When Duncan Patterson left Anathema in 1999 after the release of their highly-regarded ‘Alternative 4’ album, a fair few commentators speculated that this could spell serious trouble for the group. A founder member and principle songwriter (alongside guitarist Daniel Cavanagh), Patterson’s loss was certainly considered a blow, one from which the Liverpudlians might not recover. Anathema’s subsequent follow-up ‘Judgment’ nevertheless highlighted that the band could not only survive in his absence but thrive, remaining this scribe’s favourite release of theirs. They have since gone onto to explore textures and soundscapes far beyond the metal spectrum, polarizing the opinions of their more ‘metal’ fanbase (some love it, some hate it) with their brand of wistful, atmospheric prog-rock but undeniably following their own vision and always looking forward.
And as for Patterson? It’s been a less defined trajectory I think it’s fair to say. ‘Antimatter’ – the first of his post-Anathema projects – was solid enough, maintaining the more downbeat, sparse atmosphere of his contributions to Alternative 4 and bringing on board elements of trip-hop and more contemporary, urban influences. Patterson stuck around for three albums before departing to form the imaginatively-named Alternative 4.
Even before hearing a note of this – their second album – concerns were simmering. To name your own band after an album released by your old band is bad enough, but 10 years after the release of said album and your subsequent departure? It doesn’t stack up – in my eyes, this is NOT a good thing. It smacks of brand association, a vaguely petulant attempt at taking ‘ownership’ of a concept long since associated with another entity. Regardless of whether or not the album name was his idea, it feels like raking up something from the past that should be left as it is.
Regardless, the music should speak for itself – and sadly, if it did speak, it would be in the form of monotonous, nasal delivery so beloved of high-ranking executives within the finance sector drably justifying their obscene profit margins. Yes, I am afraid to say that ‘The Obscurants’ is a deeply, deeply disappointing album. From the clichéd piano tinkling and sub-Anathema ‘pained’ crooning of opener ‘Theme For the Obscuritanist’, across the patience-stretching 10 minute dirge of ‘Paracosm’ (a song so boring it genuinely feels like the final motif is never going to end) to the fist-bitingly ‘deep’ lyrics and hilarious house beats at the start of ‘Closure’, this album is an exercise in overwrought self-indulgence and desperately misjudged pseudo-maturity.
There is a thin line between minimal and empty, between hypnotic and repetitive and between sincerity of expression and plain old ham and for each one, Alternative 4 always manage to fall on the wrong side of the line. ‘Dina’ is dismal, the unimaginative tremolo jangle of the guitars underlining a cringe-making vocal refrain whilst the seemingly ceaseless piano (it’s on EVERYTHING on this album) tinkles blandly away over the whole thing.
‘Lifeline’ meanwhile gets off to a decent start with a vaguely memorably riff but come the god-awful lyrics of the chorus (‘I gave you a lifeline… but now I’m callin’ time’) delivered in the strictest of po-faced fashions, all that good work is undone. I guess that there are shades of half-convincing ‘Fields of the Nephilim’-esque 80s goth touches on ‘Mr Black’ and ‘The Tragedy Shield’ contains some decent and evocative acoustic guitar flourishes but we really are clutching at straws by this point in our search for highlights.
As a reviewer, it does pain me to admit that there are occasions whereby we actually resent the time spent listening to albums, such is the banal quality of the music contained therein. ‘The Obscurants’ is one of these – the hours of my life I have spent listening to this I will never get back and that pains me. It’s a an absolute grade-A song-free vacuum of a record. So, so earnest – so, so grown-up – and so, so very fucking dull.
(3/10 Frank Allain)
https://www.facebook.com/alternative4.band
03/10/2014 at 3:34 pm
Just giving this a listen and the oddest thing about it (and not mentioned anywhere that I could see on the PR details) is that the song Returning The Screw is in fact a Fugazi cover. Cottoned on towards the end of it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Iz8Ppz6d5c
06/10/2014 at 11:56 pm
I think this is one of the dullest reviews I could ever read.
“De gustibus non est disputandum”, ok, but the main feeling reading this is about some kind of personal issues with Duncan?
Yeah… there is a thin line between dull music and emotional music, and Duncan Patterson is always on the right side, with his Anathema years, Antimatter, Ion and now Alternative 4. If you don’t have time to see and understand why he chose Alternative 4 as a monicker, maybe it was better for you not to write about them. There are reasons why things happen, and some artists just are NOT easy and superficial.
Some artists don’t go with the mainstream but follow their souls and feelings, in the most sincere way, so sincere they avoid success and struggle to… be sincere to them and to fans.
Really… also the part about the Anathema evolution, please… talking about being sincere???
I’ll give 1 to his review and 8/9 to the Obscurants.
Sorry if I make you loose time reading this, Frank, and sorry I lost mine reading your full of anger review.
07/10/2014 at 12:13 am
Hello Frank, I completely disagree with your approach to this review. I do not disagree with the fact you want firmly and clearly tell what you think of this album and Patterson’s Music. One man is free to dislike art and discuss it. that’s fine for me. Everyone shows his opinion. And for example I think that a song like Dina can tell me a lot about the honest and 100% musical approach of Patterson and his mates to art, free from obscure purposes (or commercial echoes using “old” titles)and still trying to forge a Path. Question for me is on another plan: this review seems to me too much focused on an interpretation of Patterson as man, with personal judgements about his relationship with Anathema, trying to interpretate why he wanted to use “Alternative 4” as name of his present band BUT, not explaining why you consider this a BAD thing; why? we are discussing here the album (with the good of different opinions about it) or making a trial to Ducan Patterson as man? This made me sad, terribly sad. I’m used to tell what I think, honestly…
I would say last thing: What I see is that nowaday all the web is full of reviews looking like judgements and not something useful to create an artistical debate, all is reduced to something like a “post football match discussion” and there’s no sinergy, no fair confrontation. Everyone writes about Others but not a single direction is developed and if u try to speak in a different manner well, the best chance one can have is to be considered funny.
Marco
07/10/2014 at 12:19 pm
You know what the most painful thing is? Your website’s backdrop, for my eyes.
07/10/2014 at 7:46 pm
I think Mr Patterson’s musical direction is as he intended, the offending review if I can call it that is nothing more than a childish passive aggressive rant spawned by a mummys boy type charecter who believes his intelligence to be above most others. A real keyboard warrior who trolls various pieces to gain a name for himself.the boy calls himself “the watcher” that kind of says it all. Crawl back to safety Mr watcher you are not or ever will be half as skilled as Duncan.
29/10/2014 at 1:17 pm
Nobody forced you to listen to it, or to review it Mr Allain. And the personal digs and insults have no place in a music review. Good luck with your own music.
29/10/2014 at 1:34 pm
I’m surprised you are all of a sudden making a comment on this Duncan having seen reaction to it on your Facebook page some time ago, I guess it really has hit a nerve and sorry about that but would have thought by now you would be well used to seeing reviews both good and bad and I don’t see it as anything resembling a ‘personal dig’ at you within it.
Sure Frank had no loaded gun at his head to review this but kindly stepped up to take it from a big reviews list, we are constantly asked to cover a huge amount of digital material and take on as much that is suitable as we can. We are not one of those sites (and there are many out there) that only publish things that get a good review and that is something as an artist you have to take on board when your work is submitted for scrutiny I’m afraid.
Anyway thanks for writing in, best of luck in the future yourself and we look forward to any further albums which will naturally be reviewed (albeit by another writer) as honestly as we feel about them, if they are submitted to us.
Pete Woods site editor.