By Keith Walsh
Recorded in 2019 but delayed until 2024 by the COVID pandemic, the eponymous album by Antler Family is a powerful 8 track set filled with brilliant performances and production.
First there’s Mia Dean’s poetically expressive voice, working in the alto and soprano ranges with impressive stylistic range. Then there’s the band, with Tom Flynn on guitar and backing vox, Tom Dean on keyboard and bass, and Stark Raving Brad on drums. Antler Family is a California band, and the disc was recorded at Ear Hammer Studios in Oakland, and it’s brilliantly recorded by Greg Wilkinson. (My brand new Q&A with Mia Dean and Tom Flynn is at PunkRockBeat.com).
The opening track “Roses” is darkly erotic, “Setting Eyes” has all the trademarks, melodically of a popular hit, except like the rest of the album it’s mixed without any commercial consideration. The warm distortion of the electric guitars is way up front. Sonically the album is darkly beautiful, favoring the beauty of drama rather than the shiny attractions of superficiality.
“Captive” finds Mia’s protagonist wandering through a world of mirrors and deception, while “Bring Me Back My Love” is a kind of punk rock lament. The band is incredibly tight and well-rehearsed and their experience really shines through, both in the lyrics and melodies. “The Widow’s Call” has elements of an Irish ballad, while “I Don’t Wanna/Black Hole Love” channels passions around the entanglements of love in ways not unlike classic Led Zeppelin from the 60s and 70s.
“King Tide” introduces acoustic piano into the set, in a theatrical way. In Dean’s voice I also hear echoes of Johnette Napolitano from Concrete Blonde, and Antler Family has all the guitar bravado of that band backing her up and then some. I also hear a kinship with Teresa Covarrubias of The Brat, an 80s punk band from East Los Angeles. Antler Family is apparently a long time in the making, as a video for a live performance of “Roses” from 2017 is available on YouTube.
There’s some grunge influences on the album, but the overall sense is one of acceptance, if not resignation, in contrast with the rage and despair of the grunge movement. “It Don’t Rain Anymore” concludes the album with a kind of disappointment, which turns to perseverance, over environmental and social decay.
Antler Family has atmosphere galore, and it’s surely tube amps that are at the heart of the warmly distorted guitar sounds. Rhythmically, the album simmers, with protagonists not in a hurry to get anywhere in particular, but rather content to provide musical commentary which illuminates the world in order to make it intelligible.
Guitarist Tom Flynn demonstrates impressive pyrotechnics on the album, which is released on his Boner Records label. The members are veteran players. Mia Dean is from Blood Moon Wedding, Stark Raving Brad drummed with The Freak Accident and The Hellbillies, Tom Dean was with Code Of The West, and Flynn is associated with Melvins, Fang, Duh and Star Pimp.
(Band photo by Kristin Cofer)
Antler Family On Facebook
Antler Family On Bandcamp
Antler Family On Spotify
Antler Family Q&A At Punk Rock Beat
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