Float On

Anathallo
Floating World
(Nettwerk)

Unsettling near-Sufjan Stevens, anti-showtunes grandeur hides in corners only to be drawn out via uplifting instrumentals.

Unlike most albums, spending weeks with Floating World does little to reveal it. While most headphones masterpieces take time to bloom, what Anathallo unveil in one regard obscures another, and that’s what makes the album such a success: something’s always out of reach. “Genessaret” opens their world by tearing it apart, deepening the turmoil in “Hoodwink” (“Don’t you worry” ?!) by almost turning into Sigur Rós before having a brass fit. “O Hana” manages to hang onto its theme longer than its neighbors, and it’s that sense where Floating covers so much ground it far outstrips its lyrical intents — whatever they may be.

8

— Steve Forstneger

Category: Spins, Weekly