Floating World (A Review)
Few artists (in my opinion) are truly creative. For me, music often falls into two very broad camps. There are bands who might not be all that innovative, but they do what they do very well. U2 (I know I’ll hear about this!) is a prime example for me. Then there are bands that defy easy classification, bending genre and pushing expectations. Calexico, Clogs, Medeski Martin and Wood, and Tom Waits serve as prime examples of the creative side of the coin.
What’s interesting is that the “creatives” often struggle with accessibility. Creativity often results in experimentation which sometimes loses listeners. My friend Eldon and I use the term “intentional listening” to describe some of this music. Initially you force yourself to sit through it to find the treasures, because you’re fairly certain that they’re there. While this isn’t appealing to many, it does reveal talent necessary to make the experimental accessible; to push the boundaries while remaining open to those who will never engage in “intentional listening.”
While Anathallo might not be a household name, their balance on the tightrope of accessibility/experimentation has been cemented with their latest release Floating World. Released February 25th, the release essentially marks the first full-length release for the band at 14 tracks, settling the question whether Anathallo’s genre-bending style could sustain a full-length release; it certainly can.
Thematically, the album centers on a Japanese tale, Hanasakajijii, also known as “Grandfather Cherry Blossom,” and/or “The Old Man Who Made Trees (Flowers) Bloom.” The tale is told in four installments in the booklet and repeated (though out of order) in the four “Hanasakajijii” tracks and forms the centerpiece of the album itself.
Briefly, the tale is of an old Japanese couple who takes in a stray dog who uncovers buried treasure on their property. A neighbor discovers the treasure, the dog and its capabilities and asks to borrow it to discover treasure of his own but uncovers only rubbish. In his anger and greed, he kills, burns and buries the dog. The old man discovers the ashes, which, miraculously, are able to bring life to their parched land (making dead trees bloom).
After “Ame,” a brief but mood-setting percussion piece, the themes of redemption/renewal are (in my opinion) Biblically centered by the second track and the first to feature lyrics, “Genessaret.” The title is a reference to the region surrounding Peter’s water-walking experience (Matthew 14:34; Mark 6:53 and Luke 5:1) and introduces the theme of the faith necessary to participate in this redemption, a theme played out through the rest of the album. This theme emerges in the lines:
We looked hard; I stood on the bottom. Calloused tiptoes, Splintering wood, waterlogging. Break up, come back together, Genessaret. I want to skip like a stone from a stronger arm. Each one I throw is moving somewhere. Oh, let me go. I will go out, out, out, out Past these yellow ropes. I am not afraid.
The Japanese elements are carried further in many of the percussive and melodic elements, but also lyrically, as many of the lyrics themselves are Japanese. The last verse of “By Number” for example, is the Japanese translation of Psalm 139:5. “Dokkoise House (with face covered)” features the lines “Hana no iro wa Utsuri ni keri na O hana,” which translate: “The color of the flowr has already faded away” and the last track “Kasa no Hone (the umbrella’s bones”) is entirely in Japanese, closing the album with the lines “Though I also am torn, Don’t desert me”(English translation).
The elements of faith and redemption are unmistakable and drive the album from beginning to end, including references to Isaiah’s “bruised reed” (Isaiah 42:3; Matthew 12:20) so many will wonder, is this a “Christian” CD? Speaking to just such questions, the band features excerpts on their website from an interview with Sufjan Stevens, which they say reflect their views well:
On an aesthetic level, faith and art are a dangerous match. Today, they can quickly lead to devotional artifice or didactic crap. This would summarize the Christian publishing world or the Christian music industry. If you are an artist of faith (a Methodist or a Jew), then you have the responsibility to manage the principles of your faith wisely lest they be reduced to stereotype, which is patronizing to the church and to the world, and, perhaps, to God.
