The Nathaniel Johnstone Band’s Antikythera Mechanism
By IrinaXara
The Nathaniel Johnstone Band’s third
full-length studio album is a concept project and the product of an
enthusiastically-crowdfunded campaign .
Classical Greek narrative takes center stage to join the usual Americana, folk
and Middle Eastern flavors, as well as electro and postpunk expeditions on a
number of songs. This time around, the artist Dogwood, AKA Seattleite Kate
McKnight, steps on board this wild and whimsical ship for a series of
powerhouse and occasionally gut-wrenching vocals. The ultimate product is
another true-to-form sonic journey through a number of genres.
The band’s funding project page (linked above) contains the following quote explicating Johnstone’s inspiration for the album:
…”
I read an article about the sophisticated science and technology of Ancient
Greece. Reportedly, they had death rays, steam technology, and were making
clockwork devices that rival the elegance of modern Swiss watch makers. Our
whole world is thick with the influence of Greek art, music, knowledge and
philosophy. For instance, the oldest known complete musical composition is from
Greece (it's dated to somewhere between 200BC to 100AD).
The
title of the album comes from an ancient artifact found in the Mediterranean
Sea off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera in 1900-1901. The corroded
bronze object had obvious gear work and, after years of care and investigation
was found to be a device used to predict the movements of the heavenly bodies -
eclipses, the phase of the moon, the wanderings of Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus,
and Mercury through the heavens. Scholars and scientists today are still
puzzling over the complexities that the mechanism has to offer. The
sophistication required to make this was lost and didn't reappear again until
nearly 1500 years later.”
The
subject matter is indeed a perfect fit for this group. While many may balk
immediately upon hearing the words “concept album,” the pieces on The Antikythera Mechanism work naturally
with Johnstone’s spread-out song genre choices. In this respect, the album is
similar to the previous album, Narratives.
The liberty behind the “Steampunk” label in music is that no one style
encapsulates it and Johnstone & Co. certainly know how to take this freedom
by the reins. The continued influences of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern
music evoke Johnstone’s wife Tempest,
who now in addition to performing as a bellydancer with the band plays a number
of instruments in their live performances and is additionally responsible for
the band’s website and visual branding.
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| Photo credit: Keith Coleman |
The truth of the matter is that I am
still getting used to McKnight’s voice on this album, but it is nonetheless
clear and powerful. Johnstone demonstrates increased confidence with his own
vocals on this album, duetting with McKnight on “Flyover Country” and “Steam”
and holding his own singing on “Dance With Me,” “Stardust” and “Snugglefish.” I
was pleased with how Johnstone seems to feel less of a need on this album to
hide behind childlike whimsical jangly tunes and seriously investigates
minimal/postpunk motifs on “Flyover Country” and “Stardust.” Of course, this
merry band would never have it too seriously, hence the understandable
brilliance of kids’ programming-or-underwater drinking-song moments like
“Snugglefish.”
Other favorites of mine on The Antikythera Mechanism include “Who
Mourns Eos,” powered by Alyssa Rosenbloom’s dreamy, Blonde Redhead-esque vocals
and “Dance with Me,” which focuses on Dixieland fun. As a performer of Middle
Eastern dance, “Persephone Rises” and the instrumental track “Pythia,” stand
out as my absolute favorites, recalling the joy of my improvisational
collaboration with Johnstone on viola at this year’s Clockwork Alchemy
convention in San Jose. The ethereal “Epitaph” might not necessarily be my
personal choice for a song to put on repeat, but it does happen to be an
absolutely fantastic choice for the album’s concluding song, reminding
listeners that this collection is based around a theme.
The
Antikythera Mechanism is a worthy successor to Narratives. McKnight’s sea shanty-esque moments can take some
getting comfortable with, but there is no argument that her voice is qualified
to occupy the helm of such a musically skilled group. Rosenbloom and Johnstone’s
vocals are easy to savor here, and while there are fewer nods to darker music
on the album, I kept returning, engrossed, to the deathrock-style fuzz bass on
“Stardust.” I love the Nathaniel Johnstone Band best when they are playing rock
n’ roll and Middle Eastern music, but the best thing about this group is that
you don’t have to love them for the same reasons. There are so many endearing
qualities to choose from.
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| From L to R: Tempest, Nathaniel and Kate Photo Credit: Dave Johnson |
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