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These are ten beautifully crafted songs which would sound great played just
with vocals and a guitar. The melodies are extremely strong, and you'll likely
find yourself humming the chorus to Down at the oddest times, before
you even realize it. However, there is an incredible depth of field in the soundscaping
on Anomie too, which literally makes the music come alive in the
mind's eye.
Jez says, "I wanted to include the expressiveness of musical styles outside
the normal range of rock/metal, drawing from such diverse sources as Mongolian
throat singing," - the ghostly growling drones of Tibetan "Kaargyra"
open the album in the haunting "Void" - "... and the plainsong
of early European music" - which can be heard stalking the stifling "Hollow
Ground", and the dark majesty of "Betrayal"
.
"The album is basically about loss; loss of loved ones," he continues,
"loss of direction and sense of purpose because of these things."
He mentions that there is no attempt at reconciliation, or suggestions of how
to rebuild your life when situations like the loss of a boyfriend/girlfriend,
or loved one's death wreak havoc in your life. "It's not up to me to tell
people how to rebuild their lives, or how to grow. People decide that for themselves
- it's what makes you who you are. This album is about how when bad things happen,
it really sucks. Its about expressing that pain, feeling it, and working through
it: instead of burying your head in the sand and giving up, or taking it out
on someone else."
Lyrically the work is beautiful, and many of the songs' words stand as works
of poetry in their own right. Lines like Cold's "There's nothing worth
believing any more; there is no place we haven't been before; the little things
that matter pass away, and leave our garden fragrant with decay.'" send
shivers down the spine.
What makes this work truly special though, is the charismatic and hurt-filled
vocals, by turns the extraordinary power and intimacy with which they are delivered.
The hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention as Jez, voice cracked
with emotion, delivers lines like "I am broken, I can't find my way"
on "Dust"; yet you cower at the black rage of "My best isn't
good enough for you!" in the hate-filled chorus of "Void".
Though some songs are more challenging than others, there are levels here that
are lacking in many popular works by similar artists. You will most likely find
you end up preferring different tunes than the ones that first caught your attention.
When quizzed on this, Jez replies, "Yeah, I grew up listening to NIN and
classical composers like Wagner and Vaughan-Williams, so there is a lot happening
behind the scenes in the music which I do not truly understand myself. That's
half the fun of writing it: often I won't understand some of what my subconscious
is saying until years later!"
The album closes with the powerful and bitter-sweet "November", which
pulls deeply from pre-Christian Celtic culture. "It is an attempt at a
laying to rest, a burial rite to give dignity, and show a great depth of love
and respect - something which Christianity entirely fails to do." Amidst
the sweeping cadences, and the yawning, chasmal vastness, you truly feel dwarfed,
you realize the microscopic length of time you have on this earth - yet you
are left with an appreciation of the beauty of life and of the incredible experiences
it has to offer.
The word anomie is defined as a condition or malaise in individuals, characterized
by the decay of standards or values, and an associated feeling of alienation
and purposelessness. Applied to society, it represents the reign of isolation
and predation over cooperation and trust, "something we see on a daily
basis as ruthless corporations continue to grow fat on the proceeds of slave
labor, selling us what passes for culture at the expense of our environment,
our spiritual lives and our communities. " adds Jez. |
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