Antique by A Dead Forest Index

Reviewer: Chris Hattingh

      A Dead Forest Index consists of two brothers, Adam and Sam Sherry. With their first release (Antique) they have produced a great example of tasteful minimalism. The only instruments you will hear on this album are the human voice, acoustic and electric guitars (only one or two guitar tracks per song – if that), some sparse drums and a few synth swells in places. But as they demonstrate, this is more than sufficient for a well-rounded listening experience. I only wish the album was longer (instead of 5 songs, I would like to have heard 10-12 songs like this).

The production quality is excellent. The vocals are captivating – dreamy, wistful and lyrically mature. The songwriting (for the most part) is based around single, repetitive rhythmic figures that evolve subtly as each song progresses. Transitions are smooth and seamless, and the overall mood of the album is haunting and reflective.

“Distance” is a good lead off to the album. From the rhythm guitar intro to the sparse drums (which drop out in places) to the haunting vocal melody, this is a classic example of minimalism at its finest.

“Anchoring The Hands” has many of the same ingredients, but towards the end the instruments drop out one by one (the drums are the last to go) until you are left with only vocals – a beautiful a cappella section at the very end.

“Black Mud” starts out with an acoustic guitar intro, and features appealing and believable vocals with a mournful, introspective quality. The background beds of synth swells and the sparse drums contribute to the dreamy mood.

“A New Layer” is a slight departure stylistically. It starts with a unique harmonized vocal intro with plenty of breathing room. The vocal arrangement sounds almost choral, and this seamlessly morphs into a long instrumental fade out with synth samples of wind chimes and other random instruments. The randomness of the fade out sounds almost like alleatoric music.

“Turning” is the standout track for me. This is a real change stylistically. The long synth pedal note fade in sounds initially like a string sample, but the timbre evolves over time, sounding almost as if layers of bagpipes, accordions and harmonica are subtly added or subtracted at different times. When the vocals kick in, I am immediately reminded of Gregorian chant. The emotional vocal performance has a reverence and solemnity that almost parallels ancient sacred music. Then there is time for reflection and introspection as the long drone fadeout (punctuated with what sounds like a few sparse tympani hits far in the background) winds down to let you land gently back on the ground.

All in all, a great first effort. I would highly recommend this CD to fans of minimalist music