New single precedes album in June
An intensely captivating performer, and an impressively accomplished multi-instrumentalist, Finnish-born, London-based artist Anzi is not short on star quality. As lead singer of the punked-up, hard-touring, hard-rockers Stereo Junks!, his elastic-limbed Iggy moves, and onstage antics including fire breathing, were the focal point of a wild and unpredictable live show, establishing his reputation as a born frontman. Since parting ways with Stereo Junks! in 2010 though, Anzi has demonstrated that he’s more than just an incendiary performer.
His debut solo album, 2011’s ‘High Clash Motherfucker’, was a self-produced affair, on which Anzi played almost every instrument, and confidently combined influences from industrial, punk, metal and glam. On the imminent follow-up, ‘Black Dog Bias’, he hones his songcraft further; fully amalgamating his myriad influences into a unique sonic signature of his own, while still displaying charisma and energy to spare.
The first single to be taken from ‘Black Dog Bias’ will be the storming double a-side ‘I Let You Dive / Revival’, out as a download on May 26th, via Chemistry Music Enterprises. Featuring two of the first songs Anzi wrote for the new record, this dynamic double header serves as a superb introduction to his sound, effortlessly splicing rumbling industrial menace with immense synth-pop hooks crafted for the dancefloor.
Built from a huge, booming rhythm section, and crowned by growling, low-tuned guitars, ‘I Let You Dive’ references Nine Inch Nails and Killing Joke’s stark-yet-organic industrial rock, while its lyrical themes are both personal to Anzi, and deeply universal. He comments that the song is about “clinging to your loved one… but when you truly love and care about someone, you are ready to let go, and let this person evolve on their own path, even if they’re not gonna be in your life anymore”. Meanwhile, ‘Revival’ was written and recorded in Africa (one of three continents the new album was made on), and celebrates rebirth and new beginnings, by delivering a powerful wall of fuzzed guitars, and an anthemic, fist-pumping chorus. The single will be accompanied by a pair of promo videos, which offer viewers a glimpse of the mesmerizing, manic energy Anzi brings to live shows, seeing him literally swinging from the rafters in an eerie old industrial building, and spitting fire on stage.
‘Black Dog Bias’, is then set to be unleashed on June 22nd. Anzi explains the title refers to “a known phenomenon in animal shelters, where big black dogs are typically overlooked by adopters. Nobody wants them because of the fear and stigma against certain breeds. Too often, big, dark-coated dogs end up being put down”. The concept effectively sets up both the album’s core themes (of prejudice, decisions based on fear, and what we may pass over by falling back on stereotypes), and its dark musical pedigree. Packing a sonic bite, yet also displaying some surprising softer moments, ‘Black Dog Bias’ draws on a mongrel mix of influences, and emerges sounding like a fresh new breed.
‘I Let You Dive / Revival’ is just the first tantalizing taste of a diverse and dynamic feast of an album, from a multi-talented rising star.
