Anohni
Hopelessness
[Rough Trade]
Regardless of its setting, Anohni’s stunning voice is likely to be the most exhilarating part of any record she releases, even with collaborators Hudson Mohawke and Oneohtrix Point Never – their exact roles are unclear, but the latter’s influence seems more apparent – setting it amongst intensely colourful digital landscapes unlike anything produced by Anohni under previous identities. Gone are the plaintive piano ballads of I Am A Bird Now, replaced by opaque synthetic washes and spluttering electronic beats. It’s largely downtempo and fizzles gloriously with potential energy that threatens to, but never does, explode.
Hopelessness is a record that goes in heavy on big statements on big themes. Child abuse, drone-strikes, America’s love of the death sentence, climate change, Guantanamo, mass graves and digital espionage all undisguised shout-outs. Occasionally it gets there’s the odd clunker, the worst culprit being the track Obama (the basis of which seems to be ‘I thought you were a good man but now I think you are a bad man’) but it’s a record that’s honestly attempting a kind of State of the Union from its margins, and not one afraid to pull its punches.
Like this? Try these:
Oneohtrix Point Never – R Plus Seven
Cocteau Twins – Treasure
Desaparecidos – Read Music | Speak Spanish
Words: Ian Lamont
