hypersongs

Antarctica

Their second full-length: eleven songs, recorded with Steve Albini in six days, whose label blurb says the sound has hardened for a turbulent year.
Flat Worms, 2020

Antarctica (GOD018) was recorded by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago, and the whole record was recorded and mixed in six days; Buzzbands says Albini and Ty Segall mixed it, while Drag City credits only Albini. It follows the 2019 mini-LP Into the Iris and is the first full-length since the 2017 debut, running about 40 minutes. The Drag City blurb says the sound has hardened and the album addresses a turbulent 2020. "Market Forces" was released as the first single on February 12, 2020, and a release show was announced for May 8, 2020 at Zebulon in Los Angeles, which may not have taken place.

Loud and Quiet's Ollie Rankine gave it 7 out of 10 on April 6, 2020, calling it a chaotic vision of the mundane; Paste's Lizzie Manno gave it 7.4, writing that they have perfected the art of absolutely filthy garage rock guitars; PopMatters's Crizia Giansalvo gave it 6, a solid effort lacking the spark of originality. The Fire Note thought Albini's production had declawed them.

Track listing

  1. The Aughts4:30
  2. Plaster Casts2:37
  3. Market Forces3:58
  4. Antarctica3:20
  5. Via2:45
  6. The Mine3:25
  7. Ripper 12:15
  8. Condo Colony2:52
  9. Signals0:42
  10. Wet Concrete3:38
  11. Terms of Visitation3:08

Sources

  1. Antarctica, Drag City
  2. Flat Worms: Market Forces premiere, Buzzbands LA (2020-02-12)
  3. Flat Worms: Antarctica, Loud and Quiet (2020-04-06)