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Album Details

• Artist: The Anomoanon
• Album: Asleep Many Years In The Wood
• Label: Temporary Residence
• Year of Release: 2003
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: jparker on 2003-11-06

The Anomoanon features Ned Oldham, brother of Will, both of whom were formerly the Palace Brothers. Asleep Many Years In The Wood is a warmer and more optimistic album than that former band would have made. But it's not totally upbeat and lightweight. The lyrical quality here is as strong as on his more somber albums - "Whenever I hear you cry I know that you're alive", on "Sixteen Ways to Sunday" might be interpreted as gloomy, but the child's cries in the background (and the press release) puts it in a happier perspective, for Ned is a new father - worried, but far from morose. "Bluebird of Happiness" is ironically the gloomiest song on the album: "The stream has run dry and every time it rains I think it has begun reflowin'/But I am not knowin' – And there's a contrary breeze a-blowin'". Musically, The Anomoanon hint of a young Neil Young, with Jayhawks harmonies - I seem to bring up those references a lot, but damn, they're so influential on today's indie-rock. A viola adds texture on occasion, and the harmonica adds a bluesy tone, which help give The Anomoanon a wider range than typical alt-country. On songs like "Ain't Skeert", "Kick Back" and "A Story", they sound like a hard-rocking Wilco. Although this album will probably get lost in the shuffle, it deserves to be heard by anyone who appreciates the former three references, or who is looking for a mature progression from the Palace Brothers sound.

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