Description
From 1998 to 2005 Duncan Patterson was a member of Antimatter, before that he belonged to Anathema, until their 1998 album “Alternative 4”, in which Patterson played a major role as songwriter – and which is now the eponym for his new band. Now Alternative 4 present the successor of their 2011 debut “The Brink” with “The Obscurants”. It’s become a quiet album. Bass player and pianist Patterson sets the tone here. Again and again piano passages glide discreetly along, only accompanied by bass and a little bit of drums. Occasionally a rhythm guitar is added. Every now and then musical outbursts occur: loud drums, deep, ominous piano notes. Again and again a little melody full of melancholy appears, which holds the album together like a red thread inside. It sounds on the piano, sometimes on the guitar, but is also performed by the vocals. By the way, newcomer Simon Flatley is responsible for this. Even though his voice is not comparable to that of Tim Bowness, “The Obscurants” is reminiscent of the intimacy of the no-man singer’s solo albums.
