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.
