My girlfriend asked me, earlier this year: “why does all music you like sound so bloody serious?”. At first I denied this and listed a couple of bands and albums that sound more party-like, but after giving it some thought I had to agree. I really lean towards the stuff that sounds bloody serious.
In comes Impure Wilhelmina, who can sound like the weight of the world is on their shoulders. I imagine this music appeals more to those who like their music not too light hearted. Right up my alley you might say. And it is! It is also an album that gives you a lot to process. Which explains why I’ve been sitting on this album before writing a review for it.
Impure Wilhelmina is a Swiss band that has been around for more than two decades by now and Antidote is their seventh album. I got to know them through their previous album, Radiation, which is already four years old. I described this album as a post-hardcore band that blended in loads of different influences, including doom metal, black metal and some post-rock. I even mentioned they could be described as The Smiths gone metal. Impure Wilhelmina knows how to blend influences into one coherent whole.
The success-formula of Radiation has not changed much. Although the band didn’t learn or adopt new tricks, they did improve their songwriting capabilities. Comparing the two albums I would say that the different influences are now more pronounced, but still melded together in a very natural way. What I mean is: the black metal influences are more clearly present, “Dismantling Hollow” is a prime example with its blast beats and black metal vocals. The same goes for the other influences mentioned. The end result is a more dynamic and diverse album.
This also means that, with a similar running time of almost an hour, you will have to give it more time to discover and digest everything you hear on Antidote. In fact, after listening to it on a regular basis for over almost three months I still discover new details.
The production benefits the discovery of small details. Where I complained that the production on Radiation was too loud and the bass was close to inaudible, Antidote sports a slightly more subtle production. It is still loud (too loud to my liking, but I am a sucker for more old-school productions), but this time you will not suffer from fatigue after playing the album once.
Serious as this album may be, it is very cathartic in my experience. I feel lighter after spinning it. Where I liked the previous album a lot, I like Antidote even more. I admire the bands perseverance; still going strong after twenty five years, still improving their sound and songwriting is quite something. I am surprised this band is not yet a household name in the genre. I think they deserve that position. Hopefully this album will solidify that position for them.
