Anathema celebrate album launch with acoustic session in London

To celebrate Anathema’s new album Distant Satellites, that’s out June 9 on Kscope Records, Vincent Cavanagh, Daniel Cavanagh and Lee Douglas played an acoustic set in Camden’s Record Club last night, followed by a playback session of the album itself.

In the snug setting of Camden’s Record Club, with its dark interior and skull print wallpaper, the atmospheric venue is perfect to host such an intimate and emotional set. Mere feet away from their devoted fans, the three members take to the tiny stage to strum through five of their softest, stripped-back numbers, including two songs from the new album. The first is their opening track, the delicate, melancholic yet beautiful The Lost Song Part 2, which they dedicate to Steven Wilson – who is standing front and center in the audience tonight.

The three-piece are visibly emotionally affected by the event – even when they’re not singing, the Cavanagh brothers throw their heads back with emotion, mouthing along to the lyrics. “I’d be less nervous at Download Festival,” laughs Daniel, indicating just how nerve-wracking the intensity of tonight is for them. But sadly, the potential magic of such a set is lost slightly due to technical issues, that hinder the power of the melodies.

Following the second new song of the night, The Lost Song Part 3, during which they impress with rich vocal harmonies, Vincent cheekily comments, “and you all know this one…” before launching into emotional crowd favourites Untouchable Part 1 and Untouchable Part 2, and finishing up the short set with the mesmerising Thin Air. Despite tonight’s technical issues, it’s still a special performance to witness.

The performance is followed by an exclusive airing of Distant Satellites, which is an ambitious, rich and passionate piece of work. You can read our full review of the album in Prog 46, that’s on sale now: http://prog.teamrock.com/news/2014-05-28/new-issue-of-prog-on-sale-today-1.

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.