Anathema – Hindsight
Kscope – 8026448106621 – 25th August 2008
By Russell Garwood
It’s been five years since we last heard from
Anathema. Five years of near silence, (not quite) broken by the release of
Hindsight - I say not quite, because this is not the band’s long-awaited forthcoming new album,
Horizons, rather it is a record of semi-acoustic covers. These are drawn from the group’s more recent works, the oldest song being
Eternity’s ’Angelica’, while
’Fragile Dreams’ and
’Inner Silence’ (
Alternative 4) also get a look in.
Judegement,
AFDTE and
A Natural Disaster are also represented, while the album is completed in style with a new track entitled
’Unchained (Tales Of The Unexpected)’, hinting at future directions. As is to be expected, the mood is about as cheerful as Kent Hovind at shower time (unless, that is, prison has changed him drastically); the tracks use sparing electric guitar, lots of acoustics, laid back drums and occasional cello, making it all a very low-key affair. The minimalism acts to highlight the emotion of the songs, which otherwise remain largely faithful to the originals. This is all polished off by excellent production, and some very nice packaging courtesy of Kscope, who have released the CD as a very nice digibook. Particular standouts include a fantastic version of
A Natural Disaster’s ’Are You There’, and
’Temporary Peace’ (
AFDTE), both of which give the originals a run for their money.
While many fans are bound to be disappointed at the lack of a new
Anathema full-length,
Hindsight will help fill the gap until the release of
Horizons, providing as it does ten tracks of memorable and well written music. Recommended.
Official Anathema Website
Official Anathema Myspace
Official Kscope Website
