Anathema - Weather systems
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"Weather systems" is a new release from Anathema, an English group playing a mix of ambient and progressive rock. According to the Brits the album was supposed to be a continuation to "We’re here, because we’re here" released two years earlier. However, I haven’t noticed any thread connected to the previous album.
The CD that came out barely a month ago brings some new things into Anathema’s works – like the opportunity of hearing more often the angelic voice of Lee Douglas, who became the band’s member already in 2000, it’s her time. This time Steve Wilson did not help with production. It’s also a debut of Daniel Cardoso, a new keyboard player, who did extremely well.
The cover of "Weather systems" is worth noticing, I must admit that it rouses imagination. It’s definitely my favorite cover.
The album opens with a truly beautiful diptych of loving hearts "Untouchable". With the first sounds I knew it’d be an extraordinary release that will nestle well in my beauty-sensitive soul. After all, Anathema’s music caresses senses and nourishes soul. Music that accompanies good and bad moments in life as well as the sad ones, full of grief after a greatest loss in one’s lifetime.
In the beginning "Untouchable, Part I" is melodic, calm, resonant just to soon build tension and make a responsive listener cry and further, in the epicenter of gathered emotions, to move on to a peaceful, marching "Untouchable, Part II" and to destroy the built-up tension in the track that will make you sad for sure. It’s amazing how easily one can put out such strongly burning emotions.
"The Gathering of the clouds" brings anxiety. The soul tells that something’s going to happen soon, something’s winding up, we’ll collide with something, we’ll break against something... And right after that Arcadian voice of Lee sounds in "Lightning song", that very delicately caresses our neurons and unsettles a heart. Just as summer sun strokes us tenderly, wraps in it’s warmth and beauty and never lets go and promises a lot and gives even more.
"Lightning song" is a song filling me with hope. A hope for beauty, a hope for true mystical love, for goodness, for sun and for survival.
"Sunlight" is another musical and lyrical pearl by Danny. A perfect combination of increasing pace of drums (a huge bow for John here) with Danny’s soft plucking the strings that at times sounds as if the guitar changed into a harp. This increasing tension changes into a whirl that consumes us completely. A whirl that no one wants to escape, a whirl that one wants to give in to.
"The storm before the calm" is a true storm before upcoming calm. I have never before felt a storm in every cell of my body, I have never shivered so much. It’s getting colder, thunderbolts hit the surroundings, the sky is navy blue, the wind rips off roofs from near-by houses. And the anxiety that tells to hide somewhere because a lightning will burn down the place where I’m staying. And suddenly... everything stops. The anxiety lasts, it’s quieter, calmer. Is it the calm before the storm this time?
I don’t want to disclose all the feelings related to the album, I want to leave you a little freedom of experiencing it and that’s why I won’t lift the veil of secrecy and reveal everything but... there’s still something.
There is this track that made me fall apart even more than "Untouchable" diptych. A song that was first revealed to the world. A song that is the essence of Anathema, all that they want to convey, all that the listener seeks in their music and lyrics. A song about you and me – a song about everyone of us. About what we want to experience, about what we want to feel, not about the needs of our minds but those of our hearts. About how sometimes we’re afraid to ask for help yet we scream inside that we need it so much. "The beginning and the end", the song I’m talking about, is probably a song in Anathema’s output that sends the most shivers down one’s spine.
The rest I leave to you. Get yourselves carried away. Remember that this album is not for mere hearing but for experiencing it. It’s a music to caress neurons, a music for the very heart.
After listening to the whole album a silence falls, forced silence in which emotions still rage. It’s impossible to turn on something else as the last song ends, it’s just impossible. There is plenty of space inside for the talk of soul that, if not touched during album’s hearing, will give a sound, speak out to you.
For me it’s an album that changes me, it brought me back to thinking with a heart and a soul and not only with reason, it truly draws tears (if only the beautiful story told by John in "Internal Landscape").
Contrary to Anathema members’ words, in my opinion, the release is after all a concept album. For me it’s a unity. Taking away even one song would change the whole release, one would feel that something’s missing, that something was left unsaid.
And this is just beautiful!
One more thing – I encourage everyone to listen to the album for the announced October concerts in four polish cities. "Weather systems" sounds even more beautiful live. See you!
