Antillectual

Antillectual – Testimony

8 /10

Antillectual from the Netherlands are the antithesis of their band name. This young band, who just released their second album, not only packed a lyrics sheet into the splendidly looking digipak, but they also explain the background of every song, which is a good idea, as it makes you understand their motivations much better. Ranging from the personal to the political, I mostly agree with their points of view, although at times they are a little to radical for me. In my opinion, it rarely is ok to smash windows and throw bricks (On Its Own), and by accusing Al Gore of making money out of Global Warming (Waste = Food), they may have a point, but Al Gore opened the eyes of more people than a DIY punk band ever will.

Musically, the album is bookmarked by two slower and longer songs, the four minute opener Testimony which has some nice piano parts, and the seven minute closer I Hope You Got My Letter. In between Antillectual attack with short but surprisingly melodic punk rock songs. The vocals are shared by the three members of the band and sound raw, charismatic and to the point. Their technical capacities on their instruments are just as perfect, and it’s great how filled their songs are despite them only being a three-piece. Most of the times, they sound like a Europeanised Strike Anywhere, but the melodic I Hate Myself When I Shave Myself shows them from a mellower side.

Testimony is more than just a very good album. It’s a labour of love, with songs that are not merely entertainment, but which also carry a message which is definitely important to the band. To make it easier to get the album, it’s been released on different labels in different countries: Fond Of Life (Germany), Infected (Portugal), No Reason (Italy), Rise Or Rust (Austria), Shield (Netherlands) and Youth Way (France). Furthermore, instead of putting a copyright on their music, they released Testimony under the Creative Commons licence, which makes it legal to burn your own copies. What better way to spread your message?

taken from: disagreement.net