HINDSIGHT

I've already rambled on somewhere about the pointlessness of the whole unplugged idea. An artist usually cares as much about the sound and the arrangement of songs, as about the actual melodies and riffs. Stripping the instrumentation down to a low-fi skeleton is a risky business that mostly reduces the original splendour to tedious campfire sentimentalism.

Anathema have a long tradition of unplugging their songs for special intimate live gig settings and their expertise in the matter shows. The result on Hindsight rarely equals the originals for me but the rearrangements are clever, tasteful and very textured. This is not just two guys strumming away with stiff fingers on acoustic guitars. Various instruments such as violin, piano, vibes and percussion makes the songs sound entirely different from the originals but recreate the mood of the originals perfectly. There are pleasant surprises throughout the journey. Are You There for instance has been given a quicker pace and works better then the original for me.

Overall, the sonic decomposition doesn't work for every track and the sameness of tone and mood ultimately drags down the album. After 5 years of radio silence I had expected a bit more.