Anekdoten
From Within
Virta

"Blind morning and I rise with the tide." Anekdoten is back with their third studio album. They started out playing cover versions of King Crimson around 1990. The quartet's first album Vemod is great, at least if you enjoy the hard progressive experimental Crimson of the 1972-74 era. The second album Nucleus has a harder and metallic edge. We have waited since 1995 for a follow up. In between, the band has been far east and an official double live bootleg CD made in Japan revealed a couple of songs from From Within. Groundbound is more relaxed than most of the Nucleus material with some razor blade guitars, Crimsonesque mellotron, metallic bass and highly-strung drums in between; some of the Anekdoten and From Within characteristics and assets. It sounds very much like the live version. Great! Slow Fire is probably my least favourite of the live album and sounds only marginally better here. It's too long and monotonous for my liking.

Otherwise, From Within sounds more mature than the predecessors. The King Crimson inspiration is less obvious though the mellotron is still a vital part of the sound. And some of the calmest parts even give flashbacks of 1969's monster In The Court Of The Crimson King. The main track of the album is the 11 minute long Hole. At times laid-back and simple with some xylophone and organ sounding keyboards. Then the mellotron and guitar fireworks start... Another goodie is the ballad, sort of, For Someone. Mostly acoustic guitar and voice, some keyboards and cello after a while, very discreet and beautiful. By now Anekdoten seems freer to seek their own musical paths. When they're at their most original, such as Hole, the title track and The Sun Absolute, they remind me of Norway's Motorpsycho, trying to find new expressions and reaching for new boundaries. I only miss the cello that seems more discreet than earlier, but with some sparkling interplay a few times. All in all, to me From Within is their best album thus far.

Copyright © 2000 JP