As part of punk rock legends Ceremony, Anthony Anzaldo has been colouring the world in various shades for twenty years. That band have been on a mission to constantly explore new musical ground, yet Mr Anzaldo steps further into virgin territory with his latest project, Anthony Family. With his encyclopedic musical knowledge, Anthony has produced an album in Live From An Ordinary Place that will take many by surprise with its ‘80s pop flavourings, but one thing should be patently obvious when dealing with Anthony Anzaldo; always expect the unexpected.
Anthony’s love of music will be familiar to most readers of the Midlands Rocks, and being a musical aficionado means you love it all. That’s certainly what’s going on with this release as Anthony deeply mines ‘80s synthpop, drawing inspiration from the likes of Howard Jones and Scritti Politti and filtering it through the sensibility of Prince, yet the influences on this release are so deep and tangled, they can barely be unravelled. The result becomes something wholly original, and that is no more apparent than on opening track ‘Soulless’, a seven-and-a-half minute slow cooker that slowly embraces the listener like a Novocaine buzz. It feels as if a great deal of effort has been expended on getting just the right tone and timbre, and as such ‘Soulless’ reaches deep inside and resonates the listener on a primordial level. Imagine Orchestral Manoeuvrers in the Dark jamming with David Gilmour and you’d have something approaching this number.
Aside from the experimental opening track, many of the songs contained within come with a pure pop sensibility, and when I say “pop”, I don’t mean it as a dirty word. Rather songs such as ‘Your Dress On Me’ come heavily loaded with buoyant beats, catchy hooks and sublime melodies, and regardless of genre tag or classification, there’s no denying that ‘Sex In The Car’ is just a great, great, great, great track. Yet, this is an album and it operates as such and aside from the joyful moments there are also reflective turns found in ‘Fine From A Distance’. It all adds up to an infinitely interesting affair and ensures Live From An Ordinary Place is no usual listen.
- Live From An Ordinary Place is released via Pure Noise Records on 1st August 2025.
Track List:
- Soulless
- 101 North
- Your Dress On Me
- Sex In The Car
- (thirtyseven)
- Fine From A Distance
- Overmorrow
- Nothing Something Everything Onemorething
- Wander With Me
