Antigen[0] - Todas Nuestras Sangres

Groups often just have to do it themselves, especially in underground genres like the ones we cover here (thus proving that the general populace has poor taste in music). This is the case for Antigen[0], an unsigned Peruvian dark electro act that released their self-produced debut album, "Todas Nuestras Sangres", in late 2011. It's an overall solid debut, one that demonstrates that they are certainly deserving of joining the ranks of signed acts.

Latin America has produced an impressive number of talented groups that have a distinctive sound that makes them stand out from acts in other parts of the world. This certainly holds true for Antigen[0], but they have a unique characteristic that separates them a bit from others: a member dedicated to playing the electronic drums. This characteristic means that the drum beat is more uniquely present in their songs than most other acts. While it is sometimes a bit overwhelming, it often works well.

The 12-track album begins with the standard instrumental intro, which provides a decent buildup and sets the mood. Following that is 'Pulsion (radio edit)', a song that has a good, pulsing keyboard refrain during the chorus and a nice bass beat, but beyond that it doesn't particularly stand out. This is the beginning of a trend. While some of the songs on the album are great overall, Antigen[0]'s strong suit is definitely in the chorus.

Track three, 'Patria o Muerte', is one of the best tracks on the album. It provides an interesting blend of very different types of sounds, from a recurring nod to old-school industrial to a standard, club-worthy keyboard refrain. This almost makes it a good fit for the dancefloor, but it is too experimental overall (which isn't a bad thing) to be consistently danceable.

The quality drops with track four, 'Mortandad', which has some good keyboard action, but the drum beat overwhelms the song a bit. Luckily this is not the case for track five, 'Todas Nuestras Sangres', which takes a sharp turn from the tracks that preceded it. The instrumentals are very EBM, at some points almost verging on futurepop, which is interesting when paired with the dark electro style vocals. This is definitely one of the better songs on the album.

With the following two tracks, we see a repeat of the two that came before them in terms of quality. Track six, 'Ya Nada Queda', could be improved by toning down the bass beat, but it includes some interesting sparse moments. Then we see the spike in quality with 'Guerra Sucia'. The bass beat has a strong presence in this song as well, but it pairs perfectly with the pulsing, stuttering keyboard that recurs throughout the song, serving to create a base that drives the song forward. Layered over that are rising, falling, and changing instrumentals and great vocals that blend well with this solid base.

We again see a repeat of a drop then a rise in quality. Track eight, 'No Hay Final', provides simplistic, futurepop-like looping keyboard lines in both the verse and chorus. While it, like 'Todas Nuestras Sangres', provides an interesting contrast between the lighter instrumentals and the harsh vocals, this one just doesn't work as well. I think that's due to the instrumentals being a bit too simplistic. If they'd layered in some more complex elements, it might be a strong track.

Now for the third spike in quality, track nine, 'Soledad Ajena (depraved version', the best song on the album. It starts off deceptively simple, with a repeated piano line, which soon morphs into something bolder and fuller, turning that refrain on its head, repeating it in various ways throughout the song. They've done something fairly unique with this song.

The last three tracks, 'Que se Rinda tu Madre', 'Morphine Sky (Antigen[0] remix)' and 'Lagrimas que Queman (Antigen[0] remix)', range from fairly good to decent, but don't stand out as much as some of the songs that precede them. 'Que se Rinda tu Madre' has a good keyboard refrain during the chorus and a bass beat that throbs nicely throughout the song, 'Morphine Sky (Antigen[0] remix)' suffers from being a bit too repetitive and 'Lagrimas que Queman (Antigen[0] remix)' is repetitive as well, but changes it up enough that it works better and provides a decent end to the album.

'Todas Nuestras Sangres' has me hoping that Antigen[0] will finally get noticed. Throughout the album, it is evident that they want to experiment with music. Where can they go with this? I'd like to see what they can do with this experimental quality when backed by a label. Mar 22 2012