Prior to FiXT signing The Anix, I had no experience with the music Brandon Smith was creating. However, knowing the kind of styles that the FiXT label houses, I quickly looked up his discography and gave it a listen. Suffice it to say, it was no wonder why he was added to the label. Electronic rock with a smooth voice that reminds me of the stylings found in the defunct Innerpartysystem had me entranced, and now his first album under FiXT is here.

I’ve spent close to two months listening to this album from front to back, as well as skipping through to hear how the album sounds in different orders, and I can say that while the album as a whole didn’t grab me at first listen, I quite enjoy it after spending some time with it. With a run time of just under an hour, it’s a pretty manageable listen, with 15 tracks spanning that period. On it you’ll find both instrumental pieces as well as plenty of singing, some of which comes as a surprise, even after listening to it many times. Some songs tend to just sound like they’ll be instrumental, and when the lyrics start up, I’m caught off guard each time.

I’m one of those people that put a large emphasis on the singer. I remember reading liner notes from Yngwie Malmsteen years ago, essentially saying that vocals are largely unimportant and he wished he could just automate them like he does with drum machines. I’m paraphrasing, as they are still a big enough piece of the puzzle that he will employ different singers, but I’m of the mind that a singer is essential. There could be no other instruments and you could still enjoy the music created by a single voice, or better still, a group of voices. That’s not to say that I don’t appreciate instrumental music, as I listen to a fair amount of it and wouldn’t want to be without it, but a singer can make or break a song for me (and is why I can’t bear listening to things like Blink-182, Secondhand Serenade, and other 2000s music with whiny leads, or rappers like Danny Brown). Luckily, Brandon’s voice does this album more favors than not, so let’s jump into the sixth album from The Anix.

Shadow_Movement opens with a spacey sounding scale in Race to Nowhere, which feels like it ends as soon as it begins, despite lasting over three minutes. It’s a nice introduction to the album, giving a futuristic feel and sounding like a soundtrack to something that is otherworldly. The next few songs all either sound like they are singles, or actually have been released as such. The album starts off very strong in this regard, which is felt as you get to the latter half of it. This is something I noticed the first time through and have been unable to shake completely since, although I do find the second half stronger than I once did.

Fight the Future is a pretty low energy song through the majority of the lyrics, but has an explosive chorus line and a build up a little ways after the halfway point before jumping into the part people will be singing along with by their second time listening. This Machine has a video gamey feel and then picks up real quick in a sound that makes me think of post-drugs NIN. This song once again doesn’t do a whole lot with the voice until the chorus, where the song’s energy hits its peak out of nowhere, but the layered vocals bring this part to life. The song then fades out as softly as it began, and transitions to Open Fire, a more guitar-centric sounding song with hints of electronica, but the first song to really feel different from the rest. Again, there are lots of layered vocals during the refrain, and as I stated before, all of these would make for good singles, and some have already been released as such. One of the bigger changes in this song is that the singing is much more dreamy throughout, and never sounds like a hushed whisper, but the song never really strays from the expected here. Unlike the bombastic portions of the previous songs, the whole thing is pretty high energy.

Black Space is one of those songs that I feel wouldn’t have any vocals, and yet it does. It has a very definitive electronic beat, with almost an 8-bit feel to it starting out. The way the song proceeds is very similar to the songs earlier, although with more focus on the electronic vibes than the voice this time around, as the voice even sounds a bit distorted to match the tonality at times. At this point, you have a pretty good feeling for the album, and it may even start to drag. Come Back Down doesn’t do all that much different from the previous songs, although about 2/3 in it does venture off into a bit of solo, but this is more in line with the Open Fire sound and progression. If that sound fatigue hit you in the last song, Ghost may be a welcome change, with its variation in the beginning that almost reminds me of a B-52s song and then the ever present house beat. This is another song that I don’t expect to hear vocals on, but they kind of just echo in the background until about a 1/3 of the way in, and then come into focus with a very relaxed vibe over the house beat.

