***ANEMONE exclusive premiere***

ANEMONE

'Coronaria'
exclusive album premiere

For fans of: WristMeetRazor, Limbs, Cassilis, Majority Rule, Jowls, Leveless and Portrayal Of Guilt

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No, this is not the Swedish band Anemone. I was confused the first time I saw this new, Canadian band. But I mean, it's been a decade now since the Swedish band. They are from different countries. Also, technically the Swedish band pronounced their name "ah-NIH-moe-NAY", while this Canadian band would be pronounced the English way, "ah-NEM-oh-NEE". Maybe I'm pushing this a bit too much. Anyhoos, I was introduced to ANEMONE via their Blue Youth connection, as drummer Chris Dimas does all the recording and production for my current favourite band. He also helps run Grind Central Records, who helped put out Blue Youth and is also putting out this righteous and searing EP.

Okay, now that the intro is out of the way, I should probably talk about the songs. They are fantastic. Harnessing a primal and ferocious take on metallic/screamy hardcore, the three-piece manage to convey feelings of euphoria, loss, anger and violence with such power and precision that I'm quite surprised that this is only their second release. "VIII" is pretty damn dirty, and reminds me of Means To An End, Furnace and Jowls. "IX" opens like Queens Of The Stone Age but quickly shifts to pulverizing hardcore not unlike Portrayal Of Guilt once those thick screams enter the mix, and the dual vocals that close out the track are fantastic. "X" is a caustic romp through Loma Prieta territory with some extremely harsh vocals that readers of this blog will likely enjoy thoroughly, while "as the leaves fall the weather changes and the moments pass by" is a basic, somber, piano interlude. The band made a music video for "XI", probably because it's amazing. The slabs of noise laid down in the first minute are not unlike fellow Canadians Ken Mode, with a good 45 seconds of mammoth feedback breakdowns before the eerie silence settles over and ends the song. "XII" is the final hardcore song on the record, and ties in more melody and restraint than the preceding five tracks, but does so with serious chops, not unlike Leveless and Druse. Closer "our thoughts drift away while our actions fall into obscurity" is another ambient track that sounds like a mixture of spooky chanting and the sound of hellish winds. Fucking creepy.

(2019) 1 - ANEMONE "VIII" (from 'Coronaria')

I’m in such a beautiful place

But all I can think about

Is how I miss the bad weather

And all the things that make me hurt

Now I’m trying to stare into the dark

But the light keep obscuring me

Only showing me slivers

Of the reflections trailing off

It’s hard to see clearly again

It’s hard to see what I’ve left behind

(2019) 2 - ANEMONE "IX" (from 'Coronaria')

Sometimes the thought of ending this pain is comforting

Most of the time it keeps me awake

I’m so scared of the void

It’s hard to shut my eyes

It’s hard to fall asleep

When they close

All I feel is my heart ache through my chest

As everyday goes by

All I can be sure of is that

I’m one more day closer to my death

I wish I could feel my family with me

But all I can feel is alone

And my head telling me

That one day soon enough

I won’t be able to wake back up

(2019) 3 - ANEMONE "X" (from 'Coronaria')

Everyday when I walk into the ground

I feel an overbearing weight

From the thought that I’m walking

Into the same dirt that my family was left in

I don’t know if I treasured our time together

As much as I should have

I guess eventually everyone feels grief

But it’s hard for me to understand

I wish I could feel alright

But all I see is death

And i know one day

I won’t be able

to walk back out of this earth

(2019) 4 - ANEMONE "as the leaves fall the weather changes and the moments pass by" (from 'Coronaria')

(2019) 5 - ANEMONE "XI" (from 'Coronaria')
 official music video

Every time I stare at these rows of houses
I feel sick to my stomach
Well I guess this is me now
I’ve got the prairie blues
Last night I dreamt of my dead dog
I thought that if I loved him more
I thought that if I cared
about my last days with him
Then my memories would make me feel good
Now I feel like I’ve swallowed a knife

(2019) 6 - ANEMONE "XII" (from 'Coronaria')

I have a memory of being told

You can’t take anything with you

But you sure can leave some things behind

Whenever I think of what’s still here

I’m reminded of the entropy of what’s left

I can feel my blood running cold

The only thing constant is pain

And I wanted there to be to be more than there could

I guess what I want and what I don’t

Doesn’t ever matter

Because in the end I’ll never get either

(2019) 7 - ANEMONE "our thoughts drift away while our actions fall into obscurity" (from 'Coronaria')