Album Review: Anemone Surfs Pop To “Beat My Distance”

“Merrily! Merrily! Merrily! Life is but a dream!” Yes, this is the lyric of the lullaby “Row Your Boat,” but it is also how I felt listening to Anemone’s new record, Beat My Distance. Sonically, you feel like you are rowing a away from the shorelines reality, and the farther you go out, the more you see your dreams. 

Beat My Distance is surf-pop glory. You might as well put on some shades, tie a scarf around your head like you a 1960’s, Hollywood icon, and jump into a Cadillac headed for the beach. Literally, every guitar chord feels like a fuzzed, cinematic reel of a psychedelic trip, and you love it because it is so calming. From “Segue” to “Endless Dive” every rhythm waves like both water and heat; proving that the key to psychedelia is to turn your beats into earth elements. The best part is that, for being so imaginatively soothing, it is all about inner strength.

Led by the captivating lead singer and songwriter Chloé Soldevila, the singer discussed how tracks like, “Memory Lane,” spoke to how inner strength makes the passionate of the past feel less strong. As you fortify yourself, the painful memories, that once tore you down, stop carrying the same power. Hence, tracks like, “Daffodils,” “She’s The One,” and “Only You” feel like dream pop anthems for finding urself, and other songs such as, “Sunshine (Back to the Start)” and “On Your Own” even promote the idea in their title. Moreover, you cannot deny the grooviness of their sound, and how it makes strength accessible. 

If being strong was as easy and inviting as Soldevila’s voice, then the world would be stronger. She sings her verses with a sweet heartiness; as if her vocal notes were like tic tags she simply pops into her mouth. There is something very minty and dulcet about how she sings; powdering lyrics like pure sugar. This completely furthers Anemone’s belief that a soundscape is a dreamscape, which makes sense when gaining inner strength. Your past was your reality, and as your present goes farther into the oceans of the future, like my “Row Your Boat” mentality, you have to see traumas like coastline you are leaving behind. For More Information On Anemone And To Buy Beat My Distance on February 15 Click Here.