ANTIMATTER
Saviour (The End Records)
Reviewed by Jason Thornberry

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Who would have thought that Geoff Barrow's songwriting might have touched off a genre all its own? Many felt the recording studio had more to offer than just finding different ways in with to mic a drum-set and a few amplifiers. The volume has gone up on such theories. There are many who would give Saviour only a few seconds and before writing the album off as being "too similar to Portishead." I'm able to comprehend distinct differences -- first in the production, and then in the initial composition of the tracks themselves. While Portishead draw inspiration from Lalo Schifrin, and other extravagant sixties composers, Antimatter, containing Duncan Patterson (ex Anathema), have encountered dub reggae's gothic doppelganger. The tracks share a very slight similitude to the "Numbed In Moscow" remix Portishead did in 1994. While Barrow placed Portishead's debut Dummy onto acetates so he could mix them in hip-hop fashion -- giving them an abrasive, old-world texture with the turntables, Saviour has noticeably more legroom, and in the end sounds like a Gregory Isaacs side project. Antimatter's label, The End Records, is known for taking chances that often develop quite nicely. This is coming from a record label known more for progressive metal. How would I label Saviour? Certainly advanced, probably ahead of its time.

© 2003 - Jason Thornberry