocal-- which is soon joined by the amazing backing harmonies of Jared Paris. This sounds so much like the best of one of my favorite bands of all-time, DOVES from Manchester, England. The build up to the chorus at 2:40 is awesome--as is the cool down in the first half of the fifth minute--which is followed by an excellent chorus section and then by a searing 45-second long lead guitar solo in the sixth minute which is then followed up by an awesome three-layered chorale vocal section to the song's end. Incredible song! One of the best things I've heard from 2016! (10/10)

2. "Looking On" (5:06) opens with vocal, rhythm guitar and bass creating a weave that sounds like . At the 0:25 the song kicks into second gear with a very engaging THE MARS VOLTA/STEVEN WILSON foundation. The two-voice delivery of the second verse is so innovative and fresh! Stunning! Another great guitar solo begins rather humanly at the end of the third minute but then shifts into super-man speed in the fourth. The distant acoustic guitar song in the third verse is so cool! It makes it sounds like a Dobro (which I love). The vocal arrangement over the fullness of sound from all band members in the final minute is, again, brilliant! Stunning song! (10/10)

3. "Ferroform" (5:52) opens with a familiar CORVUS STONE-like sound and guitar riff before a second guitar joins in with some fiery riffing. The effected vocal is cool in a hollow Greg LAKE/JIMI WILLIAMS/KING CRIMSON/DOVES "Moon Child" kind of way. As the voice comes to the fore--and is joined by the awesome wailing screams of Jared Paris--the song kicks into full speed--and into a nice long instrumental section in which guitar, bass, keys, and drums resonate in perfect cohesion. Then there is a drop off into a floating, dreamy section that is held together by a Hammond organ and some word being panned around in the background. Guitar arpeggi join in and, eventually, the band emerges out of the fog into it's full speed again (awesome bass line/play!) and then finishes with some thought-provoking piano and guitar notes and chords. Awesome! (9/10)

4. "Child" (8:26) the song's mini-epic opens in a kind of GUNS'n'ROSES-LED ZEPPELIN guitar-oriented way. Even the layered lead vocals have that kind of perfected classic rock feel to it. Into the third minute the Led Zep/G'n'R influences are still strong until there is a sudden shift at the three minute mark into a kind of THE MARS VOLTA/OMAR RODRIGUEZ-LOPEZ Spanish-imbued high energy rock. The guitar play is so cool! So different--like RANDY BACHMAN on "Blue Collar" (Bachman-Turner Overdrive)--before a searing double guitar solo in the sixth minute. Man! I don't know how the band keeps up this coherent, stable intensity! Amazing! There's even some growl vocals behind the lead in this section. And then horns! Awesome horns! A saxophone lead! What a brilliant touch! For the final minute the band recoups and returns to the mature sound and pace of the opening with the song title being sung a few times by the double vocalists. Great, great song! (10/10)

5. "Last Ray of the Sun" (1:26) opens with a solo piano tinkling slowly away before setting up in a kind of "Great Gig in the Sky" (Pink Floyd) chord foundation while pianist, Allan Hennessy, sings the first verse (which turns out to be the chorus). The final 45 seconds finds the rest of the band joining in on this chorus line before letting Allan's piano finish on its own. Beautiful, haunting song! Well deserving of its presence on this album. (10/10)

6. "Mountain Chorus" (5:47) opens with acoustic guitar picking away at two chords--two heavily charged chords-- while a second, electric guitar slides and squeaks around far in the background before treated Chris' voice joins in. At 1:45 the voice again 'comes out of the closet' to sing "But it won't save you." The second verse then begins with two harmonized voices singing gently. Drummer Andrew Sanchez' cymbal play throughout this second verse is mesmerizing. I find myself reminded during this beautiful section of some the recent Prog Folk greats, FLEET FOXES, LEAFBLADE, DOVES, AUTUMN CHORUS and THE AMAZING. At 3:45 the band suddenly kicks into full gear with some energized bass, drum, guitar, voice and choral work-- which plays out till the song's end. Gorgeous song! (9/10)

7. "Antimemory" (3:18) opens with sustained computer synth noise which is then joined by guitar strum, bass, and multiple voices floating and flitting in and around the soundscape. This continues for the first two minutes before all fade out in lieu of sacred bells and shakers. A perfect ending to such a spiritually gut-wrenching album. (10/10)

Despite my high marks for each and every song--(more for their exceptional creativity, originality, beauty and promise)--I still see 'room to grow' for this band and it's sound. It will be difficult to top such an 'out of the blue' debut album, but I feel that this band of so many talents and influences can definitely refine their raw and passionate sound. The excitement I feel when hearing this album reminds me of how I felt upon hearing Manchester's DOVES debut album first time in the early 2000s (my favorite album of Y2K). This is astonishing music regardless of who is performing it--made even more remarkable for the fact that this is a debut album.

Let the world know it: VANETA is here! . . . and they are a FORCE to be reckoned with!

A masterpiece of progressive rock music and official winner of the title, ALBUM OF THE YEAR, in my books!

P.S. I want to have bass player Wyatt Martin's babies. Or, at least his autograph!