Matthew Stubs And The Antiguas have finally released a recorded document of their popular live band. Aside from their Monday night residency at The Sinclair in Cambridge, Massachusetts, MSATA have been dazzling audiences all over New England with their frenzied mix of rock and roll, acid blues, and explosive improvisation. Their eponymous CD finds the band playing the kind of aggressive, explorative music they’ve made their mark with.
“Fistful” opens this album with Chris Rivelli’s adept drum fills. Stubbs jumps in with a kaleidoscopic guitar line, a swashbuckling thrust of colors, tones, and assertive drive. Circling around that feisty guitar knifing action is Ken Clark’s bracing swirl of keyboard madness. Shifting dynamics opens the sound wider as these players kick out a mad hatter’s ball of wild expression. If they were playing this number live, audience members might look up to see if there is a go go dancer inside a suspended cage while trying to figure out who’s selling the acid.
On “Bastille Day,” co-written by the CD’s producer, Dave Brophy, Stubbs keeps muscling this number forward with a flinty riff. Clark’s farfisa organ winds around the six string adventure with his own colorful slabs of keyboard. All of the keyboard notes and chords play like a tight machine with the solid bass guitar work from Mark Hickox and boptastic drumming from Rivelli.
“El Segundo” is a sprawling down tempo number. It takes its time, rolling along with nuanced drum fills and a bass guitar line that feels lifted, suspended in air. The upper register instruments mosey along, Stubbs pealing off bright, hard hitting guitar lines, Clark spreading a sonic layer of organ around. This number glides around like a magic carpet on a slow ride while letting nuggets of talent jump around on their own accord. As for setting a mood, these boys have no rivals. One can easily picture four gunslingers walking toward the center of town to face off with another flinty gang.
“Dub Stubs” is a feisty, stabbing piece. Stubbs combines a great sense of rhythm and a great sense of tone to come up with a line that oozes with cool. There is a groove here that feels like solid and steady, like a stallion about to be rode into battle. A keyboard hisses with electronic anxiety while the groove becomes more pronounced. It’s an amazing rock and roll sound, reminding the listener of many adept players and tunes from a wide variety of modern electric genres. It might also make one wonder what these musicians had in their record collections when they were kids.
“John Doe” is a butt kicking number. Stubbs guitar pushes forward with bursts of explosive energy as Clark’s keyboard chords come cascading down in an artsy expression of soul This tune plays a like a fun contest of wills between the upper register instruments. Each unfurls its own madness, pushing the other to riff harder or chord more intensely It also impresses how well these player can throw out their net of sound so far and wide while remaining in a tight unit.
“Unwinder” might remind of a mix of early Pink Floyd and Spaghetti Western film scores. There is a fantastic range in each note played, like each has its own little story to tell. Clark’s icy cool organ glide layers over the groove a 1960s vibe before the guitar takes on a psychedelic vibe, riffing with chords that ring out with the heaviness of a smack in the face. This one rocks right out, takes no prisoners, and has a killer groove that moves like a force of nature.
“Del Diablo” has as much of a demonic presence as the title implies. These player, again, set a scene perfectly. One can hear a touch of menace in Stubbs’s crunchy, ringing guitar chords. He keeps his sound thick with groove but maintains a screamy lead line inside. A listener might feel he’s being pushed toward his doom by the way this rhythm section drives everything forward.
“Dancing With The Bull” comes in mellow, with a lilting groove that the guitar and organ seesaw over with nuggets of colorful tones. Eventually those colorful notes expand and become a juicy organ groove and a guitar phrase that leads the way through the sonic landscape with fierce resolve. It’s a tune that fans will love as much for the vibe conjured by the tones as well as for the musicianship.
“Death Grip” is made up of burst of riffs and explosive guitar work. You can feel every little one of those notes, riffs, and chords making a firm point about dynamics, tone, and melodic-groove relationship. Stubbs keeps shifting from a piercing lead line to a series of explosive chords. Each player takes turn emitting and emoting something fierce, something that makes a strong impression on the listener with each note.
Stubbs and his boys close out with “Tarantino,” a surf guitar influenced number. This one makes us picture the cool people hanging out at a beach venue, shaking and shimmying what they’ve got to the house band’s groove. It’s a fun number that is well constructed around a driving beat and layered with oldies organ groove and a flinty, expressive guitar line.
Stubbs And The Antiguas have proven that they can get their exciting live concert sound documented on a recording. Recorded at New Alliance Audio in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Revolution sound in Charlestown, Massachusetts, Stubbs and co-producer Dave Brophy capture showcase this sound with impeccable technique. With this CD as a calling card, who knows where Stubbs and his Antiguas will next take their highly impressive band and its impeccably rocking sound. Music fans should buy a copy right away.
https://www.matthewstubbs.net/
