The tension between control and chaos has always been Anamanaguchi’s language. With Anyway, their first full-length release since 2019’s [USA], the Brooklyn-based quartet has burrowed even deeper into the zone between optimism and entropy, If Endless Fantasy was their neon dream and [USA] their reluctant reckoning, Anyway is the sound of the band's full unspooling. Notably, this beautiful unraveling was written and recorded at famed American Football house, and you can hear that influence filling the stylistic void and pivot like no other.
Lead single “Darcie,” currently the only public transmission from the album, is a fitting herald. At first pass, it’s a simple thing: distant vocals, steady implosions, razor-edged synths, and quirky guitar lead. The vocals and progressions drag you in by the collar, whispering half-remembered Weezer B-sides from a dream you didn’t realize was recurring.
The guitars still blaze and the arpeggios still ping with that nostalgic SNES charm, but the band sounds less interested in flexing fidelity or showcasing the cleverness of their arrangements. Instead, there’s a palpable effort to communicate something more elusive. - perhaps the melancholy of the internet age, maybe, or the soft ache of memories.
So far Anyway doesn’t sound like Anamanaguchi growing up - it sounds like them burning the blueprint. If “Darcie” is any indication, we’re in for an album less interested in 1-UPs and more concerned with memory corruption, file decay, and the bittersweet joy of rebooting with errors intact.
“Darcie” is haunted and headlong, is heartbreak on loop. Can't wait for more.