Memory is a Festering Wound: Antemundane Sings of “A Throbbing Unbearable Thing”
Have you ever felt like existence was this throbbing, unbearable thing but couldn’t put the aimlessness of reality into words? Well, cry no more because Antemundane does the despairing about the motionlessness of time for us all in his debut single, “A Throbbing Unbearable Thing.”
Written by Marcus Barasi
Photos courtesy of Antemundane
July 4, 2023
Antemundane (Photo by Mayee Gonzales)
Based in Laguna, music producer, and multi-instrumentalist Ivan Brosas originates from a local six-member indie-rock outfit, The Strangeness, whose lyrics distinctly spotlight a millennial moroseness to them. This outlook is unapologetically declared by their most-streamed song on Spotify, “Easy Boys and Girls,” which comes from their 2017 debut full-length album, “Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky,” and which currently sits pretty at nearly 138,000 streams. Sonically, the single and its source album spotlight the band’s specialty in melodies that are energetically catchy yet simultaneously possess a calculated somberness to them—a juxtaposing sensibility that Brosas undoubtedly carries with him in his first solo venture as Antemundane.
Debuting with his first solo single, “A Throbbing, Unbearable Thing,” Brosas, as Antemundane, explores similar themes as The Strangeness, musing about being fed up with reality. The song, which is quite the funky ballad, opens with a reverberating piano and a layer of vocals that sounds like it’s being sung directly into the listener’s ear. The production is cinematic in a sense, gradually adding in trumpets and synths for its climax. Meanwhile, the lyrical content steps in time with the music’s mood, opening with the line: “I’ve had enough of this ugly feeling.” As Antemundane continues to declare the listlessness of life, his artistry takes center stage in the song’s minimalist but impactful lyricism that tastefully complements the nuanced production. Among the poetic verses, the stand-out line would simply have to be: “‘Til the devil takes control, the memory is a festering wound.”
“A Throbbing Unbearable Thing” is also accompanied by a haunting music video that is directed and edited by Raliug. The song’s narrative is brought to life by a protagonist that is played by Marl Pizzaro and a setting that begins in a supposedly abandoned house at dusk. The man is shown to be wearing clown makeup and is being searched for by a man who seems to be the house’s groundskeeper—who is played by none other than Brosas himself. Ultimately, the story follows the man as he hides in a blanket until dawn and subsequently walks home after being discovered by the groundskeeper. The video ends with him wiping off the clown makeup after apparently walking for the whole day, revealing the groundskeeper in his place who is now also sporting clown makeup.
“A Throbbing, Unbearable Thing” is available for listening and streaming on July 7, 2023. After which, the Ingmar Bergman–inspired album that it leads, “Oblivion Shall Own Me,” is set to be released on October 8, 2023 via Karimlan Records—featuring a 10-song tracklist, entirely created by Brosas himself, that represents an endless trip towards uncertain destinations and likewise encourages an open-ended interpretation from its listeners.
