The Antiques - Nicknames and Natives

All Music Guide

Although the Antiques are a quartet from Los Angeles, their debut album has the same connection to the mythical American South as the Band or the White Stripes, two other bands with no geographical connection to the shared wellspring of their music. Although a couple of songs feint towards the garagey primitivism of Jack and Meg, the Band is far closer to the overall feel of Nicknames and Natives. Besides the occasional wisp of pedal steel, organ or mandolin passing through the melodic folkrock tunes, there's a similarly cozy, autumnal feel to the album. The most subtly impressive part of Nicknames and Natives is the unaffected, casual interplay of the harmonies; the backing vocals appear so sporadically throughout songs like "Down To No County" and "Dead Ringer" that it's as if various bandmembers decided to throw in an occasional background vocal when they felt like it rather than performing the tight Crosby Stills and Nashstyle harmonies one might expect. Musically, the album is low...key and primarily acoustic, akin to what a less nauticallyobsessed version of the Decemberists might offer. Too casual and mellow to be truly inspired, Nicknames and Natives is an exceedingly pleasant album with no pretensions towards any deeper musical statement. - Stewart Mason, All Music Guide Read more Less