Indie rockers prove to be heroines in their own right

Disclaimer: No matter how I try to avoid it, I will probably fall into the same pitfall as every other male rock critic who has tried to write about Antigone Rising, the five-woman indie rock sensation that has swept the East Coast like a raging storm. To avoid that, I will let the music do the talking. In the words of the opening track from their latest release, "I want to give it to you / right or wrong."

Antigone Rising is good. Very good. For girls. For guys. For anybody. Their latest release – "Say it! An-TIG-uh-nee" – rocks. It will leave you speechless except for perhaps the willing submission to the title's command. From the wailing harmonies of the first moments to the sizzling guitar riffs and driving, Dylan-esque rock grooves, you will forget where you were heading, veer off course, and be mesmerized by these sirens' well-crafted sound.

Logging onto the band's website (www.antigonerising.com) you might at first feel as if you had stumbled upon Korn's evil female twins. Tattoos, tight leather, and studded belts and bracelets lead one to think that perhaps this was the original cast of "Coyote Ugly" that the director was simply too scared to work with. Even the band's name stirs up vague shadows of industrial-goth death-fixated shock-rock that you might want to let stay hidden in the dark places of the world.

But look past the necessary evil of image in the rock and roll world today. Disregard the sex-goddess stigma that has been unjustly thrust upon female rockers by the evil empire of manufactured pop stars and baby-doll front singers. Throw your preconceptions to the winds. Like their namesake, Antigone Rising defies the rulers of the music world with their style and talent.

The band is quick to point out the origins of their namesake: Antigone lived over 4,000 years ago. She was a bold, brazen young woman who refused to bow down to King Creon. She is a legend – a real person. She is not a myth. She is instead one of the first documented female rebels in history. Her metaphor still stands as an inspiration of feminine defiance today. The title of the band's latest album comes from people's inability to pronounce her name properly.

The Greenwich Village-based quintet has been slowly but surely gaining momentum. Their rise in the music world has happened with the swiftness of Atalanta, running through throngs of obsessed lovers trying to tie her down (to maintain the Greek mythology metaphor).

Self-declared "icon[s] of feminine strength with hooks and a strong pop sensibility," the members of AR mix elements of punk, glam rock, and the blues to produce a strong shot of pop-rock which nevertheless has an originality and soul all of its own. Add to their amazing musicianship the soul-searching lyrics of lead singer Cassidy and sister guitarists/songwriters Cathy and Kristen Henderson. You will see the spirit of Antigone resurrected before your eyes.

The band itself has indeed been rising. Starting out as a small group of acoustic songwriters, AR signed on with the 1998 Lilith Fair tour, and since then, has been winning a solid fan base up and down the East Coast. The band has played with such talent as Sarah Maclaughlin, Natalie Merchant, Seven Mary Three, and the Pushstars.

With a strong local fan base, a growing college audience and increasing radio play on stations in Philadelphia and Upstate New York, Antigone Rising has been ever climbing towards success unheard of for an indie group. Their second release, the LP "Rock Album," has sold over 10,000 copies since debuting a year ago. Recently, AR was named one of VH1's "Top Ten Bands To Watch." With the release of their third album last month, the band provides a stirring testament to the power of good music.

AR has been called likened to "the Phish of pop music" for their high-energy live shows and dedicated fans (many of whom make frequent all-day road trips to witness the performance spectacle.) It is no suprise, then, that the band's latest album was recorded live at The Bitter End in New York City. The album features 16 tracks, of which 10 have never been formally recorded, including two by friend and songwriter Chris Trapper of the Pushstars.

Even on disc, AR's intensity and passion reach the listener like golden light bursting through the clouds. While the band rashly proclaims in "Right or Wrong" that "analyzation is art's pet peeve," "Say it! An-TIG-uh-nee" is a tour de force of heart and soul rock music.

Cassidy's vocals roar with the aggression of a lioness defending her young. Yet this power is coupled with the sincerity of a folk-singer – a blend of Alanis Morissette, Melissa Ethridge, Macy Grey, and Bruce Springsteen. There is never a moment during the album's extensive set list that she is not on the prowl, wailing out high notes and growling angry retorts against a world which tries to hold her down by tradition.

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Many of the lyrics parallel Antigone's tragic death, proudly and artfully proclaiming the need to be willing to die and lose it all for your beliefs and dreams.

