At
long last, seventeen years after their last true release, At the Drive-In has
graced us with a new record, in•ter a•li•a.
And while the rest of the world waited with bated breath for May 5 to roll
around, my excitement was far more tempered. After a wave of confusion
concerning founding member Jim Ward’s participation, followed by the cancellation of their North American tour (on the night I was to see them, no less), in•ter a•li•a felt like a very hard sell
for me. Yet the ATDI fanboy within soon won out, and after snagging a copy, this
record has not only far exceeded my expectations, but has proven At the
Drive-In remains an act with integrity and momentum.
According
to Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, the writing for in•ter
a•li•a was an attempt to honor where the band “left off sonically last time,” and in this At the Drive-In completely succeeds. These five come at
their music with as much energy and virulence as ever. Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s
vocals are far more refined than on past releases, but he continues to throw
his entire weight behind each note. Tony Hajjar’s drum hits explode like cannon
fire, while Paul Hinojos’ bass notes completely dominate the low-end—everything
in my car shakes with his bass hits in “Tilting at the Univendor.” Both Omar
and Keeley Davis tangle their guitars into an exciting rat’s nest of melody,
their effect-laden tones simultaneously fighting and coalescing in tunes like
“Incurably Innocent.” The musical chemistry of this quintet is undeniable, making
each piece on in•ter a•li•a an
exhilarating maelstrom of sound.
So
palpable is At the Drive-In’s enthusiasm on in•ter
a•li•a that spinning the CD feels like standing against the barrier at a
show. The energy is live and dangerous, most likely a result of the way the
record was formed. The band began by renting a “bare bones” studio space
in South Korea, where they learned to “write with each other.” Following
this, their subsequent tour saw the band viciously writing over 70% of the record in a live setting; they even created a “jam room” at each
venue so they could pen and rehearse new music before and after their shows.
They then dragged this visceral material into the studio, recording under a “no
overdubs rule,” as Omar puts it, so “what you want to play has to be what it is.” Every step of this album’s creation was done with a live mindset and
in a live setting, letting the honesty behind their endeavor shine bright and
unhindered.
The
band approached in•ter a•li•a with
the intent of rekindling the old ATDI fire (Omar even immersed himself in the same pop culture to conjure that spirit), so it is no surprise that this
record feels like the logical follow-up to their monster Relationship of Command. Still, there is an undeniable maturity
that provides a completely new feel to the music, as exemplified in the song
“Continuum.” Cedric kicks this tune off with a bombastic shout of “I’ll drop a dime on you first,” his vocal melodies switching between barking poetics
in the verse and violent singing in the chorus. Keeley and Omar let their
guitars play against one another, their tones creating a landscape of sound as
they trade rhythm and lead duties. The song swings wildly between dynamics,
focusing on insane syncopation across crazy time signatures in the prechorus
and dropping to a literal whisper in the bridge. “Continuum” demonstrates At
the Drive-In cramming old energy into new ideas to create a bulldozer of
excitement and intelligence that blasts from the speakers.
As
with the instrumentation, the lyrical content of in•ter a•li•a also exhibits more than a bit of maturation. Though
his veils of metaphor are pretty opaque, if not sometimes indecipherable,
Cedric’s writing maintains a dystopian theme throughout many of the pieces.
“Pendulum in a Peasant Dress” paints a world where media is defined by “finely tuned gestures” dictated by the powers-that-be, the “hand of God”
that controls what the world sees and doesn’t see. The lead single
“Governed by Contagions” is laden with paranoid images such as the “portrait of a family force fed” and a “homemade remedy to loosen every tongue.”
The band even calls attention to the issues of gentrification and destruction
of culture in the song “Call Broken Arrow.” Cedric’s attentive writing keeps in•ter a•li•a attuned to the current
state of the world and gives At the Drive-In’s manic melodies a message worth
conveying.
in•ter a•li•a certainly sounds and feels like a
vision fully realized, but as a die-hard fan of their past catalogue, I can’t
help but mourn the lack of Jim Ward’s presence on the record. His previous
vocal and written contributions were near-pivotal to the experience that was
ATDI, and though the band has firmly stated that he “just wasn’t ready”
to take part, it is difficult to ignore the many spots in in•ter a•li•a where one of his yells would perfectly fit. And as
the band apparently had tried writing new material during their 2014 reunion,
material which Cedric and Omar then adapted into the debut release for Antemasque, it is equally as hard not to hear songs like “No Wolf Like the
Present” as Antemasque material adapted for ATDI.
While
I certainly miss the At the Drive-In with Jim Ward, I would be lying if I said in•ter a•li•a needs his presence to be a
great record. Keeley Davis, Jim’s former bandmate in Sparta, undoubtedly
provides an awesome and fresh approach to the band, and is also allegedly
responsible for my favorite piece on the record: the spacey and dark “Ghost
Tape No. 9.” Rocking over filtered drums and a rhythmic chugging chord, this
song is dominated by Cedric’s gorgeous, mournful melodies. The entire song
takes a step down in energy, letting the dystopian imagery and electronic
soundscape fill the void created by the slow tempo and quiet dynamics. The
haunting crawl of “Ghost Tape No. 9” is perhaps the most progressive and novel
tune on all of in•ter a•li•a, and
showcases a direction that I hope At the Drive-In will continue to explore in
their composition.
Although
I initially felt little more than trepidation at its release, I’m sincerely
glad I gave in•ter a•li•a some time.
At the Drive-In have lost not an iota of the honesty or energy that initially
hooked me, and yet add a maturity to their sound that assures me they are
headed for great things. As Cedric puts it, he and his bandmates “trust each other” to bring their best and make “great music,” and there is not a
single doubt in my mind that in•ter
a•li•a achieves this goal. At the Drive-In remains as honest and exciting
as ever, and I will have a hell of hard time containing my excitement at their
future endeavors.
Tunes to Check Out:
1) Ghost Tape No. 9
