Anekdoten

In the early 90s a wave of King Crimson inspired new progrock bands emerged in Scandinavia. One of the first was four piece formation Anekdoten from Sweden. Gravity is the fourth studio album from this progressive rock act. The music on Gravity continues in the emotional style that was started on From Within but adds an alternative rock touch and a bit more commercial appeal to the overall sound. The dark mood and the famous extensive use of mellotron are still trademarks in Anekdoten´s sound on Gravity. The vocal melodies have become slightly more memorable, but they are still far from commercial rock melodies.

"Chapters" is a double album compilation by Swedish progressive rock band Anekdoten, released in May 2009. The first disc contains the band's favourite tracks from their 3 latest albums, "From Within", "Gravity" and "A Time of Day". It also features the newly recorded track "When I Turn", a track originally written for the From Within album. The second disc focuses on the band's earlier years, including the very first Anekdoten track "Sad Rain", which previously only was available as bonus track on the Japanese version of "Vemod", and demo versions of songs from "Nucleus" and "A Time of Day".

Anekdoten's first brace of albums all largely chase the same broad style of heavy prog influenced strongly by mid- 1970s King Crimson, and an audience thirsty for new prog lapped them up eagerly. A Time of Day finds the band sidestepping into a quieter style, with psychedelic influences suggesting that they had been listening to a good deal of 1960s proto- progressive works in the intervening years since Gravity, establishing a new sound for themselves which they would successfully polish further on the following Until All the Ghost Are Gone.

After a long silence, Anekdoten reemerges into the darkness with a record that is both more mature than their debut, Vemod, and yet somewhat less polished than 1995's Nucleus. From Within feels like it was produced on a tighter budget, and the production can have a rehearsal-room feel - although to be sitting in Anekdoten's rehearsal room is no small privilege. The opening title track is a band tour de force of crunching bass, swooping Mellotron, and clattering snare drums; one of the real high points of the album comes with the slowly building instrumental "The Sun Absolute," built around a single pulsing bass guitar note, ghostly Mellotron flutes, and sonar ping keyboards…

"Until All The Ghosts Are Gone" is the long awaited album from Anekdoten, a wait of eight years since the excellent "A Time Of Day" (2007). Fortunately it's been worth the wait as it's as good as and sometimes better than most of their back catalogue. It's clearly recognisably Anekdoten with no great leaps in style. The haunting and melancholic melodies, the dynamic rhythm section and of course the ever present Mellotron. "Until All The Ghosts Are Gone" is a crowning achievement for Anekdoten, one of the absolute standout progressive rock albums of 2015.
Japanese papersleeve mini vinyl replica CD with a bonus disc that contains alternative mixes by Hans Fredriksson of "Shooting Star", "If It All Comes Down To You" & "Our Days Are Numbered".

Anekdoten's debut shows them a little rougher, more Gothic in tone, and less tonally subtle than in later years, but compelling nonetheless. From the crashing bass and Mellotron in the opening track "Karelia", it's clear that King Crimson reigns over their work - not to mention that it features riffs nicked from Crimson's "Easy Money." "Wheel" also has the dissonance and horns of the Lizard album. But they are creating something unique here, as the gentle instrumental "Longing" attests. While Anekdoten hadn't quite reached its potential yet - this first album shows a band of great promise.

Despite some growth from their King Crimson roots, this album shows Anekdoten still sounding remarkably like Red. "Harvest," opening with a creepily distorted Rhodes piano, establishes the band's somewhat overused pattern of alternating metallic verses clotted with bass, guitar and hi-hat with gorgeously soaring choruses of Mellotron, cello, and ride cymbals. "Here" gives the guitar theatrics a rest and allows Liljestrom's melancholy vocals and the group's delicate playing to come to the foreground. Its mournful lyrics and pensive strings are played over a wheezing pump organ - listen for Nicholas Berg's feet pumping away at the bellows in the background. The concluding "In Freedom" points to a possible path to the future by eschewing gratuitous heaviness for their real talent, which is constructing beautiful interplay between percussion, cello, and the Mellotron.

This CD EP contains some very nice live material from Anekdoten 1990's era. For example the version of "Karelia" is here extraordinary powerful, much better than on the "Vemod" album. It's mellotron coda really reaches the dramatic genius of human experience. "A Way of Life" sounds as an improvisation, and there are some kind of frippertonics used on this piece, strengthening the band's fascination with King Crimson as an innovator. Two other tracks are good also. Not probably the best record as first introduction to the band, but warmly recommended for those who like Anekdoten.