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Atheist Nation - The road

2/26/2015

3 Comments

 
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Atheist Nation

The Road
self-released; 2014

3.4 out of 5


By Kevin Sterne


Atheist Nation epitomizes the idiom, “Don’t judge a book by its cover;” in this instance, though, one shouldn’t judge a band’s music by its name. Instead of chain-saw guitars and guttural vocals—tropes of any archetypal death metal band, Atheist Nation beguiles with acoustic chording and Dylan-esque singing. So, it’s a folk outfit masquerading as a metal group? Clever girl. 

Folk as a genre has progressed immensely since the likes of Dylan, Guthrie (Arlo) and Young (see: The Tallest Man on Earth, Sufjan Stevens and Ben Howard) but Atheist Nation’s The Road is almost entirely a flashback to last century’s folk. Blonde on Blonde, Alice’s Restaurant, and After the Gold Rush aren’t relevant to most listeners, but The Road emulates the classics well. It just doesn’t offer anything new. 

“The Abduction of Edward” is a rehashing of Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” with a touch of catharsis— same vocal delivery, stronger guitar tempo. Likewise, “Lost Saloon” would be right at home on Neil Young’s Harvest. Even though Atheist Nation shows their cards often, many songs can still be enjoyable as homages. 

The group finds themselves in trouble though when they try to blend yesterday’s instrumentals with lyrics about today. It’s their attempt at topical lyrics that expose their ugly side. The third track “Nobody’s World” is a fine example: “It’s nobody’s land. He’s nobody’s man/ He dreams tomorrow to his fill/ It’s nobody’s game. The rules never change/ The timeless watcher standing still.” These words lack the poignancy and the specificity listeners expect from today’s artists. And “The Surrogate’s” “Oh mothers teach you children of the evil in this world/ The kind of thing they really out to know” will never work, regardless of the time period. Ben Howard’s “Where We Were” speaks to the urgency of today’s world: “Oh, hey/ I wasn’t listening/ I was watching Syria blinded by the sunshine strip/ you, you were in the kitchen/ your mariner’s mouth the wounded with the wounder’s whip.” 

With such obvious musical ability and a plethora of supporting musicians (The Road utilizes eight guest musicians), it’s a shame to waste it all in an effort to replicate the past. Perhaps it’s time Atheist Nation put aside the ‘60’s and ‘70s folk and embrace the sound of today. A death metal tinge would be interesting.
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3 Comments
Ed Kent
3/4/2015 06:47:14 am

Hey Kevin,
thanks for the review. I think that's pretty fair. An interesting concept you suggest about modernizing 'folk!' However, for the record, Atheist Nation is not, has never been, and never will be a death metal band. What started out in 1991 as a garage punk/rock endeavor has necessarily taken some different directions over the years. Writing a set style has never been my bag, and as Atheist Nation is pretty much a solo project I can call the shots and go where the muse takes me, for better or worse. Listeners of the first 2 eps "Punk Acid Blues" and "Pavlov's God" will indeed find "The Road" to be a real departure particularly from epic compositions such as "Totonka". Such is life. The idea for "The Road" came about because I got fed up with doing all the parts of multi-track recordings and took up the challenge of trying to write simple stripped down songs I didn't need a backing band to play live. So getting to a point of doing more with the genre simply didn't figure in the plans. Maybe next time? The guest artists wound up on the record as a way to try to explore more expanded versions of some songs. Regarding the lyrics, I suppose the lack of immediate topical touchstones in a song like "Nobody's World" might not satiate, however, Jello Biafra's poignant observations on any number of topics are now consigned to the history bin, whereas the lyrics of "Nobody's World" sketch a set of truths that will still be relevant in decades yet to come. Of course, by then, who will be listening!
PS Thanks for the Bob and Neil parallels. Not that you're the first to suggest them, but for a guy well familiar with Hendrix's version of "Watchtower" who has never ever heard the Dylan original I'll take the re-working as a compliment!

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anthony
3/5/2015 09:10:39 pm

In my humble opinion the' lost saloon ' is one of the most important songs of are time, and it seems a shame that I'm one of the few people who will probably ever get to hear,,
Cheers Anthony

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Carter McNabb
3/11/2015 04:59:51 am

I'll take a comparison to Dylan any day. Well done Ed. You're a real artist.

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