Anthill

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Smother Magazine - Anthill "Waiting For the Sun" Review

Music Reviews of Modern Rock, Lo-Fi, Folk, Alternative, Pop

Anthill is your traditional singer/songwriter affair. Well maybe not so much as youd think. They mix in a smattering of power pop and alt.country for an alternative pop-rock album that will defy your logical reasoning about what relatively unheard of bands are capable of accomplishing. What we have here is a total winner from beginning to end. Crafty songwriting, purely brilliant melodies, and catchy hooks populate Waiting For the Sun making it a truly great album.

- J-Sin (Link to this music review)


- Smother Magazine

Dave Matthews vocals over a indie pop canvas. Pastel Rain sounds like a sure fire hit you would hear on pretty much any radio station that plays the likes of Good Charlotte, Ryan Adams, Dave Matthews and all points in between. These guys are a force to be reckoned with in the indie pop world and should be taken highly seriously by the major label powers that be.
Review by J.R. Oliver http://www.earcandymag.com/reviews49.htm
- Ear Candy Magazine Aug. 24,2006

Canadian 5 piece Anthill have been working on a new album for release around Easter. The as yet untitled 3rd album is all but one song complete, so Anthill are more than willing for us to review the near finished product.

Opening the album with the song Images, it has this sunny Californian style guitar riff and you get a feel of what Anthill are really about. The slowed down, Innocence gives a blend of Anthill's musical ability and this follows on with Disappointment. For a Canadian band they take a lot of inspiration from many different places and genres.

Citing influences from The Verve to Wilco and a singer who sounds like Adam Duritz from Counting Crows, you can imagine a bizarre, warped misgathering of music. But Anthill have taken the right pieces from the right places and made something brilliant.

The title track from their summer released EP, Waiting For the Sun raises the bar for the rest of the album to produce songs of this quality. No doubt it doesn't disappoint. The critically acclaimed Pastel Rain is a pure Californian, pop rock jaunt of teenage summer days. Two of my favorite songs on this record are Believe and Avenue, both are melodic, whimsical and have great meanings from the tale they tell.

Alive has more rocky overtunes than most of Anthill's songs but they sound right at home going a bit heavier. Speaking changing genre's we delve straight into the country rock tune that is Song For You. The song does no harm and it builds up for Sleepers. Now I don't think Sleepers has been cut enough slack from some of its previous reviews. The song is a great piece of somber, melodic music We like it that much we featured it in our January Podcast.

We end on Black & White, a float away song that seems harmless enough, but has a thought provoking message inside of it.

To appreciate this record, you need to listen to it in full. The songs are great, the track listing is great and bear in mind there is till one song to go on the record. It's fun, catchy and guaranteed to put smiles on faces! Ross U.T.
http://www.unearthedtreasures.co.uk/anthillalbumreview.html

- Unearthed Treasures

Anthill Radio Airplay

- Y108 Rocks (CJXY-FM) – Hamilton http://www.y108.ca/home/index.cfm

- Kick FM Winnipeg http://www.kick.fm

- CFOX 99.3 FM – Vancouver http://www.cfox.com

- XM Satellite Radio – USA http://www.xmradio.com http://radiounsigned.com

- Yellowbeat – Japan http://www.yellowbeat.com

- Indie Electronicaonline – USA http://www.indielectronicaonline.com

- Fearless Radio – Chicago http://www.fearlessradio.com

- RadioMike - Austin Texas, USA http://www.thefeveredbrainofradiomike.com

- CFRO 102.7 FM Radio Bandcouver.
Also on-line from http://www.bandcouver.com

- KRFC, Radio Free Colorado – USA http://www.live365.com/stations/115599

- KUMD – University of Minnesota – USA http://www.kumd.org

- Australian Worldwide Radio Nettwork – http://isonliveradio.com

- Radio Unerhort Marburg – Germany http://radio-rum.de/content

- CKUA – Edmonton http://www.ckua.org

- Pulse Rated – Norwich UK – http://www.pulserated.com

- CFBX – Kamloops http://tru.ca/radio8/main.html

- Live 365.com – USA http://www.live365.com/index.live
Collectif de Radios Blues – France
http://www.radioblues.com

- Indie Can – CBC http://www.indiecan.com

- CILU Lakehead University – Thunder Bay, Ontario
http://www.luradio.ca

- CKLU FM Laurentian University – Sudbury Ontario http://www.cklu.ca

- The Frequ - Durham College Oshawa, Ontario http://thefreq.ca/

- Radio Stations

Neu Futur Magazine - Nov. 22, 2006

The soft rock sound of Anthill quickly moves into something a little more intense during the second part of "Pastel Rain". While only a few individuals have heard of Anthill at this current moment, the maturity of the band's style throughout the entirety of "Waiting For The Sun" will ensure that only a few years need go by and Anthill will be a common name.

Even when Anthill slows things down, as is the case for "Waiting For The Sun", the style is still similar in quality to a Third Eye Blind or Fuel. The disc only has eight tracks to sate listeners, but each one of the songs on "Waiting For The Sun" is crafted in such a way to involve the widest swath of listeners. Perhaps the king of kings during this album is "Song For You", a track that has the intensity of a Fear Factory while still having the softness and nuance of an Uncle Tupelo. Anthill has their own style throughout "Waiting For The Sun" that only rarely shows influences of prior acts on the band. Simply put, Anthill is at the quality of a Coldplay. The tendrils of lighter rock that wrap around listeners during the band's "Avenue" is just another testament to the band's ability. While individuals may not be the biggest fans of Anthill's style, the simple fact is that individuals cannot do anything but give the band props for their deft arrangements and harmonies present on this album.

