Anomie Belle - "How Can I Be Sure"
“How can I be sure?” is a question I ask myself almost daily. How can I be sure my soybeans are not GMO? How can I be sure the Mayan calendar didn’t really mean 2112? How Can I Be Sure begs the rhetoric surely identifiable with most young listeners and I can say this in response: of Anomie Belle you can be sure. Why, you might ask? Because she kicks ass.
Being mildly familiar with the tongue of my elders, I knew belle meant beautiful but wasn’t quite sure about anomie. It was a welcome discovery that Beautiful Desocialization and is a moniker quite apropos for the identity donned by the multitalented Toby Campbell. This translates generously to the juxtaposition of devolution and utopia; a dichotomy I love to debate. Her songs are critical of blind adherence to consumerism. They’re swanky and sexy, but they also champion individuality and critical thinking. Belle’s not adverse to railing against prior selfish generations with lyrics such as these from “Bedtime Stories” on her debut release Sleeping Patterns:
I can't be held responsible
for all the mistakes my parents made
'cause it's their generation
that has left us a nation
of waste and complacence and apathy
Her latest EP release, How Can I Be Sure, opens with the title track, a down-tempo trip-hop vibe with soothing vocals. The song builds adding electronic and organic layers as the beat becomes insistent, eclectic, and increasingly complex. Arpeggiators, fuzzy guitars and a Fender Rhodes piano swirls around the listener’s head fabricating a mood steeped in Cowboy Junkies sultriness and Tricky “trippiness”. One can understand why even though this song was previously featured in the award-winning short film Dark Material, in 2011 ‘How Can I Be Sure’ will be a mood setter for a steamy scene on Showtime's United States of Tara.
A native of Portland, Oregon, Belle’s interest in music began with classical violin. At 10 years old, this ingénue received the karaoke machine that she converted into an electronica forge. Unsatisfied with her abilities to produce music, she taught herself piano, drums, guitar, synthesizer, audio engineering, and electronic programming. She also sought musical inspiration by traveling to Madrid, New York, Buenos Aires, Glasgow, and Amsterdam. Her experiences abroad enabled her to amass the unique threads of influence that weave and shape the texture of her music today.
The second track on her EP is a smart interpretation of Radiohead’s ‘Everything In Its Right Place’. A faithful reproduction of the Rhodes-laden riff and depth and Thom Yorke’s unmistakable vocal stylings, Belle has taken a song that needed little renovation or deviation and made it her own. I must say that I’ve been truly impressed lately with the renewed interest in analog sounds from the monophonic abilities of the early synths such as Moogs and ARPs to the polyphonic and iconic sounds of the Fender Rhodes. They possess a depth and texture hardly matched by modern technology. These instruments aren’t just for hipsters. Amazing music has been written and produced on these early synths over the years with everything from ‘Just the Way You Are’ by Billy Joel to ‘Whip It’ by Devo to ‘Tom Sawyer’ by Rush. The Fender Rhodes was the favorite compositional instrument for Donald Fagen of Steely Dan as well as for Stevie Wonder. It’s a welcome development to it quietly stealing its way back into popular music through bands like Sloan and artists like Alicia Keys. I think Harold Rhodes would be proud. The Fender Rhodes is definitely a distinguishing feature of Anomie Belle’s music.
Another gem on How Can I Be Sure is Belle’s composition ‘Cascade (Azeda Booth Daylight Mix)’ remixed by Morgan Greenwood of the Calgary, AB band Azeda Booth. In true Indietronica manner, this song ebbs and flows electronic rhythms, modulations, peaks and textures. Sampled sounds of Toby breathing, whispering and smacking her lips loop over humanized drum patterns adding a smart tension between pure electronica and a more organic feel. She attributes her electronica influences to her time in Amsterdam, learning looping and engaging in experimental jamming. While in Scotland, she worked and met many famous musicians such as The Proclaimers, Marianne Faithful’s band, and the Breeder’s producer from the album Last Splash, further adding to her sphere of influence and interests.
The anchor of the EP is a live, more organic sounding version of ‘How Can I Be Sure’, this time led by guitar, acoustic drums and Rhodes. The seductive and moving vocals are clear and stylized, showcasing her true vocal prowess. I’m having a difficult time discerning which version I enjoy more. The live version approaches Pink Floyd-heights, building a facade of angst then fading, painting emotional soundscapes and leaving a wake of melancholy. Live performance is always the hallmark of an accomplished artist and Anomie Belle is the mistress of her music and it shows.
What’s in the works for Anomie Belle? Her upcoming full-length album features a collaborative duet with Jon Auer (from The Posies and Big Star) on a song entitled ‘Picture Perfect’. The album will also feature Mr. Lif of The Perceptionists and is expected out later this year. Don’t miss this release if you have any hopes of being a part of the in-crowd1 in 2011.
