Antillectual

Source

The New Scheme issue 17

Antillectual
Waves 7”

Antillectual are from Nijmegen, Netherlands. Waves was released to coincide with their US tour this past summer. They pack six songs onto this 7”, three new songs on the A-side and three from their last full length on side B. The first song especially sounds like the second Propagandhi record, with angry vocals and melodic guitars. The second song, “Sponsorship For Life” is downright catchy, without being repetitive or obvious. It’s probably my favorite here, with gruff (but still on key) vocal lines that are well written and delivered energetically. The rest of the songs find a middleground between the two sounds, collecting influences from mid-90’s anthemic punk and more recent melodic hardcore. All six songs are well constructed, leaning heavily on familiar influences without ever sounding too much like any one band.
Part of me sees this record as naïve, quaint or novel. In reality, it’s none of the above. It’s a genuinely heartfelt collection of six engaging punk rock songs. They are packed onto the record in a way that makes the vinyl sound a bit like the 50th listen on the second time through. And for Antillectual, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

[Anderson]
Square Of Opposition