Further discussing the relationship between “faith and art,” the band quotes:
on a certain level you cannot separate art from faith, because it is our persuasions which drive us to create. An agnostic painter might use the expression ideologies instead of religion, but it’s the same thing. Whether you are religious about politics or fashion (or saving the whales), you are still motivated by your convictions to participate in art. But I don’t think that means faith should necessarily prescribe art. In fact, this is a dangerous assumption, which often leads to music that is pedagogical, or a novel that is moralistic. As for our intentions, well, that’s all bunk. We may intend our music for one person or another, but who’s to say? I can’t decide who reads my novel or buys my record. Look what that did for Jonathon Franzen, who snubbed Oprah for liking his book. It’s an arrogant, imperialist motive to try to determine who will receive you and who won’t.
In other words, the music and its themes are for everyone and we ought not limit that with unnecessary labels. The band expresses a keen understanding that these themes (and their music) rise above the labels so many of us want to attach to them. The truths 
are unmistakable without sacrificing the means for the message. The message drives creativity here rather than stifles it and for that alone, the band must be praised.
Musically, the band shows a maturity beyond their years, demonstrating the ability to incorporate wildly varying influences while making them their own. “Hoodwink” features a Sigur Ros influenced guitar, while Hanasakajijii (two: the floating world) draws heavily from Tom Waits, both in its metallic percussion and also “carny” ambience and the last section of “Yuki! Yuki! Yuki!” resembles Satie’s work for piano. As this short list implies, the album is not “genre-specific” and crosses many boundaries, yet the band manages to present a unified whole rather than many disjointed elements forced together.
Floating World represents a solidification if you will for the band. While all of the elements here are present on the bands previous releases, most of those were EPs where the ideas were not fully fleshed out. Here, they’re brought together masterfully. Anyone who’s seen the band live knows their explosive energy, but the album shows amazing restraint, letting the combination of theme and music pluck the listener’s emotions and energies. Many will be struck by the moodiness, but that’s not to say this is a depressing album, yet it is a moving one. The music and theme are so well intertwined that the explosions aren’t missed.
I know it’s only March, but I think my pick for album of the year may have just been made. It’s certainly going to be fun trying to top this one. Bottom line: highly recommended.
- Visit the band’s official website.
- Visit the band’s Myspace site.
- Download “Hanasakajijii (four: a great wind, more ash).”
- Download “Hoodwink.”
- Read my previous post on the band.
brent! U2?! oh man………we need to talk. :)
I knew that would get people! Hey, I love U2, but let’s face it, they’re a band who does what they do very well, but that doesn’t mean they’re all that innovative…I’m just digging myself deeper, aren’t I?
See Brent, I told you you shoulda said Bob Dylan and not U2. Then people like Jeremy wouldn’t get so ticked.
I caught Anathallo live last night and can say they are indeed innovative, and can carry the sound live. No gimmicks overwhelm the music and the stories being told. They are playing Conrerstone again this yera for those that care.
Brent!
U2 — not innovative?! Thanks, man. I needed a good laugh today:-) Love you anyway:-)
Pop. Zooropa. Achtung Baby. THE JOSHUA TREE.
I have to go now and wipe my tears. Brent…oh Brent.
I will pray for you.
:)
Do not touch God’s annointed.
Jeremy, I love you man, but I hardly call a guitar-based rock band cheaply trying their hand at “dance beats” innovative and truly creative. Check out Anathallo for some truly accessible creativity!
U2 is not great because they are innovative but are great because they have found a formula that works very well and they perform well in concert, *unlike Anathallo* who have a great concept but dont seem to be able to translate that into a live show. But hey, I saw Morrissey last night, so who cares.
Dear Pastor, you write beautifully about art. I understand the things you are saying about U2. I love U2 too. But the band is not like Tom Waits, to use your comparison. I know by your comments that you are not disparaging U2. I would love to read more analysis from you, regarding these differences. This would benefit those of us who are endeavoring to make art. May you be blessed for taking the time and trouble.
Adam,
At least you support my idea that “U2 is not great because they are innovative but are great because they have found a formula that works very well.”
That’s part of my point, U2 is a great band, in fact I listened to Joshua Tree today. But, they’re firmly steeped in the rock idiom. They’re not pushing creative boundaries; they do what they do extremely well, but that’s not the same thing as being innovative.
