Direction Australia with the latest album 'Homeless' by Anubis' which after 'The Second Hand' in 2017, is their 6th studio recording, 2019 having seen the release of a very nice live show (see here). For this last opus, the style is still there with a rock mixing progressive and neo-progressive with obvious influences of 'Floyds' but, whereas they had accustomed us to long developments ('The Second Hand' containing 4 tracks of more than 7 minutes including 'Page of Stone' of almost 17 minutes), the compositions are this time much shorter, 'Reflective' being the only title exceeding 7 minutes which makes 'Homeless' their shortest album. The theme of ‘Homeless’ revolves around the fairly recurrent theme of modern man who is enclosed in a world full of technology and in which inequalities are becoming more and more important.
It is besides 'Reflective' which begins the album in this characteristic calm and airy style conducive to escape, then, with 'Entitled', the first impression is that the Australians evolve towards neo progressive and this title reminds me of the Germans of 'RPWL' (see their latest album here) who, after a bit the same journey, have forged their own style and 'White Ashes' continue in this way with always this vocal and instrumental quality which is the strength of 'Anubis' with in addition this capacity to offer us beautiful delicate and harmonious melodies which make us climb on a small cloud, the singing of 'Robert James Molding' being no stranger to this. The album continues in this subtle and airy atmosphere with a melancholic 'Home', 'Homeless' which is more removed with multiple tempo changes, 'The Tables Have Turned' which is built around a melody which remains anchored in your tête and the single 'Sirens' which was the subject of a video (see above). And it is in the softness and the serenity, with first of all 'In Shadows' and then 'Gone', in the same spirit but much more symphonic with the addition of strings, that the album ends beautifully.
In summary, although the titles are shorter than usual, ‘Anubis’ offers us a beautiful album while continuing to distill a peaceful neo-progressive rock which is enjoyed quietly after a hard day... | |
