Anamia - The Final Version...

I somehow find it very difficult writing my personal thoughts on the new CD An Extraordinary New Fitness Product by Anamia. As some of you may recall, I meet the 4 guys from the band during my summer holiday and found them to be really friendly lads. So if I write something too positive, people will probably start thinking that I’m biased, which I’m always trying NOT to be. But feel free to think whatever you like (which you obviously will do, no matter what I say!).
The first 5 tracks (out of 13) on the CD are the new recordings from July, and the remaining 8 tracks are re-mastered versions of older ones. The new tracks take the band (as expected) in a new and noisier direction, and none of the songs are as immediately catchy as some of the older tracks (e.g. Butterfly in Paris). Michael of the band told me back then that he got some inspiration from bands like Sonic Youth and Traening, but (though I might be dead-wrong here) I do hear some (actually quite a lot) Mew in it as well!
So be prepared that it will require some work getting into the new songs, but if you’re ready to invest a little time, I’m certain you won’t regret it, because they are truly fabulous.
My only complaint (but also another reason for making this such a difficult post to write) is the length of the CD. I love the new tracks and I still very much enjoy the older ones. But in all honesty, I just don’t think they belong on the same CD. I fully understand that Anamia wants to showcase to the world what they are capable of, but when I listen to Fitness Product, I always get the feeling that a new (and quite different) album starts following the 5th track. Instead I’m sadly left with the feeling that with more time and money (?) on their hands; these guys could have recorded a few more songs, which a long with the 5 new tracks would have given us nothing but a fantastic album.
But! Despite leaving me starving for more An Extraordinary New Fitness Product is indeed an “extraordinary” compilation of songs, which deserves to catch the eyes and ears of the world!
+ Talk is cheap
+ Death of the chain-smoking man
+ As I walk into the fight
+ Waiting for moonlight
+ The Step