Tag: Avantist this_could_be_it

Single Review by William Ruben Helms
Deriving their name from a British English word that means to be an avant-gardist — one who emphasizes, practices and celebrates experimental and unorthodox methods and techniques and incorporates them into a craft, Avantist is a South Side, Chicago-based post-punk act, comprised of the Arias Brothers, Luis (drums), David (guitar), Erick (bass) and Fernando (vocals). And over the past decade, the sibling band has dedicated their live stop making avant-garde music, centered around their shared personal philosophy that art is, should and must be progressive, dynamic and unconventional, and that creativity is something to incorporate in every single aspect of one’s life. \
Now, over the past few weeks I’ve written quite a bit about the Chicago-based sibling band, and as you may recall the band’s recently released EP Terasaoma finds the band stepping out of their comfort zone as they forced themselves to write, record, mix and master the EP’s material within a month, rather than the two years it took for their debut. And while further cementing the Arias Brothers reputation locally and regionally for crafting raucous and infectious post-punk, the band also manages to push their sound and songwriting in new and wildly different directions; in fact, the EP’s material runs the gamut from angular and furious post-punk to soulful R&B. EP single “this_could_be_it” was a thrashing and angular post-punk ripper that featured Fernando Arias singing alternating lyrics in Spanish and English. Interestingly, the EP’s latest single is the furious, screamo, thrash punk of “UVB_76,” a track that sonically reminds me a bit of Thrice and The Blood Brothers, thanks in part to its pummeling intensity.
The Arias Brothers are currently on the road to support the EP. Check out the remaining tour dates below.
Tour Dates
6/25 – Austin, TX – Beerland (w/ The Boleys, Desilu, Black Basements)
6/26 – Spring, TX – The Blue Giraffe (w/ Brainstorm fir Tuesday, Kaleidescope Project, and Zzyzx)
6/28 – Birmingham, AL – Firehouse (w/ False Jasmine, Bible Belt, Mike Hombre)
6/29 – Nashville, TN – Betty’s Grill
6/30 – Louisville, KY – Lydia House (w/ Wax Astro, Legs Akimbo)
7/01 – Champaign, IL – Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center (w/ Arboris, Parachute Day)
Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Avantist’s Descend into Hell with Visuals for “this_could_be_it”

Deriving their name from a British English word that means to be an avant-gardist — one who emphasizes, practices and celebrates experimental and unorthodox methods and techniques and incorporates them into a craft, Avantist is a South Side, Chicago-based post-punk act, comprised of the Arias Brothers, Luis (drums), David (guitar), Erick (bass) and Fernando (vocals). And over the past decade, the sibling band has dedicated their live stop making avant-garde music, centered around their shared personal philosophy that art is, should and must be progressive, dynamic and unconventional, and that creativity is something to incorporate in every single aspect of one’s life. 
 
The band’s recently released EP Terasaoma finds the band stepping out of their comfort zone by forcing themselves to write, record, mix and master the EP’s material within a month, rather than the two years it took for their debut effort, and while further cementing the band’s reputation locally and regionally for crafting raucous and infectious post-punk, the EP finds the band pushing their sound and songwriting in wildly different directions; in fact, the EP’s material runs the gamut from angular and furious post-punk to soulful R&B. The EP’s latest single though is the thrashing and angular post-punk ripper “this_could_be_it,” which finds Fernando Arias howling and singing alternating lyrics in Spanish and English. May the song remind the listener that being proudly, boldly and fearlessly of color and representing everything that your heritage means in these dark, dark days is truly punk as fuck — and perhaps more so if you’re Black or of Latin descent. 

Co-directed by the members of the band and Justin Nico Flocco, the recently released video for “this_could_be_it” is on some level a tale of death, rebirth and deliverance within a brutal, unforgiving, hellish world as it follows a Sisyphean-like protagonist, who  is endlessly chased by armed soldiers that capture him, bound him and sacrifice him — repeatedly.  Adding  to the hellishness of the video, there’s a brief and fleeting suggestion that the the protagonist after a while is aware that his horrible fate is inescapable. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Deriving their name from a British English word that means to be an avant-gardist — one who emphasizes, practices and celebrates experimental and unorthodox methods and techniques and incorporates them into a craft, Avantist is a South Side, Chicago-based post-punk act, comprised of the Arias Brothers, Luis (drums), David (guitar), Erick (bass) and Fernando (vocals). And over the past decade, the sibling band members have dedicated their lives to making avant made music, centered around their shared personal philosophy that art is, should and must be progressive, dynamic and unconventional, and that creativity is something to incorporate in every single aspect of one’s life. 
The band’s soon-to-be released EP Terasaoma finds the band stepping out of their comfort zone by forcing themselves to write, record, mix and master the EP’s material within  month, instead of the two years it took for their debut effort; however, Terasoma will reportedly further cement the band’s reputation locally and regionally for raucous and infectious post punk while finding the band pushing their sound and songwriting in completely different directions — with the material running the gamut from angular and furious post-punk to more R&B-like.  Of course, the EP’s latest single is the thrashing and angular post-punk ripper “this_could_be_it,” which finds Fernando Arias alternating lyrics in Spanish and English. And in some way, the song should remind listeners that being proudly,  boldly and fearlessly of color — and of Latin descent in particular — in these dark and infuriating days may truly be punk as fuck.
The Chicago-based sibling quartet will be playing a bunch of shows to support their EP, including an EP release show at The Empty Bottle on June 20, 2018. Check out the tour dates below.
Tour Dates
6/20 – Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle (EP Release Show)
6/22 – Chicago, IL – PRF BBQ Fest @ Illuminated Brewery
6/23 – Alton, IL – Bottle & Barrel
6/24 – Tulsa, OK – Soundpony (w/ The Danner Party, Carlton Hesston)
6/25 – Austin, TX – Beerland (w/ The Boleys, Desilu, Black Basements)
6/26 – Spring, TX – The Blue Giraffe (w/ Brainstorm fir Tuesday, Kaleidescope Project, and Zzyzx)
6/28 – Birmingham, AL – Firehouse (w/ False Jasmine, Bible Belt, Mike Hombre)
6/29 – Nashville, TN – Betty’s Grill
6/30 – Louisville, KY – Lydia House (w/ Wax Astro, Legs Akimbo)
7/01 – Champaign, IL – Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center (w/ Arboris, Parachute Day