Anchor Lane – Call This a Reality? Album Review

Call This a Reality? Out 27^th JAN 2023

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FEBRUARY UK HEADLINE TOUR ANNOUNCED

Call This a Reality? is a high octane, full blooded coming of age.

When Anchor Lane released debut album “Casino” in 2020 I’m not sure they appreciated that they, along with so many other break through acts, were about to be dealt the shittest of shit hands. With live music indefinitely postponed and unable to tour, the momentum gained from chart success and rave reviews would have been lost with a less resilient band. Instead, rather than piss away lock down pretending to learn Spanish and making low quality bread, Anchor Lane set to work penning their newest album Call This a Reality?

Now, I’ve never met the band so wouldn’t wish to presume how that made them feel but if Call This a Reality? is anything to go by they were pretty pissed off. The new album has a darker feel to it, the frustration of lock down bubbling away under the surface. The driving beats remain but this time with a grungier edge.

Citing Royal Blood as an obvious influence the new single Stutter is an earlier example of this more aggressive sound. Ministry follows, punctuated by scattered machine gun fire drumming, offering us a taste of how Anchor Lane will build on their growing reputation as a live act worth seeking out. You could make a reasonable case that Anchor Lane’s Ministry was the only Ministry to come out of COVID with any credit.

Call This a Reality, the albums title track, reverts to a heavy dirty bass line and screeching guitar solos. Nitroglycerin, the albums most explosive (sorry) track is arguably the heaviest of any of the bands work so far. The band credit Bring Me The Horizon as one of their influences, cropping up here, as well as Sycophant Disorder, two songs to look out for when the band tour this February. The pits will be a sight to behold.

We take a little 80’s detour for the opening of I’ve Been Waiting, the use of synths to open, lending a touch of Stranger Things to proceeding. Anchor Lane seem a band comfortable moving between the subgenres, a touch of classic rock here, some metal there. The drums at the beginning of Choke feel like a flicker of Joy Division before returning to type. The Mischevious Song another beautiful example; a more upbeat, dancey number with a catchy chorus. It feels like a proper rock club classic, even offering us little window to mosh at the end, before kicking into Electric Karma, a track of similar ilk, full of stop/start rhythm, sharp edges and riffs.

Bitter, slows the tempo right down, a slower brooding track featuring heavy drums and feedback. A rainy night break up of a song with a classic 80s rock drum solo. A sound reflected in instrumental The Static, feeling like the opening of a particularly dark film, all atmospheric and eerie.

Call This a Reality is an album of twists and turns, false endings and riffs. Heavy dirty bass lines drive the record forwards resulting in an album that feels ready made for an rock night dance floor or lively front row. Following the release date of 27 January 2023 the band are set to embark on their UK tour kicking off in Glasgow on 28 January 2023 (tickets available from Anchor Lane’s website – Anchor Lane Tickets) putting that theory to the test. Here at MoshMag we’ll certainly be making every effort to attend their Manchester gig at Retro on 5 February 2023.

Closing with I Don’t Have Another Soul to Pour, Conor Gaffney’s lyrics complain “there’s just too much noise in here”, its certainly not an accusation you could level at Anchor Lane’s newest album, I’d say they got it just right. For us, Call This a Reality? is a high octane, full blooded, coming of age, from Scotland’s newest three-piece!