Antillectual

Up Magazine nr. 44, March 2008

Antillectual “Testimony” CD
(Shield/Sonic Rendezvous)

The craftsmanship and melody that form the quality of the Antillectual live shows now finally have been recorded on the album “Testimony”. With this album the band is in no way inferior to likeminded bands like Rise Against, Strike Anywhere and Hot Water Music. The political punk with a raw edge is catchy and contagious. It makes you want to mosh and sing along to songs like “Sponsorship for life”, “Waste = food” and the title song. But also emo and indie rock fan can relate to this album. The three Dutchmen have a clear message, which they spread intelligibly in the beautiful booklet. Punk has seldom sounded so inspired. By far the best release on Shield Recordings up to date and an album for the year lists! I doubt the new Anti-Flag album will be a match for this album.

97/100

Arold Roestenburg

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Antillectual-Waves 7" (Square of Oppositon)

I'm late jumping on this, as it came out this past summer specifically for a US tour the band did. Antillectual are from the Netherlands, but you'd never guess it from listening to them. The music sounds very West Coast US. It's pretty melodic and poppy (but still fast and edgy) punk rock. These guys are probably more kids who grew up on Fat Wreck Chords stuff in the 90s and then got more overtly political and pissed off as they got into darker stuff. Think of the angry elements of Propaghandi with the more melodic elements of Strike Anywhere and you'll be somewhere close to imagining what these guys sound like.

The guitar-work is great, lots of cool riffs and interesting changes. Actually, the musicianship is pretty good all across the board, and the song structures are all pretty unique and well thought out. Some of the vocals are a little annoying, as the singer gets into the whole nasely thing from time to time, which takes away from the otherwise catchy melodies he's singing. The closing track on side A, "Waves", is definitely the stand-out, but not so much that the other songs are boring.
The record is limited to 500 copies on purple vinyl.

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Antillectual – "Testimony" (No Reason Records)

File under: melodic hardcore/punk

Reference: Propagandhi, With Honor, Crime In Stereo, No Trigger, Much The Same.

It seems like I’m listening to the new album by the great Propagandhi, but it is "only" the debut record from the Lodi based No Reason Records from Dutch band Antillectual. Our old friends ("Silencing Civilization" – review).

"Testimony" will come out next March 3 and win over all lovers of this kind of music with their refined melodic hardcore/punk enriched with political and social lyrics. But, frankly, the lyrics stay a little in the background because of the quality of the music. This is a plus point though.

There are several resemblances with the Canadian, and sometimes it appears almost plagiarism (they simply love Propagandhi too much), but in the end Antillectual convinces me totally and doesn’t leave any unpleasant feeling behind. It all works out for the best.

High technically compositions enriched by diverse rhythms and melodies, this is one of the better punk/hardcore releases in recent months. With sincere regards to the increasingly stubborn and conscious No Reason Records, which seems very determined to focus on this style in Italy.

4 out of 5

(aob – 4/2/08)

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Antillectual – Testimony

by pureandsimple

band: Antillectual
album: Testimony

From mid-tempo melancholic post-punk to thrashing punkrock! Antillectual is far from ashamed to militantly show its versatility on the bands second full-length album. Indeed, Silencing Civilization’s successor is a straight up hit! Recognizable melody, emotion, and passion combined with somewhat unconventional structures, inventive guitar riffs and vocal harmonies. Propagandhi meeting A Wilhelm Scream meeting Strike Anywhere meeting No Use For A Name meeting Bad Religion with a hint of Hot Water Music? No, totally different! (But somewhat alike).

From the rising of the drums in opening song Testimony to the fade out of the swelling sounds in I Hope You Got My Letter, all are a feast for the ear and eye. Not the least for the eye, because again the socially critical lyrics and their explanations can be found in the booklet.

Plusses are among many things the hot Maiden riff in The Dog Ate It! en pleasantly up-tempo rocking songs like Waves and On Its Own. The only blot is the length of I Hope You Got My Letter that tends to stand out in that way. This could be a personal objection that no one agrees with though, so don’t be bothered. If the record contained 4 more songs I wouldn’t have noticed.

Well, a band that spreads its message with this much passion and integrity and, on top of that, is a treat for the ear, what else could one wish for?How beautiful punkrock can be sometimes. *Sigh*.

SHIELD RECORDINGS

Score: 88/100

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Antillectual – Testimony cd (No Reason Records, 2007)

The record actually doesn’t come out in our country till March, and therefore I’m reviewing this album in advance: Antillectual – the latest addition to No Reason Records’ catalog – coming from Nijmegen, the Netherlands, play a mixture of punk-hardcore in the style of the labels’ previous releases (Rentokill, Enemy Alliance / Indecision Alarm). Melody and political commitment, in the spirit of Propagandhi, is the basis for this complex and valuable release. Valuable on several levels: the excellent looking digipack and especially the booklet – graphically sublime, including texts and additional notes for every single lyric – are no longer just an extra, but are an essential factor for the complete understanding of the message.

Testimony is certainly not a simple album, but in its kind it is undoubtedly an incredibly coherent and meticulously thought out piece of music. All this in the spirit of the highlights of the DIY movement of the eighties. It’s highly recommended listening to it on repeat, especially if you want to expand your views and musical ideas. I suggest you to immediately order your copy.

[Simone]

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