In undertaking this release by UK’s Anniversary Circle I was intrigued by the comparisons to Bauhaus, who I consider to be the finest gothic band to ever grace a recording studio. To say Peter Murphy is a genius understates all, but that’s also a mighty tall comparison in itself for this relatively unknown band. Saturated Feathers is now bouncing around inside my head like a newly-sharpened mace swinging from its rusted, antique chain. The ruckus is pale and emotionally defusing…and it’s wonderful.

The opening track “Anniversary Circle” sets the tone nicely for what amounts to a very sardonic venture through malcontented chords and twisted vocalizations bordering on schizophrenic in certain select spots. The immediate and hypnotic tribal drumming surrounding the acoustic strumming of a lonely-sounding guitar reminds me of some of the early Bauhaus tracks, but also has some very slight Cure twinges framing the caustic center. The crafted dismal vibe pregnant in this album is literally all over the place, present in every song in some fashion or other. “Saturated Feathers” travels with you down a dark and lonely walkway surrounded by large stone walls that seem to close in as you hurry along the gaping black maw hoping for a light at the end of the bleakness. The cold of this visual is only accentuated by the low, droning bass notes that affirm your every fear and every unsettled nerve. It’s a really intense trip into the uncertainty of fear itself, and for me that sets this band high on my personal radar for being innovative and able to engage the overly-cerebral part of my musical personality.

The female singer Estelliane Kermagorets does a very good job of not over-embellishing her vocals and settles between ghostly and ethereal with absolute pinpoint perfection. “Understand” provides her sonic background and is so helplessly haunting that it has to be as close to a musical ghost story as it gets; the music here is simply spectral, especially when the very faint sirens resound in the distant background. This track is the epitome of fear and dread in one song, it’s just wonderful. Going into the second listening of this album I’m loving it more and more. The gamut is run from seriously heavy gothic rock ala Killing Joke to eerily tempestuous in line with “I Dare You” from Bauhaus or “The Hanging Garden” by the Cure. While no track really encompasses the precise traits of the aforementioned songs, the influence and similarities are too numerous to simply dismiss or ignore. If there’s a non-subtle tone or diseased-sounding electronic noise that hasn’t been utilized to a high degree on this album, then I must be losing it at this age. Everything from the romantic gothic sound (“Take”) to the hideously sorrowed (“Facing Julia”) is present here in the precious minutes afforded for this all-consuming stroll into the black eyes of obsessive disorder. The track “Bent Out of Shape” even has a sinister Smiths feel to the guitar, though I doubt Johnny Marr was every this depressed, despite Morrissey’s biting and humorless lyrical wit. “Make it Look Like Suicide” is probably as close as the band comes to a position between gothic metal and post-punk, and it ends the CD on a very (low) high note.

I say this on occasion and always mean it, but it fits here as well when I say I’m looking forward to hearing more from this band. The gothic sound of old is still to be found in a few willing bands that are always ready to push that burned and battered envelope across a well-worn wooden structure into the pallid hands of whomever might be waiting at the table’s end. This is the ultimate journey into parts and feelings unknown; take it willingly and find the hidden recesses within.        

TRACK LISTING

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*Comments:

1.  Anniversary Circle
2.  Saturated Feathers
3.  Understand
4.  See Me
5.  Take
6.  Loving Cup
7.  Too Tired
8.  Facing Julia
9.  Winters Children
10.  Bent Out Of Shape
11.  Make It Look Like Suicide

Total playing time: 42:50

Release Date: September 7, 2010
Label: Sun & Moon Records

Anniversary Circle - Saturated Feathers

Reviewer: Chris

October 1, 2011