On
German Water, the debut album from Indiana instrumental trio
Ativin, the band extrapolates the intelligent heaviness found on its
Pills Vs. Planes EP and compliments it with a brilliant handle on composition and musicianship. The result: an truly excellent album that satisfies cerebral and physical sonic cravings. The explosive dynamic between loud and soft is still an integral part of
Ativin's methodology, but on
German Water, volume changes are utilized more as elements of a song/sound rather than just for shock value. "Modern Gang Reader" begins at a snail's pace, but by song's end, the jagged double-guitar attack of Dan Burton and Chris Carothers has sandblasted away the song's earlier low-key inklings.
In the gently zooming, futuristic march "Stations," drummer Rory Leitch steadies the pace as a lone riff repeats in the background. From nowhere, guitars burst into an enveloping riff that might be the most ear-pleasing, head-nodding passage the band has yet penned. From the skipping, treated guitar pleasure of "Fortune Telling Fish" to the epic "Meeting With The Center Of The Earth,"
German Water is an inspiring collection of forward-looking rock. ~ Jonathan Cohen