I wasn’t going to review We Form A Shelter, the debut album from Brighton band Anagrams, but the ghost of Lester Bangs visited me and reminded me of his fictional words in Almost Famous, “You wanna be a true friend to them? Be honest, and unmerciful.”
The truth for me is that Anagrams are a musically competent band. They’ve got a good style, can clearly play but musically they are just so uninspiring. We Form a Shelter is a little bit Smashing Pumpkins, a hell of a lot of Radiohead. There’s nothing new here and listening to it made me feel a little flat and even sad.
I’ve canvassed some opinion via Facebook and found I’m not alone in being somewhat nonplussed by We Form a Shelter.
Here’s one: “Musically it starts off sounding like a quiet moment on a Gish/Siamese Dream era Smashing Pumpkins record before evolving into an early Radiohead ‘B’ side and then back. Vocally & lyrically, completely uninteresting.”
Another, in reference to the video I posted on Facebook of ‘Fits and Starts’ says: “ The look on their faces near the start is the exact look I had on my face listening to it. Good, but uninspired.”
I’ve been advised to do a “praise sandwich” in the review. Start off with a compliment, drop the bombshell that I don’t like the album and follow it with another compliment.
This was one of my first attempts: “You’re very good musicians. The album is a little bland. Oh, I like your hair.”
Ok, that’s not great, but how about this effort from an experienced middle manager friend? He says: “How about saying that they are accomplished, competent and professional sounding, but perhaps need to work on the creativity side. Some of it is bland and uninspiring, but with some fresh ideas and impetus they could produce good material.”
I think this sums it up perfectly. This is a band that can go anywhere but are being held back by playing it safe.
They claim on their press release, which name checks Pavement and Mogwai as well as Radiohead as inspiration, that the album takes a “heartfelt look at the human condition, from paranoia and mental illness to frustration and insecurity.” But I’m not convinced that such weighty issues can ever be effectively conveyed through this kind of bland indie rock.
The album opens promising enough with ‘Autumn Leaves’, some beautiful guitar playing, building up nicely but then the first lyrics come in, “can we slow things down, for a minute.” Momentum is promptly lost and the song just meanders along slowly for another three minutes, not the one I was promised at the start.
The same pattern emerges time and time again across the tracks. The six minute melody-less ‘1711’ is six minutes I’ll never get back and ‘Fits and starts’ which the band clearly rate enough to give a video, has elements of The Sundays guitar playing, more Radiohead, but overall its too clean, crisp and bland to be anything like those two bands at their peak. I’m not sure what part of Pavement inspired them, perhaps their lead singer Stephen Malkmus’s lengthy guitar meanderings with his later band the Jicks. But even at his most fret wankerish at least Malkmus has balls.
My advice, if they care for it, which by now they probably won’t, is to have a really good think about the music they like, the music that inspires them and ask themselves not how can we sound like them, but how can we be as inspiring, as unique as them? What is it about their musical heroes that brings smiles to their faces or tears to their cheeks.
Our advice to Anagrams is to go back to the rehearsal room, get drunk, take drugs or whatever it is that gets the creative juices flowing, listen to music properly and really enjoy making it again, perhaps like they did when they started out.
Their press release goes on to say they have supported the likes of The Antlers, Wooden Shjips, The Joy Formidable and The Phantom Band. Unless they take a “heartfelt look” at their own musical condition then sadly this will probably be as far as they get. With a bit more originality the above list of bands could be supporting them some day.
4/10
by Joe Lepper
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