Labels: Level Plane
Review by: Kunal Nandi
Anodyne are terminally unpopular for the simple reason that they are totally unlistenable (and also because the general public are generally a bunch of morons), and I love them for it. So many bands are touted as being brutal, but Anodyne are the real fucking deal. Born out of a simple frustration from staring at the same four walls and the same scowling faces all day and all night, Anodyne represent that side of New York that’s evoked when you listen to Unsane, or watch “Taxi Driver” “” that seedy, randomly violent, piss-soaked, concrete, claustrophobic sense of pure, brooding evil.
After squillions of releases, including a couple of albums for Escape Artist and a host of EPs and singles (including a split 7″ with Keehaul) on a variety of labels, all of which are excellent, Anodyne find themselves on Level Plane, themselves enjoying a bit of a renaissance thanks to their open-minded expansion into other genres and support of similarly great but terminally unpopular bands (e.g. Lickgoldensky). I reckon this is Anodyne’s best release yet. With the minimum of fuss and a distinct lack of fucking around, they get in there, ruin your life for 30 minutes, and get the hell out. They’re an utterly uncompromising brick to the face “” totally fucking fast, loud and technical, that will take months, if not years, to fully get your head around, should you wish to submerge yourself in such negativity on a regular basis.
Does this sound like your idea of a good time? It does to me!