By John Deasey
Bristol quartet Anta arrive like a steamtrain dragging a sledgehammer through your speakers as the sludgy, meaty, abattoir-esque riffs burst into life and pierce your brain ……
If that sounds as though we have a bit of heavy listening here, you won’t be wrong, but by God it’s good. A brilliant 40 minutes of music follows which is in turn dark, light, trippy, psychedelic, punchy, inventive and properly excellent.
Dirty, heavy riffs prowl and circle the whole album like a wild beast in a dark forest but there are plenty of beautiful, tight punchy leads and soothing organ from Alex Bertram-Powell which add a sophisticated air reminiscent of the best of prog.
It’s a beguiling and effective mix of sound. The heavy-hitting bass of Jo Garcia battling with the crunch-riffing of Stephen Kerrison whilst the clever drumming of James King lend rhythm in turns simple and complex.
No vocals, purely instrumental and a sound all their own but with plenty of influences – I hear a touch of the discordant Alex Leifson guitar, a touch of Sabbath hear and there – but there is such a blend that Anta successfully pull off a brilliant piece of work which bears repeated listens.
What is so good about this release though, is its economy.
There is no excessive noodling, no protracted convoluted ‘lets-be-clever-for-the-sake-of-it’ moments. Instead we have tight, economical, held in check clever compositions that showcase some real virtuosity and talent.
I love this record and hope you give it the chance to get under your skin.
