The Anniversary – Your Majesty
(Vagrant)

As a whole, human beings are generally fearful of change. I suppose this is why I should applaud bands like The Anniversary for having the courage to alter their musical style significantly from one album to the next. And you know, I would do exactly that, if I wasn’t so damn attached to their first album! I wanted more of the same poppy indie rock that they exhibited on their debut album, Designing A Nervous Breakdown, but instead I have been presented with a 70’s influenced rock album that is a lot mellower and a lot less fun.

There are some scattered remnants of the old Anniversary sound; for example, the harmonious male/female vocal combinations and little bursts of catchy synthesizer arrangements. But it’s all very subdued and lacking the youthful energy they once had. It feels as if each of the band members have morphed from teenage indie rockers into thirty-something prog rockers overnight.

Your Majesty does retain the dreamy qualities that Designing A Nervous Breakdown had, and even takes them a step further with a few epic 6 minute journeys. They manage to do it without sounding too pretentious either, but that doesn’t necessarily equate to musical genius. Stand-out tracks for me are The Siren Sings, with its catchy Rentals-esque vocals, the upbeat Never Die Young, and Devil On My Side, with its delicate build up and subsequent musical breakdown and swirling synthesizer finale.

It is not, by any means, a bad album. The music makes for a pleasant enough listen, and the more I hear it, the easier it is to convince myself that I really like it. However, taking a quick trip back through their first album serves as a reminder that, no matter what, Your Majesty will always be a bit of a disappointment for me.

I understand that artists need to change and grow, and I respect The Anniversary for choosing a new sound not based on a desire for commercial success, but simply based on their own personal taste. Unfortunately, Your Majesty is not the album that I wanted them to make, and even though it has its moments, I simply cannot see it spending a substantial amount of time in my cd player.

For better or for worse, The Anniversary have tried to purposely distance themselves from their last record. (Even the bland album cover design for Your Majesty seems like a forced attempt to be the exact opposite of the pixellated rainbow artwork for Designing A Nervous Breakdown.) When I say, “for better or for worse”, I do so with full knowledge that there will be a variety of pre-formed opinions about whether or not this is a good thing. If you really want to like the album, I don’t think you will find that a difficult task to accomplish. On the other hand, if you are apt to dismiss something immediately because it is different, then I doubt you will give this album a second chance. I guess the real challenge is to listen to these songs without any bias and come to your own decision. — Sean