Tracklist:
01. Untouchable Part 1
02. Untouchable Part 2
03. The Gathering Of The Clouds
04. Lightning Song
05. Sunlight
06. The Storm Before The Calm
07. The Beginning and The End
08. The Lost Child
09. Internal Landscapes
The CD that came out barely a month ago brings some new things into Anathema’s works – like the opportunity of hearing more often the angelic voice of Lee Douglas, who became the band’s member already in 2000, it’s her time. This time Steve Wilson did not help with production. It’s also a debut of Daniel Cardoso, a new keyboard player, who did extremely well.
The cover of "Weather systems" is worth noticing, I must admit that it rouses imagination. It’s definitely my favorite cover.
The album opens with a truly beautiful diptych of loving hearts "Untouchable". With the first sounds I knew it’d be an extraordinary release that will nestle well in my beauty-sensitive soul. After all, Anathema’s music caresses senses and nourishes soul. Music that accompanies good and bad moments in life as well as the sad ones, full of grief after a greatest loss in one’s lifetime.
In the beginning "Untouchable, Part I" is melodic, calm, resonant just to soon build tension and make a responsive listener cry and further, in the epicenter of gathered emotions, to move on to a peaceful, marching "Untouchable, Part II" and to destroy the built-up tension in the track that will make you sad for sure. It’s amazing how easily one can put out such strongly burning emotions.
"The Gathering of the clouds" brings anxiety. The soul tells that something’s going to happen soon, something’s winding up, we’ll collide with something, we’ll break against something... And right after that Arcadian voice of Lee sounds in "Lightning song", that very delicately caresses our neurons and unsettles a heart. Just as summer sun strokes us tenderly, wraps in it’s warmth and beauty and never lets go and promises a lot and gives even more.
"Lightning song" is a song filling me with hope. A hope for beauty, a hope for true mystical love, for goodness, for sun and for survival.
"Sunlight" is another musical and lyrical pearl by Danny. A perfect combination of increasing pace of drums (a huge bow for John here) with Danny’s soft plucking the strings that at times sounds as if the guitar changed into a harp. This increasing tension changes into a whirl that consumes us completely. A whirl that no one wants to escape, a whirl that one wants to give in to.
"The storm before the calm" is a true storm before upcoming calm. I have never before felt a storm in every cell of my body, I have never shivered so much. It’s getting colder, thunderbolts hit the surroundings, the sky is navy blue, the wind rips off roofs from near-by houses. And the anxiety that tells to hide somewhere because a lightning will burn down the place where I’m staying. And suddenly... everything stops. The anxiety lasts, it’s quieter, calmer. Is it the calm before the storm this time?
I don’t want to disclose all the feelings related to the album, I want to leave you a little freedom of experiencing it and that’s why I won’t lift the veil of secrecy and reveal everything but... there’s still something.
There is this track that made me fall apart even more than "Untouchable" diptych. A song that was first revealed to the world. A song that is the essence of Anathema, all that they want to convey, all that the listener seeks in their music and lyrics. A song about you and me – a song about everyone of us. About what we want to experience, about what we want to feel, not about the needs of our minds but those of our hearts. About how sometimes we’re afraid to ask for help yet we scream inside that we need it so much. "The beginning and the end", the song I’m talking about, is probably a song in Anathema’s output that sends the most shivers down one’s spine.
The rest I leave to you. Get yourselves carried away. Remember that this album is not for mere hearing but for experiencing it. It’s a music to caress neurons, a music for the very heart.
After listening to the whole album a silence falls, forced silence in which emotions still rage. It’s impossible to turn on something else as the last song ends, it’s just impossible. There is plenty of space inside for the talk of soul that, if not touched during album’s hearing, will give a sound, speak out to you.
For me it’s an album that changes me, it brought me back to thinking with a heart and a soul and not only with reason, it truly draws tears (if only the beautiful story told by John in "Internal Landscape").
Contrary to Anathema members’ words, in my opinion, the release is after all a concept album. For me it’s a unity. Taking away even one song would change the whole release, one would feel that something’s missing, that something was left unsaid.
And this is just beautiful!
One more thing – I encourage everyone to listen to the album for the announced October concerts in four polish cities. "Weather systems" sounds even more beautiful live. See you!
Tracklist:
01. Untouchable Part 1
02. Untouchable Part 2
03. The Gathering Of The Clouds
04. Lightning Song
05. Sunlight
06. The Storm Before The Calm
07. The Beginning and The End
08. The Lost Child
09. Internal Landscapes
