Showcasing an intense yearning for exploration by effortlessly blending a number of disparate genres, Bristol based math-funk meets alt-pop and shoegaze multi-instrumentalist Lawi Anywar ignores typical genre tropes to craft something accessible and expansive on his second full length album Centenarian.
Quietly making waves in Bristol’s experimental underground, Lawi Anywar has been forging a sound unlike any other for the last few years, combining the deep bass and falsetto vocals of Funkadelic and Thundercat with math and shoegaze influences pulled from acts like Delta Sleep and Slowdive. Now, on his second full length album Centenarian, Anywar takes his sound to slick new heights, delving deeper into his more experimental side while preserving the memorable funk-rock rhythms that make his work so accessible.
From the very first synth arpeggios of the opening title track it’s clear that Centenarian is coming from a place of wild experimentation, bringing together a mish-mash of varied sounds into a listenable, funk-tinged package. Building up around a consistent bass grove, ‘Centenarian’ launches retro synths and driving percussion alongside choppy guitars and a mournful fiddle solo into each other in an ever-shifting whirlpool of conflicting sounds which should seem confusing and discordant but instead mesh together into a memorable and danceable odyssey. This opening track reveals Anywar’s greatest strength, the ability to take so many seemingly opposing tropes of different genres and piece them together into something intriguing and memorable.
“This opening track reveals Anywar’s greatest strength, the ability to take so many seemingly opposing tropes of different genres and piece them together into something intriguing and memorable.”
As the album continues more and more sounds are added to the maelstrom, overlapping the intricate basslines with guitars that range from tastefully discrete to extravagant and distorted and drums which span the entire spectrum from complex math rock beats to thunderous punk rock stabs. The tracks ‘Wall’ and ‘Men Of Many Faces (Dreams About Spiders)’ cover the most sonic ground with the former’s off-kilter percussion and unpredictable guitar hits enveloping Anywar’s soft yet confident vocals in a cocoon of noise before exploding into a fuzzed-out finale and the latter’s more subtle approach with clean guitars and tight Ringo Starr style drums complimenting Anywar’s bouncing bass and rich vocal delivery. While it would be easy for an album drawing from this many varied influences to sound disjointed, Centenarian brings an almost joyful energy to creating a new and exciting collage with puzzle pieces from different sets.
Closing track ‘Lordvessel’ gives Centenarian a gloriously extravagant finale, pairing rich, thick bass and drums with lush shoegaze style guitars. The almost five minute ‘Lordvessel’ takes the listener on a journey through genres with Anywar’s soft, lilting vocals floating over layer upon layer of swirling guitars and synths alongside drums which jump from tastefully understated to flamboyant shredding with the track slowly building from laid back funk to a wonderfully noisy shoegaze crescendo.
With a reckless approach to genre, Lawi Anywar uses his second full-length album Centenarian to mediate between the worlds of funk, shoegaze and math rock for a uniquely expansive yet accessible experience. While there are plenty of albums coming out of the UK’s thriving experimental scene, few are as listenable or memorable as Centenarian.