Album Review: Dead Can Dance - Anastasis

Dead Can Dance
Anastasis
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Sixteen years since their last record Spiritchaser, Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry have reformed Dead Can Dance and have released their 10th album Anastasis. Back in the 80s, when they recorded for the inimitable 4AD record label, each one of their releases was almost shrouded in mystery, as if they resided in some ancient castle tower making music only they could make. From their earliest, goth-post-punk sound on their debut, the haunting soundscapes of Spleen and Ideal and Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun, to the world music and classical underpinnings of The Serpent's Egg and Aion, Dead Can Dance have always pushed their sound into new and exciting territory. It wasn't until Into the Labyrinth and Spiritchaser where others had leeched off their signature sound explorations and Dead Can Dance no longer sounded as original and ground breaking. In the interim between their last album, Gerrard focused on film scores while Perry mostly stayed out of the spotlight, recording some solo works and doing minimal touring.

The least shocking thing about Anastasis is how little has changed in their sound in 16 years. In the flow of their catalog, it fits in seamlessly with their progression from challenging sonic architects to more mainstream world music influences. As always, the album is impeccably produced and recorded, the sounds rich, warm, and inviting. But in its stead, the songs, while all beautiful and moving, lack something, the element of risk and danger that permeated their best works. I can honestly remember the first time I heard "Persephone (The Gathering Of Flowers)" off Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun and how my goosepimples got goosepimples; or when I saw them live back in the 90s and being brought to tears by the haunting vocals of "Sanvean." To my great disappointment, no such moments occur on Anastasis, but still, one is always going to be disappointed to some degree when a long revered band gets together and doesn't meet one's expectations. As a result, I had to sort of divorce this album out of their catalog in order to look at it somewhat objectively. Overall, I will still say Anastasis is a very minor work for them, but is not to say it is without its ample charms.

Strangely, Anastasis relies more on Perry for the vocal heavy lifting. The foreboding, almost glacial pace of "Amnesia" focuses on Perry's rich baritone, while lush, haunting strings and piano glide alongside.



Dense percussion and vibes also propel the gorgeous soundscapes of "Opium;" Perry's voice sounding world weary and haunted. The song recalls an updated version of "Black Sun" from Aion, the strings winding around the track in a vise-like grip.



"Agape" finds Gerrard using her still pliable voice to amazing effect, taking the Middle Eastern flavors of the tracks and throwing her voice at the rhythms with wild abandon. The later addition of echoing guitars adds a modern sheen to the song, which would have been a good idea for the rest of the album. As such, a lot of the tracks feel like Dead Can Dance lite at first, as if some cover band took over for them, aping them down to the last note. For example, "Kiko" plods along at first to clattering percussion, droning strings, and fairly standard Middle Eastern flourishes until almost the 4 minute mark where the music takes a slight turn into a swirling fantasy of strings and dulcimer and some life is finally injected into the track.



While "Return Of The She-King" begins as an almost Irish parody with typical strings and hand organs before the end of the track where Perry and Gerrard's vocals mesh and merge with one another as a bevy of lush strings winds between them



But too often, the tracks just never achieve any sort of lift-off, remaining chained to their earthly roots. Final track "All In Good Time" should be a roof raiser, but features a fairly listless Perry vocal and a bed of generic strings that tries but never seems to go anywhere, while opener "Children of the Sun" suffers from rather ponderous/cliched lyrics. Further, Gerrard's distinctive voice is not used as much as it should be, only really coming to the forefront on a couple of tracks. And when it is used, sometimes it is squandered by a listless accompaniment, as on the treacherously dull "Anabasis."



When bands get back together again after a lengthy hiatus, I am always hesitant to listen to their new work, more out of fear their legacy will tarnished by inferior work. So it was with high trepidation I listened to Anastasis, and, initially, it did nothing for me, sounding too much like Gerrard's film work, as if it were meant for short, punctuated scenes. But over time, the craftsmanship and gorgeous production work were enough to win me over. As such, Anastasis does not in any way lessen Dead Can Dance's legacy, but at the same time, it really does nothing to propel it forward.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.