Ativin
Interiors
[Secretly Canadian; 2002]
Rating: 6.0
Ativin, welcome back. Four years ago, when you bid us adieu, perhaps
not too many people noticed or cared-- but those of us who did shook
our heads and heaved a heavy, regretful sigh. We knew your time had
come; it was obvious. Math-rock was on the inevitable slide,
especially heavy instrumental math-rock like yours. Too few ideas,
too many bands, drawing upon too few sources. So you got out while
the getting was good, after releasing just one full-length, a couple
EPs, and a single. Brief, direct, lean, to the point-- just like the
band itself. A minimal but pummeling drummer and two guitarists.
Bassist? Who needs a bassist? The gypsies had no homes and you had
no bassist. It all made sense, and after a tour in support of your
lone proper album, you called it quits, and that too made sense.
But now you're back with a new record, Interiors, but why? I
can see how the threads from the earlier stuff flow through onto this
one, but on the whole this seems like the work of a completely
different band, and, well, you are largely a completely different
band, so why not just come out and say so? It's not like ELO touring
without Jeff Lynne or anything. Guitarists Dan Burton and Chris
Carothers are on board, but gone is drummer Rory Leitch, and while
replacement Kevin Duneman is adequate, frankly, he lacks the punch and
quick snap of Leitch, whose drumming went a long way toward creating
your distinctive sound amidst the faceless hordes of mathy noodlers.
But on top this personnel shift, the string section from Burton's
Early Day Miners (the band he formed soon after Ativin disbanded) is
all over this record. So, based on the line-up alone, this could
almost be called a Early Day Miners release.
But based on the music, too, Interiors is closer to Early Day
Miners than your old self. Sure, this album has got those repetitive,
interlocking guitar patterns we came to love, but they're less
disorienting now and more atmospheric-- like Early Day Miners. Hell,
it's even got vocals on a couple songs-- and bass, and baritone
guitar, and electronics, and strings, and on and on. It's like a
freaking orchestra! Don't get me wrong, this is a nice little record
you've made here; it just seems conflicted. I dunno, I like things
to make sense, and what made Ativin Ativin, in my mind, was the
leanness and power. No offense, but you were like a well-bred horse,
even when you got a little trippy and sprawling on that last posthumous
EP of yours-- it was still simple and undeniably listenable. Now
you're just all over the place.
There are some heavy, ass-kicking segments here, like the tailsection
of "End of Tape" or pretty much the entirety of "Scissors" and "Two
Knives as Crutches," but what to do with the dubbed-out "When the Sky
Turns Clear," or the going nowhere-ness of "Underwater," or the
stuttering mumble of "A Single Crease"? It would be different if
these curveballs were aimed at something, but somehow they just seem
like exercises in recording technique. I know Burton runs his own
studio now, but c'mon, there's no reason for about half of these
songs. Ativin, you've traded in your economy for the sprawl of Early
Day Miners, without securing much of their luminous grandeur in the
bargain. At any rate, welcome back. Here's your lukewarm review.
-Jason Nickey, June 5th, 2002