ANNE
Pulling Chain
Run For Cover Records
Street: 03.04
ANNE = The Cure + Type O Negative – My Bloody Valentine
While the invisible line that often divides musical subgenres sometimes requires a stretch of the imagination, Portland-based ANNE (aka David Lindell) has completely jumped the shoegazer one it inherited for a decidedly electronic gothy one, on this, their “proper” debut. This anti-stereotyping approach works well musically, and the bulk of the tracks (like “Blonde Men” and “Modesty”) recall early stuff by The Cure. Not always so smooth is the vocal experimentation (low to high) that Lindell dabbles with. The otherwise catchy “Terms” is slightly flawed by his deeper pitch during its intro, but saves itself when he lightens it up. In fact, when Lindell takes himself a tad too seriously (like on “Concession” and “Guarnieri”), he unwittingly steers his otherwise happy party into those murkier goth clichés. ANNE’s new direction benefits greatly when taking a livelier approach (witness “Disruption” and “Interruption”), which I hope they continue to explore. –Dean O Hillis