It’s hard to believe that Antillectual have been knocking around since the early 2000’s picking up shows along the way with the likes of NoFx, Boy Sets Fire and Ignite to name a few and it’s clear that they’ve picked up a few of those bands tricks along the way. Musically they are all about driving riffs with gorgeous melodic parts which brings bands like Against Me! crashing to mind. Lyrically I’ve not come across a more political record in quite a while with Climate Change #MeToo Black Lives Matter and the war on Ukraine all on the bands agenda, giving the postive mood of the music a more poignant feel. The Dutch 3 piece have also worked hard to give the whole album an “in it together” feel which is really what the DIY punk scene is all about at it’s core.

But back to the music itself, and whilst dealing with the aformentioned issues, Antillectual will have you singing your pretty little hearts out with anthems like ‘Together’ and ‘Heads You Win, Tails We Lose’ and like the aformentioned Against Me! they arent afraid to show off their rock star skills either. Just check out the solo at the end of ‘From City To City’ for proof. If it’s a pit anthem the likes of H2O like to belt out then check out the awesome ‘If You’re Not Outraged’ for size.

{Together} is chock full of punk anthems and the fact that they seem to have flown under the radar for so long is downright criminal. I for one will be purchasing ‘Together’ and delving headlong into their back catalogue for more gems. I’d suggest you do the same….Chris Andrews