Melodic 8-bit rock outfit Anamanaguchi are back with their new album, Anyway.
Itching to try something new, the band has seemingly pivoted their sound for their third album, going for a more straightforwardly rock guitar-driven sound.
Written in a converted living room-turned-practice space, the four members of Anamanaguchi–vocalists and guitarists Peter Berkman and Ary Warnaar, bassist and vocalist James DeVito, and drummer and vocalist Luke Silas–totally changed their writing and production style for the new album, foregoing a meticulous digital process for something looser and more organic.
According to Peter Berkman: “The overarching theme of USA [the band’s second album] was about a voice forming and learning how to speak–a kind of artificial one. Anyway is the next step – it’s about discovering the band’s voice.”
Produced and mixed by Grammy-winning producer Dave Fridmann (MGMT, Sleater-Kinney), Anyway sees the band renewed and refreshed.
As well as a pivot from chiptunes to guitar rock, Anyway sees Anamanaguchi finally find their voice, both literally and figuratively –their previously vocal-free work has seen all four members pick up a microphone to stretch their vocal chords.
Such a big set of changes would be a risk for any band, but for the best friend quartet of Anamanaguchi it feels both entirely natural –and it speaks to both the band’s influences and longevity that they’ve largely eschewed the current trend for exceptionally short tracks.
Opening up with “Sparkler”, the album starts off feeling like the band plugged their 8-bit selves into a much older set of technology, even as their trademark hacked NES sounds make an appearance. There’s familiarity in it, and the opener fuses the band’s new and old identities together.
Previously-released single “Rage (Kitchen Sink)” is exactly what it says, as the vocals almost spit out the lyrics over the top of clashing guitars, steady bass, and drum parts.
But if it’s a battle between singles, it has to be “Magnet” that stands out most. The track has the simplicity of a brash Sugarcult track and the chords of an Ash single from the mid-2000s, and is a self-styled “love song with extreme feelings” about a dark romance that’s gliding out of control.
If there’s one thing Anamanaguchi really didn’t sacrifice on this album, it’s the frenetic energy of their previous work. Tracks “Lieday,” “Fall Away,” and “Really Like To” see them deciding not to stray too far from their roots, and it’s to their benefit–it shows that the band haven’t just thrown everything that made people love them in the bin, but even these tracks still see them stretch their legs enough in this unfamiliar genre to be a true (if not total) pivot.
However, it’s on the tracks “Buckwild,” “Valley of Silence,” and “Darcie” that see Anamanaguchi turn the energy down and delve into something more shoegaze-tinged and grunge.
The vocals on all these tracks are somewhat muted and often heavily vocoded, almost as if the band wasn't quite ready to give up all their old tricks.
It’s the tenth track, “Darcie,” that feels different from the band’s old work. It acts as the grungiest song on the album and shows the band at their most simplistic, melodically. It feels a long way away from the hyper-produced, busy work of their previous albums, but that’s not a bad thing at all.
From start to finish, Anyway very much still has the essence of Anamanaguchi’s previous work, and features several pixellated hallmarks which the band is best known for.
But they’ve still taken risks, not least by deciding to make their voices heard – and hopefully they decide to keep their new style on albums yet to come, because it truly suits them well.