The inclusion of a little more psychedelic to their song "Alive" further differentiates the band's skill set. The disc ends at the twenty seven minute mark, but individuals will undoubtedly feel as if they have been a fan of Anthill for eons longer than that. The replay value of "Waiting For The Sun" is high, and individuals will have this disc in their CD players until that time where Anthill releases their LP. The eight tracks on this EP are enough in number to give listeners a good idea where Anthill will be at the end of a full length. There are no covers, but if Anthill wanted to do that, I have little doubt in my mind that the act will be able to guide the cover track into something that is completely their own. Check out Anthill's website, purchase "Waiting For The Sun", and give it a spin or two. http://www.neufutur.com/

- Neu Futur Magazine

Anthill has been growing on me. One of the difficulties of reviewing a bunch of stuff at the same time is that it’s easy to get hooked on the album that creates the biggest splash or that makes the strongest first impression. This framing effect is even stronger when the other albums are less accessible, more complex, take longer to grow on you, or just suck. “Waiting for the Sun” doesn’t suck (not even close), but it is a slow grower. It took me a good ten or so listens before I really started to get it. After about the fifth listen, I was really enjoying the hooks, and by the tenth I had it included in my daily listening playlist.

Anthill is fun alt-country with a bit of with a bit of a harder edge, as much to John Mellencamp as it is to Oasis or Travis. Singer-Songwriter, Mark Osachoff clearly dug into the vein of Wilco but is not as depressing or lacking in lyrical content. Musically you could stand Adam Duritz and one might never realize that it wasn’t The Counting Crows. That isn’t a negative by the way, just an observation. I also hear a bit of Toad the Wet Sprocket and a bit of Mathew Sweet. “Sleepers” is the weakest song on the album, turning on the lame phrase “dreaming is only for the sleepers”, and reads like a teenager’s first trip to a hotel hook-up with his girlfriend. It does recover with a nice vocal counterpoint, however. “Symbiotic Sun” has an REM “The One I Love” vibe, probably the most obvious nick of the album. Overall, a good EP, that shows a ton of promise as they mature.

Andrew Perkins 11/23/06 Space City Rock http://www.spacecityrock.com/reviews/rev-1106.shtml#anthill1

- Space City Rock Magazine

Vancouver Province Tuesday March 21, 2006

Anthill's second record is a quantum leap beyond its first. Not that the initial album was bad but undistinguished by comparison. This one has much better songs, starting off with "Pastel Rain," a buoyant three minutes of melody that indicates Anthill has learned how to write a pop-rock song. It's in a classic mould and the band plays it as though it has confidence in the material. There is no disquising these songs in gimmicks or whatever is trendy. there isn't a dud on this eight-song recording and the last song, "Believe," is especially affecting if slightly reminiscent of Green Day. - Vancouver Province - Tom Harrison

Anthill - Waiting For The Sun


Album number 3 from the former Canadian heavy rockers. Um, I mean, they're still Canadian but have left their nineties rock music far behind them. Right.
These days they're virtually a power pop band all glistening melodies and big choruses. Chuck in a few top quality harmonies and you're left with an album that'll be appearing in 'lost classics' lists a decade down the line.
When they slow it down a bit they go all American Music Club, which is high praise indeed. Eight tracks of pure pleasure, this is a proper grown up album you won't be ashamed to play at your next proper grown up soiree.

http://www.zeitgeist-scot.co.uk "Within these pages we celebrate all that is good in music and culture, regardless of genre."


- http://www.zeitgeist-scot.co.uk

- International Act of the Year - 2007 Orange County Music Awards http://www.orangecountymusicawards.com

- International Band of the Year - 2006 Southern California Music Awards
http://www.southerncaliforniamusicawards.com/

- Best out of Area - Toronto Independent Music Awards http://www.torontoima.com

- Nominated for Best Power Pop Single at LA Music Awards - Results Pending http://www.lamusicawards.com/

- Finalist (one of 9) in 2006 “We Are Listening” International Song Contest http://www.wearelistening.org/winners2006r1.php

- Selected for 2006 Billboard City Showcase – London England 2006 – Anthill was not able to attend. Including: The Trews, Catlow….. http://www.cityshowcase.co.uk/index.php?section=ListDetail&ListID=hhrRLzqoqT

- 2005 Billboard International Song Contest – Runners Up http://www.billboardsongcontest.com/win.html

- 2005 “We Are Listening” Song Contest – Runners Up http://www.wearelistening.org/winners.php

- 2005 Unisong International Song Contest – Top 20 – 2 Songs http://www.unisong.com/Winners.aspx
- Anthill

Aug. 12, 2006 DiscoveringArtists.com
Anthill: Waiting for the Sun

It's not the usual Canadian sound we usually report here, but Anthill made a good mark on me with this album. Their sound is a cross between Counting Crows, Coldplay and Oasis, the most distinctive thing on this CD is lead singer Mark Osachoff's vocals. They're amazing--fresh and unique, a combination of sturdy expression and grainy emotion. In "Waiting for the Sun" his vocals soar and tell a story about not knowing why a struggle occurs and not letting anyone close. I liked all of these tracks. They had a great acoustic background and a studio-refined sound that you'll most likely enjoy.
Favorite Tracks: Waiting for the Sun, Believe
Rating: 4.5 stars http://discoveringartists.com/html/reviews/cds/#anthill-waiting_for_the_sun
- Discovering Artists.com