Anthesiac are a group of promising up-and-comers from Christchurch. They are a band who has been diligently toiling away for years, perfecting their craft and preparing their debut EP to unleash upon an unsuspecting world. That EP is Null And Void and it positively sparkles with potential and bristles with promises fulfilled. Anthesiac have honed a powerful breed of rock that can be both aggressive and intensely atmospheric, and sometimes it is both things at once. This puts them in the favourable company of Kerretta and Jakob, but make no mistake; Anthesiac are very much their own entity. The EP is a perfect mixture of bullish rock out moments and introspective jams.
‘Vowel Sounds’ starts the album with a whisper that erupts into an inferno of sound. It is churning, bass-heavy prog rock torn apart by the yearning vocals of Josh Braden. He sounds somewhere between Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Tool’s Maynard James Keenan. His performance throughout the EP is excellent, his voice swinging between a soaring howl and a menacing scowl. On ‘Singe’ the band ride a convoluted punk riff that duels with the driving beat and bleated lyrics. Moments like this give the people plenty of opportunity to headbang and thrash about. ‘Pinned And Stretched’ calls to mind early Muse albums if they were buried under a literal mountain of guitar fuzz. There is a perverse sense of grandeur to it as it seethes and winds towards its conclusion. Things get all spacey on the appropriately titled ‘Big Bang Theory’ which floats on a current of distorted acid rock for nearly six minutes. If that sounds like a bit of you then gird your loins for the powerful closing number, ‘No Broad Cast’. Distant muffled chants, overloaded guitar wash, and expressive percussion all bleed into a breath-taking nine minutes of pure post-rock euphoria.
There is something magically intangible about Null And Void. While the individual songs hit hard and entertain well enough, they also leave a lingering impression which is much harder to define. These songs never wallow in self indulgent muck nor do they overstay their welcome. They are tight, well-oiled machines that deliver the goods before receding back into the mystical void from whence they came. The thing that impresses the most is how complete the band’s vision is. Some acts take upwards of half a dozen releases to get this degree of cohesiveness in their music. Anthesiac appear to have circumvented the system and started at the top of their game. Null And Void is an excellent document of one of our country’s brightest upcoming acts still in their early years. Miss this at your peril.
