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Anathema: Distant satellites

29/05/14 || The Duff

First things first. Fuck. “Weather Systems”, they got it, over time it only just grabbed first place to “We’re Here Because We’re Here”, but lightning in a bottle, life on a record, well done. But the first two tracks of “distant satellites”, and already I was believing the blurb as supplied by KScope that this was ‘destined to be one of the most celebrated and acclaimed albums of 2014,’ and ‘distant satellites’ is the work of a band whose collective love of making music and sharing its intangible magic with others grows stronger by the year.’

There is one excessive instance of the word ‘of’ in there, but Lee Douglas’ opening melody of “The Lost Song part 2” combined with the fact that part 1 is about as open and bright as where “Weather Systems” left off, huge and fully embracing of life’s bountiful qualities, it had me stop working (easily done provided I have access to the Internet) and weep onto my boobs; I was feverishly eyeballing the walls and punching myself in the dick so confused was I at the water leaking from my face; by the epic end of “The Lost Song part 2” I had melted to the floor asking Lee Douglas to marry me, the words “can’t believe it was just an illusion” squeaking out of my tightening larynx.

So “Distant satellites” is apparently stripped back in comparison to its two precedents, I don’t get much of that sense, but this appears to combine the meloncholia of “A Natural Disaster” with the more rounded presentation of their KScope efforts – while there is uplift to ‘distant satellites’, this album appears to be more about loss and letting go than the two records prior which themselves also dealt with the more tumultuous of our shared adversities.

The formula has not changed much for the first handful of tracks, opening melody, build layers around it, bring the listener up and soaring then gradually settle them down, and so as far as ‘playing it safe’ I can’t see what they’ve changed other than strengthened their ability to boost euphoria out from my every pore, taking out what little residual cheese they had from their “Alt4/Judgement” days with but one exception, the nightclub ending of the title track and I am left thinking goddamn pill-freaks are the bane of music.

The mood set by the opening of “Take Shelter” is a little squandered by the electronic, see artificial beats, and the title track never lifts off but rather dallies around the same motif before spiraling into a very tedious Ibiza-club-dance routine that is insulting; it is meant to be ethereal, but musically it is not very enriching, and while “Weather Systems” initially was to be released as an E.P. before they wrote some five or so tracks in a heartbeat, this record is more a full-length thirty minuter tagged with some good vibes, house music/big beatz/shitty-electro on the end.

Unlike with their 2003 effort the band has shuffled these progressive elements to the smaller back-half of the album, influences including Sigur Rós (Jamie has professed a deep love for “Taak…” yet this reminds me more of “Ágætis byrjun”), Radiohead’s “Kid A” and something akin to the “Young Mountain” E.P. by This Will Destroy You; the underlying melody to “distant satellites” (shared also by the instrumental track “Firelight”) reminds me of a cathedral organ, the soundtrack to a film like “Drive” or atmospheric films of its kind, ‘part catatonic/atmospherics part heart-warming/meaning-of-life’, but while this looks good on paper it is the sampled drum beats sounding like a cross between a rave and post-Peter Gabriel Genesis that sadly leave me cold.

I am clearly developing a hate-relationship with Anathema’s prog fans, haha.

Once more Steven Wilson has been called to the helm for mixing, the two tracks “You’re Not Alone” and “Take Shelter” where the band is, along with the title track, most evidently spreading its creative wings, so then given the nature of the music my opinion on his work is fairly neutral, he appears to have kept all in check with the rest of the album’s vibe. Lyrically, the band has not exactly improved, but thankfully there are few cringeworthy moments; they are trying to grab life’s meaning, you can’t escape a bit of sappy here and there especially when Anathema songs revolve so much about love be it troubled or exhilarating.

Daniel Cavanagh is one underrated lead guitar player to say the least, and his placement of pinch harmonics phenomenal; tracks like “One Last Goodbye”, “Inner Silence”, “Summernight Horizon” and then of course “Hindsight” to name a few, we thankfully have yet another spot for him on this new album with the track “Anathema”, and once more, as with “Internal Landscapes”, Vincent’s drive to push himself as a vocalist – where the “Weather Systems” closing track may have had you believe the man had nowhere left to go this track will have you thinking otherwise, and more boldly still without the backing of his female counterpart or the yin to his yang; vocally this album is a tour de force, none more fitting a term.

With the strength of the first six tracks and despite the slight disjointed feel of the record, if this is the band’s new direction I think they have divided the album wisely while still staying faithful to a following of the band’s KScope efforts, but those who were apprehensive with “We’re Here…” and “Weather Systems” awaiting a return to their Floyd-era (or further yet their doom) will certainly loathe “distant satellites”.

There are comparisons to the band’s back catalogue to the point where they might be repeating themselves, but everything seems to belong as once more a welcome addition to the band’s discography, minor quibbles and personal tastes aside. Tracks a lot of this record remind me of are “Balance”, “Closer”,“Untouchable part 1”, “Lightning Song”, “Get Off Get Out”, “Angels Walk Among Us” and perhaps a bit of the Portishead vibe of “A Natural Disaster” (the track); the track “Anathema” is not dissimilar to “Fragile Dreams” either.

Add to this the string-heavy sections off “Weather Systems” courtesy of Dave Stewart and accompanying piano from Daniel as featured on say “The Lost Child” from “Weather Systems”, the only track that truly stands out for me is “Dusk”, which is a lot rockier than I’ve heard the band in a while. With “distant satellites” we are at an important record that unsurprisingly doesn’t do its predecessor justice, the album is many of the qualities you’ve come to expect from the band despite its occasional faux pas/ambitious experimentation.

Information
Released: 2014
Label: KScope
Website: www.anathema.ws
Band
Lee Douglas: vocals
Vincent Cavanagh: vocals, programming, synth
Daniel Cavanagh: piano, guitars, synth, vocals
Jamie Cavanagh: bass
John Douglas: percussion, programming, synth, drums
Daniel Cardoso: drums

Tracklist
01. The Lost Song part 1
02. The Lost Song part 2
03. Dusk (dark is descending)
04. Ariel
05. The Lost Song part 3
06. Anathema
07. You’re Not Alone
08. Firelight
09. Distant Satellites
10. Take Shelter

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