See I'm quite fond of the more life affirming stuff. I was thinking about it the other day, I think the beauty, glory and hope of their being something 'more' like a more spiritual existence, the nature of love and all that, is probably the same thing in Anathema's music that draws me to the film making of Terrence Malick.
I think as a person I'm kind of split. Because logically I'm essentially an sceptical existential nihilist, but then I don't want to be, there is a part of me who wants to believe in love, in life, in transcendence. And I think I'm constantly looking for, and fascinated by art that suggests that there could be more, that there could be purpose to it all. I think it's the same thing that draws me to spiritual hip hop, and reading about near death experiences. I think there is a want or even a need for me justify life, and I think in recent years Anathema have helped with that.
I'm still open to music of loss, longing, and nihilism, I think we should embrace the whole spectrum of emotion musically, and use negativity and let it be a catharsis. I still listen to Warning, Burzum and Skepticism, I've not turned into some cowering wreck who need constant positive affirmation life haha
I think you could chalk it down to a differing in opinion, but Everything and Lightening song are amongst my favourite lyrics on their respective albums. Though Untouchable and Internal Landscapes probably top it for me on Weather Systems.
However I still feel that there is manipulative lyrics on Distant Satellites, the repetition of "Fear is an Illusion" in Lost Song 1 and 2, "I'm alive" in the title track, the use of repetition in Dusk. I think that the are designed to make you feel emotion through their repetition as the phrase sticks with you. I think that lyrically it's not all that different, there's perhaps more wistful longing, but the way the lyrics are written and structured, and what the intended effect on the listener via phrasing, and emotive delivery seem pretty consistent with the last few albums. The only difference is the subject.
I know it's subjective, but felt their was sincerity in the last couple of albums, I felt that they were at peace as a band. I thought the quality of the music and the composition were so strong in backing up the lyrics, that I feel like everything about those albums was pure passion. It wasn't just happy music for happy music sake, there were dynamics, ups and downs in mood, and expansion of their sound sonically by the inclusion of the orchestral arrangement. The shift in sound between Natural Disaster and We're Here was massive, and given it was something like 7 years, it's unsurprising. Had it just been A Natural Disaster Part 2 with happy lyrics I might have been inclined to agree, but there was a definite shift in mood. And for me it all came together and added legitimacy.
I hope some of that makes sense, as I've kind of just sat down and wrote it as a train of thought
