Floating World

iTunes Review

Michigan’s Anathallo came onto the scene with a number of EPs and a revolving door of musicians and instruments faintly evoking the emo side of the indie-pop spectrum. This, their full-length debut, turns the volume down a notch while turning up the artistic inspiration. A quieter, more introspective affair (based on a Japanese folk tale, Hanasakajijii), you won’t find raging guitars or screamo vocals as found on Luminous Luminescence..., but you will find twinkling glockenspiels, glassy acoustic guitar plucking, swelling, ambient synths, and somber pianos. To be fair, you’ll also find gleaming trombones, handclapping and lovely vocal layering, woven into uplifting, multipart harmonies. Floating World has real ambition, and if boldly beautiful music, borne of subtlety, introspection, and spiritual expression are what you’re after, give it a try. Tracks like the delicate “Genessaret” and the sweet “Dokkoise House” are unlike anything you’ll hear from other indie bands (love the playful choral parts at the end of “Dokkoise House!”) ... and though the occasional track, such as “Cuckoo Spitting Blood” raises the “freak folk” flag, this collection deserves its own original banner.