WEATHER SYSTEMS

It's somewhat hard to give this album the full five stars, but the fact that almost every second of this album is sonic beauty, lush and gorgeous, makes it difficult to consider it anything less. And even those seconds that are not beautiful serve as bridges, sound bridges if you will, that unite the listenter and the beauty. The only thing bringing this album down is that it is perhaps too repetitive, lyrically and musically; however, if you are anything like me, that's not a problem. It's the type of repetition that works, that puts you in a trance, but in this case a state of, well not necessarily enlightenment, but a state of enlightenment with a fair dose of mind- blownage. The music really helps you soar, it'd be scary to close your eyes and open them--you'd think you are in the sky. And that is due to the repetition. One little part is not going to draw you in as well as repetition, and at least they are repeating something worth listening to. So for that, 5 stars.

The first song begins with an absolutely delicious fingerpicking guitar bit that it builds off of all the way through. Maybe Anathema are not extremely progressive in terms of composition (like dream theater) but rather in terms of structure. The way they take a few notes and build so much off of that is perhaps the trademark of this band. On top of that, you can tell the musicians are very talented and have no problem painting this beauty with some brushes of complexity.

Almost every song works like this, but some gorgeous sections of the orchestra are blended in beautifully here and there, or a unique instrumental surprise comes along, as the guitar does towards the end of Lightning Song (a truly beautiful surprise, you can feel the surge of energy.)

Lastly, the utilization of lush, beautiful female vocals (Lee Douglas) make the lyrics even more resonant. On paper, the lyrics look repetitive and perhaps not to the usual Anathema standard--too lovey dovey at times actually. But the way they are sung makes you feel them rather than just interpret them, giving them a fresh new meaning. And it's not like they are bad, they're actually very beautiful. And I must say, sometimes you look at life and realize it is f***ing insane, as is it's so uncomprehendable it's beautiful, and when that particular lyric comes up here on this album, you get that overwhelming feeling of beauty.

Overall this album is tranquil with some "stormy" moments, but beautiful stormy moments. It embeds itself into your thoughts and feelings and creates a halcyon atmosphere for you to relax and appreciate life in.

The Mind-Blowingly Beautiful: there are SO SO SO many, but a personal favorite is the guitar wailing during the solo of The Beginning of the End. The Mind-Blowingly Insane: "This is f***ing insane" seems to fit the bill here! The Mind-Blowingly Unexpected: the guitar busting in towards the end of Lightning Song.