Had possibly a few things happened differently since their early ‘80s beginnings, New York’s Antietam might be mentioned more often and in the same breath as fellow travellers like Yo La Tengo, Come, Throwing Muses and Eleventh Dream Day. Yet Antietam’s place on the outer echelons of vintage left-of-the-dial grandee circles has not diminished the frequently reliable creative returns across a diverse — albeit hard to fully acquire — body of work.
Certainly, through The Counting Game — newly arriving via a freshly inked deal with Dromedary Records – the long-running three-piece line-up of Tara Key (vocals, guitars, piano, synths, organ and more), Tim Harris (bass, vocals, cello) and Josh Madell (drums) appears renewed and in rude health.
Accompanied by a handful of nimble guests – notably including Sue Garner and Tara Jane O’Neil – and bringing in a triumvirate of time-travelling lost songs to join much newer ones, The Counting Game is arguably the most satisfyingly eclectic Antietam studio set since 2007’s double-length Opus Mixtum. Hence, the collection manifests as a microcosmic synthesis of the trio’s existing sonic spectrum plus more besides, whilst still concisely containing itself in a single-length suite.
Consequently, in places the LP holds recurring trademark elements of Crazy Horse-via-Velvet Underground prowling and chugging (“Way Too Well” and “The Finest Line”) as well as Patti Smith Group-style sprawling (“Good Advice”); scuffed-up but balmy electro-acoustic shuffling (“Spy Vs. Spy”); and a joyously rustic Harris-led banjo-bolstered hoedown (“Dorado Gold”).
Elsewhere there is majestically hushed atmospheric meditating (“Every Other Star”); warm wordless post-rock interluding (“Winter Watch”); terrific piano-powered barroom-jazz buoyancy (“Coco Bella”); a sublime celestial chamber piece that echoes Key’s riveting side-duo releases with Eleventh Dream Day’s Rick Rizzo (the title track); and cathartic Zen Arcade-side-four-tinged punk-jamming (“Coney Island”).
Stitched together with lots of intricate instrumental details and vocal layers, The Counting Game generously reveals its shrewdly crafted strengths over successive spins, to make it one of Antietam’s most adventurous and most accessible go-to long-players.
-Adrian-
