Anopheli
A Hunger Rarely Sated

An imaginary line connecting California to the United Kingdom, this briefly sums up the genesis of a side project like Anopheli. From the BART speeding through the Bay Area and Oakland to reach the London TUBE, because collaboration transcends distance when there is mental and musical affinity. Those more attentive and interested in underground illustrations might have already understood just from the artwork whom they're dealing with. For those who have no idea, the name is just one: Alex CF. And if this doesn't ring any bells, it might be time for a recap. An artist at 360 degrees, with an unbridled ethic that goes far beyond the DIY world, he is the mastermind behind projects like Fall of Efrafa, Momentum, and Light Bearer. Two defunct, one (the latter) active and with each release seems to raise the quality bar even higher. The Brit here reunites with the help of the label Alerta Antifascista with true Californians Jasmine, Brian, and Josh, engaged with Torso, Everybody Row, and Monuments Collapse, among others. And at the helm, the guru Jack Shirley (Comadre, Loma Prieta, Deafheaven, and a myriad of other local bands).

Not even half an hour to paint an instinctive and fierce melancholy, where the male-female vocal dualism allows for sudden changes in collective hysteria. The raw material on which to inscribe one's discomfort is a crust from the American school like From Ashes Rise or Spanish like Ekkaia, for clarity: yes, rough and massive distortion, but with a melodic vein always alive and pulsating. To draw comparisons with Alex's other bands, one could say it inherits the more distinctly crust sections of "Owsla" by Fall of Efrafa, with some d-beat references and combines the drama of harsh slowdowns in a more synthetic way. This does not mean a simplification, quite the contrary, rather a right balance between destructive doom/sludge-flavored riffs and skeletal yet vital outbursts. The atmosphere is apocalyptic, as if humanity is failing, collapsing under the weight of its sins and ignorance allows the torment of ours to be expressed in the most sincere way possible. Five tracks, united by a surprising (but not too much) leitmotif given the versatility of the artists in question: a cello. Played by Nicole, noted as a session musician in the project among friends, it is never overwhelming, not suffocated, it manages to juggle well with the cold incision of the guitars and the crust abyss of Alex’s and Jasmine's voices. It's sinuous and lethal, like a knot that slowly chokes and tightens more and more. First, it appears softly, then with more vehemence capturing an emotional fury emerging in an atmosphere of resignation, in daily agony and apathy.

There's time for an acoustic composition before diving into the now obsolete and crumbling world of “Rime”. 8 minutes that conclude a journey that is brief, but intense. Passing through desolate and barren landscapes, where nothing can grow anymore, and everything that breathes is slowly corrupted and brought to die. With an inert and passive attitude, one witnesses the dissonances and contradictions that build the echoes of a life now distant and dull. Alex hasn't gone as far as quoting Richard Adams, Genesis, Paradise Lost as elsewhere, but his allegories in the lyrics are always present and ready to support the musical engraving he wants to create. He is a certainty, and once again with Anopheli, he has left us with a little gem to listen to and relisten to. The only hope is that this idea does not remain an isolated episode, because there is a lot of potential. But his mind is like that, always submerged in ideas and the main creature Light Bearer will soon want to return to a free rein.