BrooklynVegan is currently streaming Even If It Takes A Lifetime, the third full-length from Chicago-based experimental post-punk/doom metal collective ANATOMY OF HABIT, in its curious entirety. The premiere comes in advance of the record’s official release this Friday, December 10th. This will be the first of two new albums ready to be unveiled to the public.
ANATOMY OF HABIT – Alex Latus (guitar), Isidro Reyes (metal percussion), Skyler Rowe (drums), Mark Solotroff (vocals), and Sam Wagster (bass, lap steel) — recorded both offerings with Sanford Parker, shortly before the pandemic, with mixing (by Parker) and mastering (by Collin Jordan) carried out during the long shutdown. Along with the band’s core instrumentation, listeners will hear piano, organ, analog synth, and vibraphone woven into the songs.
Thematically, Even If It Takes A Lifetime continues Solotroff’s reflections on love and loss, the creative process, the abstracted and vanishing self, and a sense of absolute obliteration. The potentially nostalgic album title may allude to a sense of hope and may indicate that all is not lost, or at least it may point to an inner drive to keep pushing forward.
Comments band leader SOLOTROFF, “Once we were a supergroup, but now we’re a real band. Cream, Bad Company, The Lords Of The New Church, Traveling Wilburys, Tin Machine, Hollywood Vampires… just to name a few. In 2014, when Ciphers + Axioms was released, ANATOMY OF HABIT was referred to as such, and while we certainly had some legitimately notable band members, it was pretty weird to hear that term used with a very underground band, like us. And as with many other bands that carry the supergroup moniker, that version of our lineup wasn’t to last very long. Not that playing with those guys wasn’t a fantastic experience. But, what’s happened over the last several years is very different. Our band was slowly rebuilt and a very powerful chemistry resulted. We put in the work, week in and week out. Songwriting seemed to come more easily to us. Shows felt very tight (but loose). We took our time before we recorded demos. Then we finally recorded more than two albums worth of material, right before the pandemic hit. We had some cool offers to release this album, but it probably wouldn’t have seen the light of day until late 2022, so we discussed several options and we ultimately decided to handle things in a more self-sufficient manner. To me, the way Alex, Isidro, Sam, Skyler, and I have pulled together, grown, and evolved is evidence of a legitimate supergroup. I couldn’t be happier to be in a band with them and to finally release our new album. Yeah, let’s just stick with the term ‘band’ this time around.”
Adds BrooklynVegan, “It picks up right where ANATOMY OF HABIT left off seven years ago, with Mark Solotroff’s gothy, sinister baritone leading the way over lurching, doomy instrumentals. If you’re unfamiliar with ANATOMY OF HABIT, fans of Swans, Daughters, and Nick Cave should check this out.”
Stream Even If It Takes A Lifetime at BrooklynVegan
HERE.
Even If It Takes A Lifetime will be released on CD, handsomely packaged in a six-panel digipak designed by Jonathan Canady, a longtime creative associate of the band. A cassette version will also be released, with light blue shells and a four-panel insert. The packaging for all formats will incorporate a series of lush, corporeal cyanotypes by New York-based artist Alexandra Lerman, a close friend of Solotroff. A vinyl edition will follow at a later date.