In "Broken," the one of the album's most powerful songs, Cassidy gently sings, "I am a diamond and I cannot be broken" and later, "The life I waste is mine." She lashes out at those who live in conformity in songs like "Messiah Girl" and "Pretty Girl:" "Perfect life, perfect world, pretty girl." She often takes up a voice against the Ismenes of the world who follow blindly, never thinking of what is at stake.

Yet, as is characteristic of the entire group, there is a joyful sincerity and a true love of the music and of life, as she sings in "Oblivious:" "I'm in no matter what the cost." As Cassidy said in a recent interview with The Troy Record, "I am a poet. I am a writer. I enjoy words, and I want to sing things that mean something to people."

Throughout the album, lead guitarist Cathy Henderson showcases her stun-ning axemanship, screaming like an eagle, winging havoc above a world of cliche rock guitarists. From subtle Edge-like background riffs on songs like "Run For Your Life" to "Purple Haze" Hendrix-like fire on searing solos such as the radio-friendly "Storybook Romance," Henderson grabs you by the collar and takes you to where the music dwells.

Each note, each riff, and each phrase (even when done as a background lick) is carefully selected, and every one burns with pure soul. While she is never revolutionary, Cathy nevertheless takes a classic mold and fills it with her own spirit and passion. Constantly playing riffs, Henderson still blends well into the background when not featured, providing an undercurrent of power to the already driving grooves.

Underlying the two lead lines is a tight rhythm section. The beat is meticulous and yet free to run wild, a quality lacking in many of today's major alternative and pop rock bands. Kristen Henderson's acoustic rhythm tracks are a brilliant compliment to the electric guitar and add new depths to the group's sound.

Underneath the guitars, bassist Anne-Marie Stehn rolls out solid bass lines. Dena Tauriello fuels the groove with solid yet creative drum tracks, often changing up rhythms and placing fills and kicks with the precision of a surgeon. Some of the most exciting moments on the album come from the background vocal harmonies, layered liberally and deftly throughout the album, adding rushes of emotion and strokes of beauty to an already vibrant work of art.

This is a band of musicians. It is rare in today's music world that one may find such a phenomenon, and their audible love of the music, their passion which wraps itself about every note, is a welcome (and surprisingly sincere) reminder that there are still those who defy corporate enslavement to the Man and the demands of the public.

They sing proudly that "what you are is what you get" and indeed, the authenticity washes over you like an ocean wave – at once refreshing and also powerful, shaking you from your feet and demanding that you acknowledge its presence.

The band's sound is rich in influence. All five of the members give shouts out to the Beatles in their bios, and indeed on tracks like "Storybook Romance," "7th Day," and "Run For Your Life," both the chord structure and the creativity are reminiscent of the Fab Four. Springsteen, and a tinge of Lynard Skynard are also present.

The band also includes an ironic cover of Queen's "Flat Bottom Girls," a raucous slice of sizzling blues rock. It is no surprise that the legendary Tony Visconti, who has worked with David Bowie and the Moody Blues, helped to produce their first album.

On each tune, the name of the game is rock. Even when AR reverts to power chords and pop-punk sentimentalities, they nevertheless have the tradition of the great ones veiling their own personal sound – complimenting and enriching their more contemporary ideas.

When, after awhile, the grooves start to bleed together and one hungers for a change-up, the band provides some definite treasures. "Broken" is a stirring, emotional ballad-anthem, simple in sound yet powerful in inspiration. "Sofcurrie's Room," borrowed from the Pushstars, lest Cassidy show off her emotional range against a simple acoustic guitar.

She is more a poet than a singer when she cries, "Where the candlelight's timeless / eyes part coal and part diamonds" and "I let Sofcurrie's soul climb into mine." Amidst the wild jungle of rock, these tunes are crystal streams running peacefully by – soothing refreshments that remind us that "mystery is everything."

Antigone Rising is good. Very good. In a world where pop rock has lost its soul, Antigone Rising is an inspiring example of musicians overcoming preconceptions with skillful playing, beautiful lyrics, and hard work. While vibrantly brazen and excitingly defiant, they nevertheless prove with their voice why they deserve the laurels. They will continue their ascent to glory, maintaining their pride in the faces of the Creons of the world, allowing the spirit of Antigone to live on in their effigy. In Antigone's own words (as given to us by Sophocles): "I will suffer nothing as great as death without glory."