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Dreamy Debut for these Swedish Heavy-Blues newcomers
Antabus Band released their debut album Season Ender this March (2021); however, I hope this is a season opener to much more to come from this group.
Antabus is a five-piece act From the home of King Henrik Lundqvist (NHL Legendary Goalie) and stellar skiing, Are, Sweden.
There isn’t much known about these newcomers. With almost non-existent Svenska comprehension skills (learning Swedish by osmosis while watching Nordic Noir during the pandemic was less effective than I thought it would be), a perusal of the band’s Instagram page yields that they found their female vocalist right around a year ago, and appear to be having a fantastic time while working hard on pursuing their musical passion together.
On to the music…
How’s The Sound?
At six songs, and a little over a half-hour in length, Season Ender is a track-by-track sampler of neo-psychedelia, stoner rock, blues, with generous sprinkles of fuzz.
Album opener Snowshark with its plodding opening bass riff and organ melody was rather reminiscent of Neil Young style blues-rock. Song ending repeating refrain “Snowww Shaark!!” picked up the cadence, and put a confident Antabus stamp on the sound for the rest of the record.
The vocal style throughout wavered from punchy punk delivery to dreamier-haunting reverbed balance (think Windhand), which leaned a bit of a lo-fi aesthetic that I personally adored. Tempo-changes within the songs and a really nice balance of all of the instrumentation keeps the listener along for the ride.
There were no great surprises on Season Ender, it had a stylistically consistent thread from beginning to end, and this is a good thing. We get a good sense of what Antabus is, and the album is a delight – especially as a freshman effort.
Why is this album worth listening to?
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The album is well-produced, and each part of the band (vocals and instruments) are audible – get their pocket to shine through.
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Catchy simple lyrics – you’ll find yourself knowing the hooks and singing aloud within a few listens.
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The ebb and flow of influences throughout from traditional doom to indie vibes
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It’s just trancy enough to space out a bit.
In what situation should you listen to this album?
This is a great background album while working. Little spacey, little headbanging, but not distracting.
Anything particular to note?
There is great gel/cohesiveness to this quintet; looking forward to hearing further efforts.
Favorite Track
Snowshark / Stonebridge– [My second review with a tie]
For Fans Of
Windhand, Maidavale, Acid King, Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats
Atmosphere Levels
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Fat Level

Purple Haze Level

Temperature Level

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