Description
Antarctica – “81:03:00” Double LP
Originally released as a double CD in 1999 on the excellent File 13 Records. It gained some attention on its release, mainly due to the presence of Eric Richter, who was not long departed from the very excellent Christie Front Drive, and teaming-up here with a bunch of other creatives to try something a bit different. From my recollection, response to Atarctica was – pun intended – a bit cool, and maybe, because of the lack of emo-post-hardcore guitar strumming, faced a certain amount of sniffy indifference. Which was unfair, because this collection of eleven (long) songs has aged remarkably well, and I guess their dark, dreamy mix of electro-pop and sparkling shoegaze – a mix of The Cure, Underworld and Elliott – was just too ahead of its time. Belated respect is due, and it’s no surprise the band have picked-up quite a cult following. An album that is well worth investigating if you’re a Christie Front Drive fan (and all the bands Eric Richter has performed in ever since), and also for anyone who digs chillwave, and mellow indie such as The XX.
