Wow, Different Satellites is really amazing. Where should I even begin with this one? Guess try to break it down a bit song by song, I guess that's the easiest way to go? But before I do that, I just have to say that this album was really quite the positive surprise for me. I did not hate Weather Systems, but I thought it was "just" a good album. I would give it a 7 or 7.5 out of 10. It had some really amazing songs, but about 50-55% of the album felt like less interesting versions of songs I heard on WHBWH. I know a lot of people loved WS, but to me, parts of it felt like "I've seen and heard this before". Still, not a bad album, just not one of the better ones in their discography.
(Note: These thoughts are after just TWO listens of the album)
The Lost Song-duo opening the album is IMO just as good as The Untouchable-duo or the Thin Air/Summernight Horizon combo. Anathema really knows how to open their album with a strong song, and having the second song be a slightly slower and more calm "version" of the first song. (They did it on WS and they do it again here) It's a really strong way to open an album, and I have a feeling that these songs will be held very high by myself if I were to rank Anathema songs down the line. It's an effective way to open the album, and it's a strong and memorable start to the album.
Dusk (Dark is Descending) has more going on in it, compared to the first two songs, and it's also a song I haven't quite figured out yet. I have a feeling it will click with a few more spins, but it is a very solid continuation of the album, and I really like how it goes into Ariel. Now Ariel is a really beautiful song. I don't feel like I need to say more about it, because I've seen others mention that song as well, so let's just stick with "it's really darn good".
The Lost Song 3 IMO works really well on the album. When I first heard the sample of the song before the album, it felt kinda like "Anathema B-Side", but after getting the effect of Part 1 and Part 2, it works much better on the album. Yes, they could probably have put Part 3 right after Part 1 and 2, but placing it slightly later on the album feels like a nice little callback to Eternity, and how the "chapter"-songs were used on that album.
The song "Anathema" is one of the highlights on the album for sure. If you (25 years into your career) put out a song named after the band, you kinda want it to be something memorable, and something that holds up quality-wise, and the song delivers on those notes. "You're Not Alone" is a song I haven't quite made up my mind about yet. I really like how it starts and how it builds up, but the electronic "climax" (if you will) is not AS good as the parts leading up to it. This would probably be my least favorite song on the album, but still a cool song. Firelight sounds like a Paris in the Spring song. (That's my own musical project) And that's kinda funny. I don't mean that in a quality-way, but it generally sounds like something I would/could have made. (I've made several ambient interlude-type of songs)
The title track is a good example of using the electronics to their advantage, and it's another big highlight. Probably the "Universal" or "Internal Landscapes" of this album. I would probably say that it's the best song on the album, but also an instant Anathema classic. Take Shelter is a great song, but I might had re-arranged the album and ended the album with the title track instead of Take Shelter actually. The album overall feels like a fresh take on the Anathema sound, and they deliver fresh-sounding music without throwing away the elements that make them so wonderful.
With the exception of a few re-arrangements (Having all Lost Songs in a row, ending album with title-track) and a few questions about "You're Not Alone", I'm feeling a 4.5 out of 5 on this one. Bravo Anathema, you just made me even more excited for the show in November.
Topic: Anathema (Read 271257 times)
