Bretton (EP)

Bretton
EP by Lower Than Atlantis
Released 18 October 2008
Recorded 2008, The Pill Studios, Newport
Genre Post-hardcore, southern rock[1]
Length 19:44
Label Small Talk
Producer Matt Tuck
Lower Than Atlantis chronology
Demo 2007
(2007)
Bretton
(2008)
Far Q
(2010)

Bretton is the first EP released by British rock band Lower Than Atlantis.

Background and production

Lower Than Atlantis formed in August 2007 in Watford,[2] while the members were attending college.[3] Guitarist Ben Sansom asked guitarist Mike Duce if he wished to form a band with Ben's brother Luke, who would provide vocals.[4] Alongside them was bassist Richard Wilkinson and drummer Matt Britz.[5] Following line-up changes,[4] such as the addition of drummer Joshua Pickett, bassist Stephen Minter,[6] and Duce becoming the band's frontman,[7] they began working on what would become their first EP, Bretton.[4]

All of the songs on Bretton were written by Lower Than Atlantis, with lyrics by Duce and Luke Sansom.[6] Duce taught himself how to sing and play guitar at the same time while playing along to the band's Demo 2007 release.[8] Pickett had been playing the drums for eight years, naming Abe Cunningham from Deftones as a main inspiration.[2] However, Matt Britz had written and recorded the drum parts for Bretton.[6] Jeff and Ginge recorded the EP at The Pill Studios in Newport.[6] Matt Tuck produced the entire proceedings.[6] Tom Woodstock mastered the EP at The Roof Studios.[6]

Release and reception

Bretton was released on 18 October 2008 through Small Town,[9] before being released through Thirty Days of Night on 19 December 2008.[10] The artwork was done by Liam Flaherty Design.[6] A music video was filmed for "The Juggernaut", it was directed by Daniel Seecharan.[11] It was shot on a low budget.[12] The band spent a lot of 2009 supporting the EP.[2] Partway through the touring cycle for the EP, the band had several line-up changes, eventually leaving them with only vocalist/guitarist Mike Duce and guitarist Ben Sansom.[13]

Big Cheese magazine called the band "pissed off [and] energetic" while they "channel[ed] the dirty chugging riffs of Southern rock".[1] They claimed that "Rock 'n roll-infused post-hardcore just got some new superheroes."[1] Reviewing for Rhythm, Chris Barnes called the EP "a monster of technical music" with "low-slung grooves, odd time and intense riffs."[2] In a retrospective review, Ben Patashnik of Rock Sound described the EP's sound as "youthful, jagged hardcore", bearing "little resemblance" to the band's later material.[8] Concluding with the band's "wit shone through the short, sharp blasts of noise."[8]

Track listing

All songs written by Lower Than Atlantis.[6] All lyrics written by Mike Duce and Luke Sansom.[6]

  1. "March of the LTA" – 0:58
  2. "Frankie Goes to Hemel" – 2:56
  3. "The Juggernaut" – 3:14
  4. "Sleeping in the Bath" – 3:11
  5. "Bretton" – 2:40
  6. "I Hate Comic Sans" – 0:24
  7. "What a Beautiful Day to Impersonate an Officer" – 2:56
  8. "Vampires Suck, Blood" – 3:25

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.[6]

Lower Than Atlantis
  • Mike Duce – guitar, vocals
  • Ben Sansom – guitar
  • Stephen Minter – bass guitar
  • Josh Pickett – drums

Production
  • Matt Britz – recording drums
  • Jeff and Ginge – recording
  • Matt Tuck – producer
  • Tom Woodstock – mastering
  • Liam Fiaherty Design – CD artwork, art direction

References

Citations
  1. 1 2 3 Sharples ed., 2009, p. 30
  2. 1 2 3 4 Rhythm 2009
  3. Mursong 2009, p. 12
  4. 1 2 3 Patashnik 2013, p. 60
  5. "Yourspace Lower Than Atlantis". Hemel Gazette. 26 October 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Bretton (Booklet). Lower Than Atlantis. Thirty Days of Night. 2008. TDON029.
  7. Patashnik 2013, p. 61
  8. 1 2 3 Patashnik 2013, p. 62
  9. "BRETTON 2008". PureVolume. Archived from the original on 5 December 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  10. "iTunes - Music - Bretton by Lower Than Atlantis". itunes.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  11. Untitled. Vimeo. 15 March 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  12. "Lower Than Atlantis music video [Archive] - DVXuser.com -- The online community for filmmaking". dvxuser.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  13. "Lower Than Atlantis" (PDF). redfield-records.de. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
Sources
  • Barnes, Chris (May 2009). "Lower Than Atlantis". Rhythm (Future plc). 
  • Mursong, Kate (10 January 2009). "Introducing: Lower Than Atlantis". Kerrang! (London: Bauer Media Group) (1243). ISSN 0262-6624. 
  • Patashnik, Ben (March 2013). Patashnik, Ben, ed. "Us Against the World". Rock Sound (London: Freeway Press Inc.) (171). ISSN 1465-0185. 
  • Sharples, Jim, ed. (February 2009). "Lower Than Atlantis". Big Cheese (Big Cheese Publishing Ltd.) (108). ISSN 1365-358X. 
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