WE'RE HERE BECAUSE WE'RE HERE

Anathema tackle the theme of spirituality in their appropriately titled 2010 release "We're Here Because We're Here". It's a subject I love to hear bands work on. We all have our own take on spirituality and it's fascinating to hear how it inspires artists both musically and lyrically.

"Thin Air" is a great way to start the album. Its floating intro starts us on our journey and as it ramps up beautifully it sets the stage for the rest of the album.

Unfortunately, the album does have some issues with consistency. Songs like "Everything" are just a bit too sugar sweet and lacking in substance for my liking.

"Angels Walk Among Us" and "Presence" are really two halves of the same song. I'm not sure why they were split, unless it was an attempt to generate more radio-friendly length songs. In any case these two songs work beautifully together. In particular, "Presence" is a high point of the album. Here the spirituality of the music is almost palpable, at times spine-tingling. A spoken word sample is used to great effect as well, with the message "Death is the opposite of birth; Life is eternal".

I must take a moment to dissect this statement because it's integral to the song. "Death is the opposite of birth; Life is eternal". The first part of this refrain is logical enough. I'm not sure how we make the leap to "Life is eternal" from there however. The second point can't be logically derived from the first, contrary to what the narrator seems to think. It is a pleasant, but utlimately whimsical fantasy. I make a point of it because it is the only part of the song "Presence" that pulls me out of the moment. In any case it is still a wonderful piece of music.

"A Simple Mistake" flows on from "Presence" perfectly and is almost like a continuation of the previous two tracks. It is the lyrical pinnacle of the album with lines such as "Think for yourself, you know what you need in this life" offering some poignant insights into our interactions with our own inner beliefs, the people and the world around us.

Overall a good, albeit inconsistent album with some lovely moments.