Now, for your contention about Anathallo having “a great concept but” not being “able to translate that into a live show.” Brother, I love you but I could not disagree with you more.
The live show is incredible. There is so much going on in the music that it becomes an immediate question whether or not they can pull it off live, and they do. The very stage itself becomes an instrument, if anything, the energy is intensified and one marvels at the level of cooperation among band members.
But, I suppose you’re right, they don’t have the leather pants or over-sized sunglasses. I expect more from you Adam, I really do, but then again, I’m used to disappointment, what with 17 years or so now to get used to it…Love you man, but I still think you’re dead wrong.
oh my goodness! anathallo not being able to translate into a live show??! wow, is that even the remark of a sane person??? i saw them live before i had ever even heard of them…it’s not possible for someone who has seen them live to say that in their right mind! sorry, it just doesn’t work
oh and as to U2 being innovative, who knows, who cares, they are loved very much. i suppose they can be at times if not always.
Adam,
Have you even seen Anathallo live? I mean, c’mon. They are amazing. The experience is so sprititual. They do like every part that’s on their CDs. They clap. They stomp. They use chains. They use scissors. They use instruments I don’t even know the names of. They all sing. They fall over dead at the end of that one song. Yea, they may not be MTVs version of rock stars but to me they are extactly what rock stars should be. Regular guys who love music and want to share it with everybody.
1) U2 is truly trenched in rock idion, 4×4, etc. No debate there. They are a greater-than-the-sum-of-their-parts band and they work that formula wonderfully.
2) Brent says: “the energy is intensified and one marvels at the level of cooperation among band members.” True, and I wonder at the cooperation at a marching band competition or handbell choir performance, but I aint going to see them in concert either.
3) Pita says: “wow, is that even the remark of a sane person??? i saw them live before i had ever even heard of them…it’s not possible for someone who has seen them live to say that in their right mind! sorry, it just doesn’t work”. The jury is out on the sanity issue. Anathallo is brilliant! Great concept. But spoons, whistles, and armpit noises does not a good show make.
4) Greg says: “Have you even seen Anathallo live?” Yes Greg, I have. I left twords the end, apperently before they brought it all together and wow’ed ya’ll :) (actually, though I seriously wasnt impressed, my wife and I had just had a baby so I had to bail early or would have stayed to hear them out).
5) Greg says: “I mean, c’mon. They are amazing. The experience is so sprititual. They do like every part that’s on their CDs. They clap. They stomp. They use chains. They use scissors. They use instruments I don’t even know the names of. They all sing. They fall over dead at the end of that one song.” Street performers clap, stomp, hit overturned buckets, and the like, but I rarely stop to drop money in the open guitar-case or write home. They all sing, but to my ears, not all well. I love bands that are expressive and dont have traditional voices, **as long as it can translate into a good live show**. This, for me, is the ultimate litmus test.
Morrissey was OK. Practice concert for SXSW. As alwasys, the fans are so cool and kind. Moz is funny, but not enough energy!!! Opening band, a group called the Tiger Army from SoCal, was awsome. Their music is simply, but it PLAYS WELL LIVE.
Christina, sorry for calling you Pita. I mistook you for someone other Christina, well, actually Kirsti, but anyway, sorry for the confusion!
Just adding my 2¢…. okay make it 3¢… Anathallo was amazing. Fresh. Not only did the presentation of a sound come across as similar to the CD, but it was organic. To see 8 people producing something beautiful and also performing that production. To see this come out of a group of people playing in what was essentially a crack in “a hole in the wall” club with no effects (okay i saw a mac and midi board on stage.)
It is hard to compare apples to Oranges (or in the case of U2, I guess lemons) , and i will agree there are some pitch issues (and if it isn’t beig fixed in studio maybe it is purposeful) but I was thrilled to be able to see this band play. And i hope someday the Reverend will write a sentence that includes Anathallo and U2 and everyone be in agreement that Anathallo is brilliant.
Stryper is brilliant, Anathallo is good.
“Stryper is brilliant, Anathallo is good.” Adam, what I love about you is that the more I let you talk the more you prove me right.
