Antethic – Ghost Shirt Society (2017)

As post rock steadily descends into the maelstrom of predictable minor chord progressions and prosaic crescendos, it’s always refreshing to see a shiner in the rough. A glimmer of hope for an unfortunately diluted genre.

Antethic are a band who are doing it right with their latest album Ghost Shirt Society, a clear step ahead from 2014’s release of Origin. Standout tracks like ‘Ilium’ and ‘Metamachine’ blend synths and vivid guitar phrases seamlessly, hardly scraping the realms of cliche, and achieving the fluidity that post rock masterminds like Mogwai and Maserati do so well. There’s notable elements of math rock throughout the record (the baffling meter of ‘Modulor’ is a wow); and ambient and drone textures sure to keep the post rock pundits in check. But it’s the exceptional management of tone and volume across this record that gives it a real voice; the climactic distortions feels more fierce, more foundation shattering, more emotional.

Overall, Ghost Shirt Society is a strong effort from Antethic, a game-changer in fact. It’s an album that doesn’t settle for the tropes. It’s highly imaginative and seamless instrumentation, not to mention its crisp clean production, make it a highlight for 2017 and a masterful attempt at reclaiming the genre.