It’s time to take a trip, one of many trips that Rocket Recordings have offered over the years, to the insanely twisted-psychedelic-rock-out land of Omegaville, the latest album by Anthroprophh. What’s to be found here? Only a manic rush of an experience that throws us through an almost satirical universe representative of our own, where the familiar elements of England feels warped and mutated into something wonderfully indulgent, whilst simultaneously feeling like a cosmic journey into worlds new and unknown, where nothing is predictable, where all rules are thrown out the windows into the streets of Omegaville, and where everyone of a certain disposition is sure to have a truly wonderful time.
Noise-rock, drone-rock, psychedelic-rock, kraut-rock, freak-rock, this is an album that for want of a better term just… rocks! With such a term having been bastardized over the past few decades, what a wonderful indulgence it is to have a record that lives up to such a term, only for it to then completely twist and warp the very concept into something so mind-blowing that it’s impossible to put into words.
From the incredibly noisy starts with absolutely absurd guitar work that feel like a road-trip through the streets of Omegaville, showcasing this pastiche of British life and culture in such a ferocious yet entertaining way; To the pulsating jams that chug slowly along as the vehicle begins to break and buckle under its own weight, where low flying airplanes loom overhead, this is a record that constantly presents something else around the corner, creating this vision of a city few would dare enter, and those there could even ever escape. By the end we are battered and bruised with our brains turned to mush as we attempt to pick up the pieces and enter back into reality.
Anthroprophh’s previous records certainly create an incredible amount to take in, with disparate ideas fusing together so effortlessly, (Drone and garage-rock? Sure, why not!). Here on Omegaville, it seems all those ideas, concepts and genres have been fused into something far greater than anything they’ve ever attempted, with constant construction and de-construction fuelling the fire and showing us that such risks are worth taking when it results in something as different as this. The technical expertise of Paul Allen, Gareth Turner and Jesse Webb are completely undeniable and unforgettable, whether they expertly playing a solo, thrashing along power-chords and parodying culture in the first half, or hypnotising us in a long-drawn out segments on the album’s second half, that send us spiralling off into our own headspace of confusion. This feels like the next logical step that Anthroprophh would be taking in their career, and yet it is one that is completely (and delightfully) unpredictable.
With last year giving us such ferociously wonderful albums by GNOD and Pigsx7, setting 2017 has one of Rocket Recording’s best years, it seems 2018 is off to an absolutely phenomenal start, and the Rocket spaceship shows absolutely no signs of slowing down regardless of who is at the helm. With everyone pushing themselves further and further, and producing such wonderfully mind-blowing albums, it’s amazing to see such boundary-pushing music being created, where not just the band’s capabilities are being stretched out, but even ourselves and our own understanding of such music.
Music can be challenging sometimes, though when it all begins to click into place, we understand why bands attempt such feats, even when it feels weird and confusing. Omegaville may seem like a lot to chew on, but it is truly a fascinating and incredible piece of work, one where a running length just shy of 90 minutes, and where a multitude of disparate ideas all fuse together, from short concise rockers to more experimental tracks where nothing is against the rules, it is perhaps amazing how not a single moment feels wasted, and the album itself never seems to overstay its welcome for even a second.
This is Omegaville, get comfortable, make yourself at home, and let your mind be blown.