As tastes and preferences differ, I can accept that Adam doesn’t think that Anathallo has a good live show (even if I disagree with him). I would ask Adam, though what he deems exactly is a good live show. Maybe even going as far as to give us his idea of a perfect live show.
Josh, good question. A good live show is one where the musical idea is conveyed well: (1) The musical idea is defined as the overall sound the band is going for and (2) “being conveyed well” is the idea that the performace style is accomplished. For U2, this means sounding much like the CD but bringing the crowed to an exstatic level of emotion and involvement, which they accomplish. For Phish, this is exploring new elements of the songs like new outlets of an old lake. Anathallo’s concept is good but it isnt conveyed well live because (a) live sound is hard to master when your talking about clapping and making “pop” sound witha finger in your mouth and (b) the stage is a commotion, more theater than concert. I would say the perfect live show is the 2-disk CD A Live One by Phish. It captures the experimental roots concept Phish is going for and their performance of that sound is masterful. Another live CD worth listening to is Rank by The Smiths.
Dont get me wrong; Anathallo has a good concept but it wont fly. I am all for musical experimentation, but it must be viable in a concert setting, and I dont think Anathallo’s is at all.
Adam;
I think that at some level we must admit the level of subjectivity going on here because for most of the commenters here, the following seems to exactly describe Anathallo’s live performances: “A good live show is one where the musical idea is conveyed well: (1) The musical idea is defined as the overall sound the band is going for and (2) “being conveyed well” is the idea that the performace style is accomplished.”
Admittedly, when you saw them, the sound system was not optimal, but you know better than to equate venue acoustics with the performance given.
And, your criticism of “more theater than concert” falls apart the minute you tell me Bono in “fly” shades, making devil horns and charging the Edge like a bull is a “good live show…”
I love your subjectivity, but at least admit that’s what it is.
U2 is brilliant!
Jeremy, nobody said otherwise! Maybe I need to take the guy with the good name’s suggestion and write a larger post about this.
I love U2, they have been a constant in my life for somewhere around 19 or 20 years (wow!). I don’t think it’s out of place to say that they will be remembered as one of the most important acts of history (somewhere below Dylan, but still…).
I’m simply saying that there are different “categories” if you will for discussing music. U2 is a band who does what they do very well, but that’s not the same thing as saying that they are pushing the bounds of creativity with each new release. A band like Anathallo is going to be more difficult for some people, but (in my opinion) they truly are seeking new outlets and pushing their “creativity.”
That’s not to say that one band is better than the other, simply that we can and ought to speak of their successes in different terms.
Brent, thanks for visiting my site. I remember you from SBTS, I think. Were you friends with Justin? I think I met you through him.
The Anathallo show was really good last night here in Louisville. The sound/mixing wasn’t the best, but the performance was great. We saw them about a month ago in Michigan at a CD release show, and the sound was much better there. It makes a huge difference, since their music is so complex.
Well, like I said, thanks for stopping by my blog site…
since when did a review of Floating World(which in my personal opioin is pure genius)
become a battle between Adam , who apparently things his opioin is the best, and us Anathalloins…U2 Vs. Anathallo
Anathallo for me wins…U2 is in no way compareable to Anathallo’s innovation. In the same respect U2 was “innovative” when they first started out…but as the years go by they have some what become an odinary mainstream rock band, the innovation is all gone,i dont know
maybe Bono has just put too much time into his ideas of World Peace that he has lost some creative roots. Anathallo has not.
Argue it all you want but no one is quite like Anathallo, anyway you look at it.
I am a big Anathallo fan, been so for several years and I absolutely love their latest album, but I saw them live and it was extremely disappointing. I didn’t see (or feel) anything that I hadn’t seen or felt before. I really think it was the venue, I stood about 3 feet away from the band but really couldn’t see them well. Damn tall people. But they just didn’t come across well in this community center. A lack of stage and bad acoustics most likely came into play. I need to give them a better chance.
That being said, I’m going to throw out a tangent. Some of their instruments on Hanasakajijii Part 2 actually sound a little like the band Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. Now that’s a fine band to see live!