2020 was a difficult year for most people and given the time, musicians in particular had to find their own different ways to deal with it. Many were very active on social media, posting blogs, lockdown videos, acoustic tracks and the like. Some took the time to re-assess their path in the industry, others found new musical avenues to explore, and if you are a long time member of Borknagar and driving force behind Solefald, you clearly use this free time to finally get that 70’s inspired psyche rock project that you’ve been thinking about doing off the ground.
So that’s exactly what Lars Are Nedland did, inviting Tobias Solbakk (drums – Ihsahn etc.) along with bassist Vergard Kummen and guitarist Eivind Marum to join him and the end result is something quite unique. Vocally, Nedland’s voice suits this slightly bluesy, retro style really well, but his vocal lines are more avant-garde and, well, Borknagar/Solefald at times, which means that the band’s sound isn’t easily pinned down. There’s a gorgeous abundance of classic rock lead guitar work that ties the music with the past, but with a very contemporary energy and approach.
At a pinch, some of these tracks could be tagged onto the most recent Solefald or Borknagar releases (maybe aided by Borknagar’s Oysten G. Brun handling the mixing/mastering duties), but equally could find themselves within a distant release by Blue Oyster Cult or similar – albeit with a different production. There’s a smoothness to the band’s sound – the vocals and guitar are very much part of the sound-wave rather than suddenly being pushed to the front like it would have been back in the 70’s and early 80’s. This is another aspect that maybe sets this band aside further from acts trying to emulate the past style like Horisont or Night Flight Orchestra for instance – White Void use the past as an influence to do something a bit different.
“Anti” is very melancholy and dark in places, but this is balanced by the bright use of keys and melody that shine through alongside the intricate, interesting guitar work. Effortless rhythmically driven time changes add an interesting progressive edge as you might expect, with added occasional period electronics for extra intrigue. There’s a lot of hidden depths to each different track which will give the album longevity, and on the whole…it’s an album that is fabulously difficult to pigeon-hole. This is unapologetically what it is, and it is what it wants to be…and it’s actually rather bloody good.
(8.5/10 Andy Barker)
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