Album Reviews

- by Tom Dumarey

For their second album, Belgian noiserockers It It Anita did not go back to the US to record with John Agnello like they did for 2016’s ‘AGAAIN’. Instead, they just stayed at home and made their new album with Laurent Eyen, who is the band’s sound engineer, fifth band member and unofficial mascot. Which also explains the album title. And yes, that is a picture of Laurent on the cover.

If you were simply expecting to hear more of the same, you are in for a treat. Because on ‘Laurent,’ It It Anita have taken their sound and ran with it. In all kinds of directions.

Opener ‘Denial’ is already different in the way it sneaks up on you with dreamy verses while the chorus is creepy and uncomfortable. ‘User Guide’ on the other hand will feel more like familiar territory for those anyone who has already heard one of the band’s previous releases. Dual vocals that border on psychotic, riffs that sound like they were torn apart and then glued back together with jagged edges exposed and an almost krautrock-like rhythm that keeps pushing the whole thing forward toward the finish line. Oh, and cowbell. And then they launch straight into the previously released single ‘Another Canceled Mission,’ which finds the band at their most punky.

Elsewhere on the album they flex their noiserock muscles some more with ‘Say No’ and ‘God’. The former of which can even be labeled as – dare we say it – catchy, while the latter is hypnotizing, catchy and well, weird as fuck all at once.

And then there’s ‘Tanker,’ a song so good they had to split it in two parts. Part 1 is an instrumental built around one massive riff that washes over you. Part 2 on the other hand comes with acoustic guitars, piano and a monologue by a French lady, whose can be best described as sultry.

And as if all that wasn’t enough yet, they treat you to the 8-minute closer that is ‘We Are Nothing,’ a Mogwai-esque post-rock song that starts off delicate enough, almost melancholy, before whipping up a storm that suits the nihilistic line ‘No hope, no perspective at all’ that is repeated throughout the song.

I was hoping for an album as good as ‘AGAAIN,’ which already seemed like somewhat of a reach. Instead It It Anita simply went ahead and made an album that is somehow even better.

Track listing:

1. Denial    
2. User Guide    
3. Another Canceled Mission    
4. 11
5. Say No    
6. Tanker 2 (part 1)    
7. Tanker 2 (part 2)    
8. GOD    
9. Bored    
10. Outboard    
11. We Are Nothing