We are now officially halfway through the album at track eight, which is Overdrive. The title is a bit misleading, as the song doesn’t ever really push into new territory – while you may expect it to get heavy based on the name, it stays pretty mellow throughout. The song does pick up a little near the end, but the next one is perhaps what Overdrive is alluding to, which is my favorite from the album: Interchanger. This was one of the last singles I heard prior to listening to the full album, and I have loved it since the first time I heard it. It makes use of a dynamic scale off the cuff and gets right into it thereafter with an infectious sound and whimsical lyrics. This song also contains an explosive chorus, but this time turns into a beautiful exploration of Brandon’s voice and the music accentuates it with its ever changing sounds. It’s the equivalent of wandering in the dark looking for your keys and then the heavens shine down a beam of light on them and they begin floating right in front of you.

From here on, the album begins to really dwindle in power for me. After what is arguably the strongest song on the album comes one of the few instrumental pieces in Clouds. This is one of those songs that I had to listen to in a space other than where it was, as it feels like the weakest piece of the album following Interchanger. While the previous song exudes energy, this one is practically devoid of it, and used as a palette cleanser for the remainder of the session. One of the songs has to be the weakest, but it feels so much more prevalent due to its position. It is reminiscent of an ambient song you’d hear while playing a 90s video game. There’s nothing outright bad about it, but it’s hardly memorable. Wasteland follows suit with a sound that is similar to Clouds, but brings back the lyrics when it sounds like it wouldn’t have any. The song never really explores anything different in terms of evolution, sticking with a sound you’re familiar with at this point and the voice staying in a dreamy state throughout waiting to wake up.

At first Pendulum may make you think that it’ll be another song you’ve heard already, but changes things up a bit shortly thereafter with a discernible snare. This is probably the only song with the drums being the standout instrument among the guitars and electronic feel. A little over halfway through you hear some echoing voice work, which almost does the song a disservice. The next song is Incomplete, which I swear I heard on a Genesis years ago, up until the singing starts. That starting beat is heard throughout and probably the best part of this song, as it differentiates it from the rest. The second to last track is Make Me Forget, which is practically the first thing you hear when the song starts. This is the strongest song out of the six following Interchanger, and is mainly instrumental aside from the repeated lyrics of the song’s title. This is the most interesting of the bunch as it plays around with sounds the most and the lack of vocals allow for some interesting progression.

The album closes with Strategy X, which is extremely muted in its approach. It strays from any big sounds and has a bit of a kick drum essence for a couple parts, but is more of an arcing sound through space. The album ends not with a bang, but a whimper. There are some allusions to sounds we heard in other songs, but overall this is a very quiet and slightly disappointing way to end everything, although definitely a change of pace from the rest of the tracks. Not having spent as much time with the other albums from the discography, I’d argue that this is overall The Anix’s best album. While the album has a sound that pervades it, that’s hardly a bad thing, as this has an obvious theme that stretches across.

The question I have is whether or not this album would benefit from a restructuring of the track list. While I completely understand high energy versus low energy for different parts of an album, I can’t help but think something from the beginning would really help listeners get through the last push. I also wonder if it’d benefit from not having a couple of the songs that are on here as they almost feel like they were put on for the purpose of filler. If you enjoy bands like Depeche Mode, Innerpartysystem, and potentially Nine Inch Nails, you’ll find something to appreciate in this, as it’s a fun take on electronica rock with a space age feel. There’s no doubt that this belongs under the FiXT name (and not Neon or Labs as were recently announced), and I’m optimistic to see what the familial bond between the artists will mean for the next release.

7 out of 10

Pros

• High Energy Choruses
• Hypnotic Beats
• Layered Vocals

Cons

• Lack of Variation
• Weaker Second Half

Shadow_Movement was created by The Anix under the FiXT label. It went on presale September 28th, 2018, and will be available on October 19th, 2018. The album was provided to us for review. If you’d like to see more of The Anix, check out the official site.

 

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