81:03＜限定盤/Colored Vinyl＞

CHRISTIE FRONT DRIVEのエリック・リッチャーが在籍していた、ニューヨークのインディーエモバンド、ANTARCTICAの1st アルバムの再発盤がSOLID BRASSからリリース。

解散の直前である1999年にFILE 13から発表されたフルアルバムで、今回が初のレコード化。前作「23:03」に引き続き、ポストロックやシューゲイザーの要素を取り入れた作風で、ELLIOTTの「FALSE CATHEDRALS」、GLORIA RECORDの「A LULL IN TRAFFIC」、APPLESEED CASTの「MARE VITALIS」などとともに2000年以降のインディーエモの基盤となった重要な作品です。

Right from the opening bars and arrangements, the comparison point between Antarctica and New Order is perfectly clear -- it's the same mix of technology and post-punk rock, playing out in a new decade and a new audience. But the five-piece clearly isn't simply out to recreate any one group, which is what makes 81:03 a fine follow-up to the band's debut EP. Vocalists/guitarists Chris Donohue and Eric Richter don't try to sound like Bernard Sumner, for instance, instead introducing a softer, almost breezier tone to their singing. There's more overt singing for its own sake, though there's also a delicious melancholy often present, suggesting a wide range of '80s antecedents -- Scandinavian pop, indie jangle, and more -- all nicely fused into an overall presentation. Guitarwise, meanwhile, there's as much Robert Smith as anything else. Bassist Ben Zimmerman and drummer Gregg Maryansky are talented without being noticeably individual, laying down crisp beats and tones, though sometimes seemingly holding back the pace. All together there's something that suggests the work of early-'90s shoegaze in their arrangements here and there, with a vast sense of atmosphere instead of fuzzed-out work, the lengthy "Hallucinus" being a fine example. Keyboardist Nicole Waxenblatt more than once proves the group's secret weapon, providing melodic leads at points while at others filling out the arrangements both in terms of her subtle synth washes and drum machine punch and groove. She really shines when the band lets everything open up, like the lengthy, soaring conclusion of "Tower of Silence." As a whole 81:03 is a varied, strong album, its songs often showing strong internal variety -- consider "The Velvet Flood," with its elegantly downbeat introduction alternating with a vibrant but still just gently sad enough chorus. 81:03 turned out to be Antarctica's only full album, but as such it's far better than any contemporary tag as emo music would have indicated. ~ Ned Raggett