ANTIBODIES - 2019 + 2018 LP

"Look up the Canadian city of Charlottetown and you’ll learn a decent chunk of its musical history. Big bands, opera... even fiddle music, thanks to early Scottish settlers in the province of Prince Edward Island. What the guide books won’t tell you, for some unfathomable reason, is that the place is also home to one of the most blazing weirdo hardcore punk bands on the planet.

Meet Antibodies: Ben, Teajay, Ryan and Brett make a thoroughly scuzzy, blink-and-you’ll-have-missed-half-the-album racket that shares a lax attitude to studio fidelity with their countrymen the Booji Boys. So far they’ve racked up one mighty impressive demo tape and two intensely enjoyable albums, the helpfully titled ‘LP 2018’ and ‘LP 2019’.

It’s the latter two releases we’re talking about today, since they’ve been compiled together onto one unmissable slab of wax (equally helpfully titled ‘LP 2019 + LP 2018’). With each side ten tracks long and wobbling around the 11-minute mark, it’s clear they’re aiming for brevity, concision and a speedy approach that’s gonna see ‘em ram as many full-pelt ragers through your ears in as short a time as possible. Yes, on first listen it’s a blur of furious energy and brutal power chords, with barely enough time to pause and take it all in. But of course, by the tenth listen you’ll have declared them your favourite band and written them a dictionary’s worth of love letters, begging them to come play your town.

This ain’t music to savour subtly, or to spin in the background while reclining gently on a chaise-longue while sampling the finest wines and most befuddling of gourmandises. This is punk rock in its purest form. It sounds like Thee Oh Sees, shorn of the krautrock groove and 60s sprinklings, firing themselves from a cannon straight into a brick wall. It’s relentless, not that you’ll want it to stop. It’s Black Flag if they’d only stuck with Keith and realised their songs could all be edited down to something even more potent. It’s two records from last year and the year before, juxtaposed to form your favourite album of 2020. Play it once, play it twice, play it over and over again, forever; Antibodies are the product of and cure for boredom - and boy, do you ever need ‘em in your life."
Will Fitzpatrick.