ALBUM REVIEW: Anika – Change

Sacred Bones/Invada

Released: 23.07.21

Over ten years have passed since Anika’s eponymous debut was released. It was a magical, darkly luminous album, as if lit up from the inside. Since then, Anika has moved from Bristol to Berlin, recorded post-punk improvisations with Mexico City band Exploded View, and secretly collaborated with musicians everywhere (including Shackleton and Tricky). And though the world feels different now, something of the old darkness still burns, clinging to everything she records.

Change occasionally brings to mind Kim Gordon’s fiery coolness, and the heavy-hearted lullabies of German turntablist Thomas Brinkmann. Anika’s spoken words shine gloomily over synth arpeggios and drum patterns. She is forever addressing an invisible other. Her raw declamations frequently break into disconsolate wailing. It is almost too unsettling to bear.