Anti/Beyond - Anti/Beyond

Anti/Beyond

Anti/Beyond
self-released; 2016

​4.0 out of 5

By Matt Jensen

Anti/Beyond is a solo project by Andrew Masters. The name of this musical project combined with the imagery reminded me of a comic book hero on his self-titled album Anti/Beyond. I’m not sure that's what he was going for but that’s what came to mind. On his Bandcamp page he mentions that his music is “meditative indie rock act.” Rock was not the word I would use to describe his music. It veers toward pop, electronic and IDM in my opinion. I was reminded of artists like Postal Service and Junior Boys.

However you want to label it the music is polished and combines a diverse palette of sounds. The music also sounded contemporary. It sounded like an album that might be made in 2017. Oh trust me there are plenty of albums that don’t sound contemporary that are being released this year. It’s not necessarily a plus or a minus but I would say an artist has a better chance of rising above the over saturated market if it sounds contemporary. 

He opens up with “Android Tracks.” The song is catchy, really catchy but the best part about it are the production techniques which are inventive and unique. He mentions he uses cell phone field recordings and from what I can tell he implements an autotune type effect on this song. The results are quite melodic and make it sound embedded in the arrangement rather than a poorly placed sample. 

“Victory Monument” was a highlight. The song reminded me of one of my favorite groups of all time The Notwist. Combine that with a dash of Postal Service and Justice and you should have a good idea of what this song sounds like. 

“Piece of Glass” is another success. It’s dynamic and has a really defined low end. It’s the type of track that would sound great in a club. “Not Exhausted” has a danceable groove not to far off from artists like Wild Nothings while “Letting Go” has more subtle, melancholy moments.

As the album progresses I can’t say I found a single dud in the bunch. I thought the closer “Native on the Run” was one of the more emotionally resonant on the album. His vocals remind me of Perfume Genius on this song. 

​It’s obvious to me that there was so much attention to detail on this album. The production is exceptional. However a pop album in my opinion still needs songs which can stand without the effects and fancy production tricks. Luckily, this album holds up in this department as well. This album delivers.

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