Antlered Man - Giftes 1 &2
The boundaries and constraints of music and genre are ones that seem to be frequently pushed to their physicals limits, in this process however some exciting and ahead of the game artists are emerging through. One such band with this said ethos in mind are Bermondsey's Antlered Man. Genres are well and truly chewed up and spat out into a wonderful scuzzy mess of sound with debut album Giftes 1&2. When you have a vague idea of which direction this album is starting to go in you are hit with numerous curveballs that send you spinning down another twisted avenue. Songs like Platoon of Uno saunter along with a Cramps-like trashy swagger whilst Buddhist Soup is a quirky and mind boggling affair reminiscent of kiddies sing-a-long being juxtaposed against short sharp shocks of groove metal. Mr Runner-up Teenage Bloomfield is full of sub-Eastern rhythms that hit like the first puff of the shisha. To say that this isn't Patton-influenced affair would be a massive lie and then some.
These kids seem to be raised on a steady diet of Faith No More, Mr Bungle and nearly every other Mike Patton project under the sun. But Antlered Man have managed to embrace their own unique sound, it doesn't tick any particular boxes or fit into any certain moulds and they don't seem to want it any other way. The word schizophrenic is used so loosely but this album is very much the epitome of it here. The sheer contrasts of light and dark, beauty and ugly jump about at such rapid pace it makes one strange but intriguing collage of sound. A spazzy lunatic ride that is done their own terms and no-one else's, Antlered Man have taken the proverbial sledgehammer to the musical norm, rearranged it and made one truly insane album. An acquired taste definitely but very much worth watching the madness unfold right in front of you and still left trying to get to the bottom of the method.