Ativin: Austere

Drawing the curtains on the ’90s, Bloomington, Indiana’s Ativin filled in a lot of gaps. From their acclaimed 1999 release, German Water, through to 2004’s Night Mute, the band kept the torch of slowcore burning into the new century.

Led by Dan Burton, (also of the excellent Early Day Miners), and Chris Carothers (Hunting People, Grizzly Daughter), while a revolving cast of drummers have appeared throughout the band’s history, as Ativin hit the resume button with Austere – their first album in 19 years- they are joined by former Codeine drummer and DIY veteran, Chis Brokaw. Recorded in December 2021 with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio studios, Brokaw isn’t the only new face, with Austere also featuring Helen Money’s Alison Chesley and Matia Ferrarini.  

There’s an argument to suggest that Austere is the band’s finest work to date. Although such trite comments are perhaps shrouded in the excitement of their reformation, on the flipside, things sometimes become a lot clearer after time spent outside the blast zone. In this case, Austere sees Atitvin refined and reinvigorated. This isn’t a band in the mood to recapture past glories, but one that seizes to build on them.

The Poison Arrows: Crime and Soda

With melodious chimes and clever interplay, Drought Sheers picks up where Ativin left off all those years ago. Brokaw’s work from behind the kit immediate, illuminating the thoughts and understanding of how much this band has been missed.

With a new unbridled emotional depth that can only be reached through years of life and the bumps and scrapes sustained from it, Ativin couldn’t have written an album like this during their first tenure. They certainly couldn’t have written something like False River. In all its orchestral majesty, with the help from Chesley this is the defining moment that underpins Austere.

Either side of False River are highlights aplenty. The loose, meandering jam of Chanhassen; fan favourite in wait, Mirror Secure; and the downright gorgeous Slow Ghosts. Here Ativin go beyond the incursions of American Football and the sadcore reverie of Bedhead and Codeine to give alternative music a new lick of paint.

The same can be said of Inverness and Truss. Songs you think you’ve heard before, but Ativin add new inflections to something that may have swirled around the sweaty rehearsal spaces once occupied by Slint or Unwound.

Polvo: a buyer’s guide and look into the bipolar world of the underground touchstone

In one of the few moments where there are vocals, Haunt Blue is a slowcore leaning affair that feels like it’s been stowed away in the back of Burton’s mind for years. It fits within the realm admirably.

So too closing cut, Prisms – a beautifully atmospheric piece that ties the album together. While the faint echoes of Slint can be heard, once again Ativin add their own trappings to the piece.

While the cynics constantly bemoan reformations, there are always layers to the argument. Band like Ativin and Brokaw’s Come shouldn’t be lured into the same web of arguments the likes of Blur and even Pavement constantly find themselves in. There’s the blatant money grab and there’s artistic relevance. With Ativin’s Austere, this is a clear demonstration of music cultivated by a group of musicians in it for the right reasons.

It’s also another example of reformations and their importance within the new music landscape.

Austere is out now via Fonoradar / Joyful Noise Recordings. Purchase from Bandcamp.