Pitch Perfect
  • Pitch Perfect
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact

m.antonio - slingshot diaries

10/17/2013

2 Comments

 
Picture
M.Antonio 

Slingshot Diaries
self-released; 2013

3.8 out of 5

By Sean Dennison
M.Antonio offers four songs of introspective reflections on his debut EP Slingshot Diaries. It's a short, blunt affair, like a night of winter lovemaking. There is a coldness in the frank lyrics, which revolve around the general theme of loneliness. Yet there's also warmth in the glistening guitar work M.Antonio primarily employs to drive his music.

Stylistically the album siphons the heaviness of grunge rock with the melancholy of modern blues acts. The songs also show M.Antonio's garage rock pedigree at times, especially on the opener "Cornerstone" with the crunchy baseline and thick drumming. Mood swings are no problem for M.Antonio either. He goes from bitter confidence on the opener to bittersweet on "Halo," which uses ruminative chords over shaky percussion while M.Antonio delivers lines like, "Leave them trembling one by one / it's time to move along / we ain't done." Again, this frankness is one of his biggest strengths. Every word is given enough punch to make it meaningful but not so much to turn M.Antonio into a joke among listeners.

I'm not a big fan of "Honeybee." It's not a weak track in it's own right (he even experiments with backing vocal harmonies, I can't fault anybody for that), but it tries to replicate the more evocative "Halo" without much success, down to the almost identical, glassy guitar strumming. That's fine though because "Little Red Rooster" is where M.Antonio truly kills it.

The closer is so badass that I had to kick off my penultimate paragraph with that statement. It's a nasty, gritty, sinister cut where M.Antonio waxes existential, referring both to himself as the little red rooster and commenting, "There's been no peace in the farmyard / since my rooster's been gone." The electric guitar riffs are exactly what I want from my nightmarish blues artists, and of course there's the searing harmonica that cauterizes the wounds M.Antonio has delivered thus far. The string hits are seductive as hell, but the lyrics never let you forget that there is an element of danger in M.Antonio's music. This is the only track on the EP I'd qualify as an outright blues cut.

Slingshot Diaries isn't the easiest listen. It is a double-edged sword because its short track list works both for and against it. M.Antonio packs of a lot of emotion in a single cut, and while there are moments of catharsis, sometimes the mood can be congesting. Still, great musicianship and two wonderful tracks ("Halo" and "Little Red Rooster") make this more than worth checking out.
Become A Fan
official website
2 Comments
Andy Park
1/7/2014 09:11:31 am

If you think this guy wrote "Little Red Rooster," you have no place writing about blues musicians.

Reply
работа в москве вакансии менеджер link
5/14/2014 03:09:29 pm

I like this website because so significantly beneficial material on here : D.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

       Critique/insight

    We are dedicated to informing the public about the different types of independent  music that is available for your listening pleasure as well as giving the artist a professional critique from a seasoned music geek. We critique a wide variety of niche genres like experimental, IDM, electronic, ambient, shoegaze and much more.

    Tweets by pitchperfect158
    Are you one of our faithful visitors who enjoys our website? Like us on Facebook


    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

Company

About
Contributors

Newsletter

Newsletter
© Pitch Perfect 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Pitch Perfect
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact