Antlered Man – Giftes 1 & 2 – Album Review

Antlered Man make the kind of musical Marmite people either love or hate, unabashedly wearing their influences (Mr Bungle, System Of A Down etc) on their sleeve with pride. Even though they are trying to do something original, they’re also mimicking these bands so closely at times it detracts from their ingenuity and as is often the case with bands of this ilk, they are not as technical as their predecessors.

Antlered Man have a tendency to repeat vocal passages quite often and aren’t as heavy as I was expecting from the single release of Platoono Of Uno but there’s still plenty of fun to be had while perusing the sinister carnival of sound that is Can’t Beat Them, Try Solvents with its Mike Patton smeared vocal stylings. Their bass driven sound really shines through when it comes to the riffing on Better The Calamity You Know featuring a tongue twister of a chorus which I can imagine them stumbling through live. Odd sections are reminiscent of Mushroomhead in terms of running two vocal lines simultaneously, but as with Mushroomhead there’s really nothing here that Patton hadn’t already showcased on Faith No More’s Angel Dust.

Once you’ve become accustomed to Antlered Man’s formula over the opening tracks there are very few twists and turns that will actually surprise you until you hit the incessantly jolly whistling on Buddhist Soup, an earworm if ever there was one, capable of driving you nuts for an entire day as every time your mind takes a break you find it bursting from your pursed lips. A bit of a shame it’s followed by Schizo Tennis, a proper trip-to-the-bar kind of track.

Overall, things are slower and softer than expected and at times it feels the bass player may be playing a different song to the rest of the band. There is still plenty to explore and enjoy on Giftes 1 & 2 but a clearer production may have helped hold interest, particularly in its quieter moments. Antlered Man have the potential to be a great band they just don’t seem to have realised it quite yet, but repeat listenings are essential if you want to get the most from Giftes 1 & 2.

Catch Antlered Man on tour now at one of the following dates:

March 2012
Monday 5th The Boilerroom, Guildford
Wednesday 7th The Cellar, Southampton
Thursday 8th Electrowerkz, London Album Launch Party!
Friday 9th B-Side @ Bunters, Truro B-Side @ Bunters
Saturday 10th The Crauford Arms, Milton Keynes
Monday 12th The Flapper, Birmingham
Tuesday 13th Undertone, Cardiff
April 2012
Tuesday 17th Central Station, Wrexham Supporting RED FANG