RE-ANIMATOR provides some of the bombastic, invigorating sound that Everything Everything culminated in the past, all while still pulling through with some thankfully endearing art pop/rock tunes.
UK art pop/rock group Everything Everything have taken their stylistic tropes to extremes on albums like Arc and Get To Heaven and have achieved great acclaim from them. The latter record, 2015's Get To Heaven, is my favorite from the band and is one of my favorite albums in the style of art pop mixed with unique variants of hip hop, electronica, psychedelia, and rock. It took their unique sound to heights that few bands in their field (Foals, alt-j, etc.) have been able to. Jonathan Higgs' unique and uncomfortable yelps matched with his warm falsetto croon is not for everyone, but it certainly is a nice contrast to the band's instrumentals. I wasn't a huge fan of the band's next project in 2017, A Fever Dream. It ended up being an ok record, but the safer dance grooves and straight forward ballad direction wasn't exactly what I found to be interesting from Everything Everything. The band's fifth studio album, RE-ANIMATOR, suggests a nice blend of the groove-heavy, bombastic tunes with the safer, more palatable ones.
RE-ANIMATOR certainly has a number of these "aha" moments that certainly come close to the crazy, off the wall sound that they've achieved in the past. Higgs' rapping over the hip hop inspired "Big Climb" is a huge highlight on the record with some loud, abrasive guitars over some glitchy electronics. "Arch Enemy" is a groovy horn-driven single that is another excellent cut in the track listing, with a very loud explosive finish (warning: you may want to turn the volume down before the 3:20 mark). "Black Hyena" also has these loud, hip hop influenced bass and drums, reminiscent of some Get To Heaven cuts. "Violent Sun," the album's closer, is the best song on the record with some amazing harmonies over a speedy pace and a chorus that's so sticky it'll be in your head all week. It's one of the more straightforward rock tunes, but it's the sharpest and most crafted tune. There's plenty of Radiohead influence on this album too on tracks like "It Was a Monstering," "Lord of the Trapdoor," and "Moonlight." It's quite obvious if you've ever heard The King of Limbs or A Moon Shaped Pool at least once in your life, but these songs are still great even though these songs should've had more originality to them.
The opening track, "Lost Powers," sounds like a sweet sunrise-lit ode to some great UK rock anthems, kind of like something Blur would've come up with back in the day. "In Birdsong" is a gorgeous ballad that moves quite gracefully and intensifies throughout the song's progression. Even though this album is quite enjoyable from start to finish, there are still some tracks I still can't get into like "Planets" for example. I don't know if it's the generic synth instrumental or the plainly written melodies, but it's a forgettable track in the album. There's also something very A Head Full of Dreams-like about the bouncy house grooves of "The Actor," but hearing the manipulated vocals over these grooves sounds very awkward. Regarding these two tracks though, RE-ANIMATOR is a very enjoyable listen and it is refreshing to hear the band pull through with some great chaotic experimentation that made the band so special, while also making some more straightforward tunes that are thankfully more endearing than cringe-worthy. It comes close to some of those invigorating highlights from Get To Heaven and I hope in the future the band can flourish in creating a full out of control experience again.
My Rating: 8 / 10
Favorite Songs: "Violent Sun," "Big Climb," "Arch Enemy," "Lost Powers," "It Was a Monstering"
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