Anti-Social Music

from the five star CDBaby.com review:

Called "Punk Orchestra" by the NY Press, Antisocial music puts a whole new spin on the meeting of contemporary classical trends with rock and popular influences. A stunning collage of sound and ideas, their pieces are inexplicably bold and dynamic, in places programmatic enough in emotion to be a remarkably clever film score and in other places, beautifully splattered and random feeling, milking an avant garde animal for all its genius. But holding it all together is the consistently stunning and imaginative color, drama and personality. There is barely a moment to breathe for being on the edge of your seat. If you think you aren't one for classical music, you need to get your head out of the sand, put away the "dead white guy" albums momentarily and see what's going on with today's living composers.

- Tamara Turner

from Time Out New York:

"The punky composers' collective celebrates the release of its debut CD 'Sings the Great American Songbook', a playful session chock full of invigorating blasts, quirky folk incursions and other surprises. You don't have to take our word for it - you'll get a copy of the CD with your paid admission tonight."

from the PhiLL(er):

Titled Sings the Great American Songbook, the debut album from New York City collective Anti-Social Music may have some thinking that this is a rip-off of Rod Stewart's latest string of releases; that is until they actually listen to it. The eleven-member group of composers and performers inject a level of fun and DIY ideals into classical and claim to accomplish it all without adding a hint of pretension. I was a bit wary of what lay ahead as I put in the disc and with Anti-Social Music president Franz Nicolay’s quote declaring "contemporary chamber music is the new frontier in socially unacceptable music" in mind, I braced for the worst and was pleasantly surprised.

Featuring a sludgy distorted guitar passage, opening track "Fracture II" is certainly one of the more disorienting and jarring compositions on the album. At the same time, however, the piece also has its share of beautiful moments including an incredibly Gershwin-esque climax prior to the extended guitar segment. I view "Fracture II" as a sort of screening test for the remainder of Sings the Great American Songbook in that none of the remaining compositions seem to reach quite the same level of perceived chaos.

Undoubtedly there are unorthodox elements and particularly discordant passages throughout the remainder of the album, but with the exception of Bill Brittelle's vocal work (described as "Yellin" in the liner notes) on "Seven Songs of Zen, Love and Longing", I failed to find anything too offensive. The intense flute playing of Andrea La Rose on "Breakbeat" certainly grabbed my attention and deservingly so; as Andrea La Rose approaches the end of the three-minute solo you get the impression through her increasingly audible breaths that the extreme performance may end with her passing out.

While Anti-Social Music's debut may fail to clear me out of a room when played, it certainly has the potential to "offend your parents and annoy your friends" and at the same time actually brings a fresh attitude to modern classical music. How many other chamber music collectives do you think celebrated the release of their debut album with a kegger?

- PhiLL Ramey

from Magnet, #1 of 10 Albums You Missed in 2005:

If Yo-Yo Ma and Ian MacKaye scored an Alfred Hitchcock film, Anti-Social Music might sleep through it. After all, this New York City collective - comprising musicians from such bands as the Hold Steady, Ida, and Songs:Ohia - basically already channels that collaboration on "Great American Songbook."  Imagine an orchestra wearing formal attire and combat boots, then replace the conductor's baton with a bottle of Jack Daniel's.

from Exclaim!:

A punk orchestra might seem like an unlikely endeavour, but that's exactly how Anti-Social Music want it. This NYC collective started out in late 2000 but haven't made their recorded debut until now. Comprised of composer and performer efforts, Sings the Great American Songbook plays out like a deranged, punk rock version of Peter and the Wolf. The arrangements here dart from spunky to brooding and aggressive, from languishing cacophonies to delicate vibrations. There are rare, sparse sprinklings of vocals and an astounding array of sounds ranging from acoustic guitars to clarinets to mandolins. This album features members of World/Inferno Friendship Society and the Hold Steady, and performances have included members of Gang Gang Dance, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Alarm Will Sound. Anti-Social Music's Franz Nicolay said to WNYC's Soundcheck that he encourages "the punk rockers of the world to explore the new anti-social music." This album is often daring and always expressive, lingering in a constant state of sharp-edged uneasiness. It might not be the kind of punk we're all used to, but it smacks of those key elements.

- Liz Worth