NUCLEUS

Nucleus was my introduction to Anekdoten and their new imaginative take on the great music from the '70s. I heard this album almost five years after it's original release during my preparation for the concert I was attending at the time where they happened to be one of the supporting acts. At the time Nucleus was Anekdoten's "it" album since From Within was still relatively new and surprisingly I haven't heard any talk about Vemod. Originally I felt very indifferent to the music offered here mainly because I didn't enjoy the vocal performance and the quieter moments felt a bit too dark for my tastes. Luckily my opinion changed entirely after my first concert experience!

During Anekdoten's gig the band performed a few numbers from Nucleus like the ingenious title track and This Far From The Sky. Surprisingly the compositions didn't grab me as much as the band's stage presence that made the performance truly memorable. To this day I've had the privilege of experiencing three Anekdoten performances and I still consider my first encounter to be my personal favorite. Needless to say I just had to give this album more attention than what I have done to that point!

Nucleus features a weird mix of compositions and the overall mood of the record is very dark compared to anything else the band has released over the years. The highlights for me are the heavier compositions because, to be perfectly frank, I still struggle with many of these low key performances like Harvest and Here. The title track that opens the album is definitely my favorite composition closely followed by Rubankh and This Far From The Sky. The final track In Freedom gives a good indication of the direction the band will evolve towards over the course of the next couple of albums.

In conclusion Nucleus is one of the strongest albums in Anekdoten's discography but it's probably not the best introductory album since that title, in my opinion, is reserved for their excellent debut album.

***** star songs: Nucleus (5:13) Rubankh (3:25) This Far From The Sky (8:50)

**** star songs: Harvest (6:57) Book Of Hours (9:59) Raft (0:59) Here (7:26) In Freedom (6:41)