When you think "music from Boston," swampy roots-rock isn't exactly the first thing that leaps to mind. Boston is better known for populist indie rock (The Dropkick Murphys, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones), cerebral post-punk (Galaxie 500, Mission of Burma, Morphine), and heart-baring modern folk (Catie Curtis, Lori McKenna)-- at least since Aerosmith discovered their inner Manilow.

And yet, here we have Antler. Hailing from the gritty, half-gentrified streets of Allston (an outlying borough of Boston proper), Antler crank out a warm fuzzy sound that recalls Gov't Mule, Creedence, The Queens of the Stone Age, and the Screaming Trees-- a far cry from the limpid shoegazing many of their Boston peers traffick in. So, right off the bat they get points for being original.

Being unique is great. But are they any good? The best answer I can give is: some day, yes. The eleven tracks on Antler's self-titled debut (Tortuga Recordings, 2004) run a gamut from organ-soaked midtempo guitar grinds to guitar-soaked downtempo organ grinds. Some of the tracks approach outstanding, especially "1975" and the pounding "Dead By Valentines," but most tracks spin their wheels in a thick mud of Marshall crunch and cymbal wash. Although Antler can play their instruments, write a song, an make a good noise together, somewhere around the middle of track 8 (a midtempo grind called "Didn't See The Day") you start checking to see if you've heard this one before.

www.antlerband.com
www.tortugarecordings.com

11/05/2004 @ Rex's ,Westchester PA
11/06/2004 @ Ground Zero, Spartanburg SC
11/07/2004 @ Legends, Greenwood SC
11/09/2004 @ Goodfellas, Huntington WV
11/10/2004 @ Shooters, Fredricksburg VA w/Throttlerod
11/11/2004 @ Lit Lounge,NYC, NY
11/13/2004 @ Middle East Downstairs (CD Release Party w/ Scissorfight & The Benders)