“Call This a Reality”,
For Fans of – Royal Blood, Nothing but Thieves, Biffy Clyro and Twin Atlantic
Scotland’s Anchor Lane are soon to release their sophomore album, Call This A Reality, which is out on the 27th January. In support of the album the band will be headlining a UK tour, commencing in Glasgow on the 27th January. The band’s first album Casino was released 3 years ago and went straight into Official UK Rock and Metal Albums Chart at Number 9.
The album itself, perfect for fans of Royal Blood and Nothing but Thieves, consists of 12 new tracks commencing with the single ‘Stutter’. Despite being a relatively young band, Anchor Lane’s songwriting appears as nothing but mature, the previous influence of tracks co-written with Rocky Warwick leaving a lasting legacy on the band’s lyrical genius. Conor Gaffney’s vocals act as a vehicle of understanding through difficult themes such as toxic relationships and subsequent karma, this journey pushed along by the band’s energetic tempos and ear-worm worthy riffs. Fancy a bit of musical maturation? Get a load of this.
Images of first crushes and adolescence project behind my eyes as ‘Stutter’ begins. Howling and intoxicating vocals throughout the track emulate this turmoil at a particular moment in time. This Infatuation. Their presence. Your inability to string a sentence together. ‘Ministry’ commences with a synth-filled, hair-raising intro, a later crescendo into the chorus forming a perfect protest that reflects the song’s theme of rejecting another’s jurisdiction and imposition of confinements. Similar here is the protest-like mantra in ‘Bitter’, “you went so cold in the bitter end” a perfect summary of the album’s raw, piercing emotion embedded through Gaffney’s fricative curses in tracks such as ‘Choke’.
Within the track from which the album derives its name (‘Call This A Reality’), Lawrence O’Brien dominates the break-taking bridge that is reminiscent yet individual from the band’s plethora of influences. Each second of ‘Nitroglycerin’ acts as another brick in the wall, the song progressing towards a slow tempo featuring distorted vocals, which is then followed by an intense explosion of rage, leaving the wall in bulldozed ruins.
Need to get off your ass? Doing your eyeliner pre-pub at 6pm? Need to get rid of the kink in your neck through some serious head banging? Skip to 2:30 of ‘The Mischievous Song’. Now press play. You’re welcome and enjoy.
📝 @_nevedawson @nevedawsonphotos
@thebristolnomad / @bristolnomad_gigphotography
Role: Photographer / Reviewer / Interviewer
Chief, the one that bugs the team for team for their reviews and images. Creator and founder of The Bristol Gig Guide. Can usually be found swamped in admin or getting cramp kneeling at the front of a gig.
Available for: Gig Shoots, Gig Reviews, Photo Shoots, Album and Single cover shoots, Videography work, Interviews and Touring
First attended gig: Republica, circa 1996.
First gig shot: Hands Off Gretel, at The Louisiana!
Dream gig: Huge metalhead and my ultimate dream gig would be shooting my heroes Slipknot at a huge stadium gig, or as festival headliners. And to experience shooting a headline tour outside the UK
