WEATHER SYSTEMS

One of the most creative rock bands of the last 30 years, ANATHEMA were a benchmark for liberated, progressive instincts, with a substantial catalogue of beloved albums, and a great number of songs that could tear the heart from your chest and drop-kick it into orbit. When the British veterans called time on their legacy in 2020, exasperated by the financial burdens of a lengthy career that had simmered when it should have soared, at least in commercial terms, it seemed horribly premature, but entirely understandable. What was unquestionable was that brothers Daniel and Vincent Cavanagh would eventually make new music again, and 2024 has seen them both emerge from the soft-focus shadows to embark on new journeys. Vincent's new art-rock project THE RADICANT released a mesmerizing debut EP earlier this year, but the first album by WEATHER SYSTEMS is arguably the closest thing that dedicated fans will get to an outright continuation of ANATHEMA's abruptly halted story.

Comprising new versions of songs that were originally intended to form the next ANATHEMA album, "Ocean Without A Shore" is a gorgeous, graceful return to the stage, with all the emotional turbulence, wistful wondering and lightly stoned yearning that fans of Cavanagh's songwriting will be hoping for. Now teamed up with multi-instrumentalist Daniel Cardoso, who played drums on the last two ANATHEMA records ("Distant Satellites" and "The Optimist"),  he is still largely focused on the gently rolling melodic build-ups that made his former band so lethally addictive, in addition to the foolproof, hypnotic effect of circular grooves and the gleeful exploration of vast, boundary-less sonic space, with some cool old-school keyboards and futuristic electronics thrown in. As a model for modern progressive rock, it scores very highly. As a new dawn for one of prog's great unsung heroes, it does even better.

The two tracks released in advance of "Ocean Without A Shore"'s arrival told a pretty revealing story about where this was all heading. "Synaesthesia" is an elongated blur of energy and pathos. A psychedelic post-rock sprawl, it erupts joyfully into big rock riffs and balances the poignant delicacy of Cavanagh's vocals with a strange, distorted undertow. It lasts for an immersive nine minutes, dissolving away with a blank-eyed but serene coda with a glorious, prog-friendly guitar figure spiraling up into the rafters. Meanwhile, first single "Do Angels Sing Like Rain?" is all skittering, krautrock pulse, corrosive synth bass and pristine guitar sparkle, but with a driving chorus that delights in its own noisy sugar rush.

A call back to ANATHEMA's 2012 "Weather Systems", "Untouchable Part 3" is the song to avoid if you are feeling a bit delicate. A towering elegantly arranged ballad, its orchestral swells and somnambulant waltzing underpin the vocalists' refined efforts, and hysterical, ribcage-wrenching tears are practically guaranteed.

There is plenty of his former band's DNA in the likes of "Ghost In The Machine" and the FLOYD-tinged "Still Lake", but Cavanagh's experimental streak has been given free rein here too. The album's final two tracks are the best things here by a distance. The title track is an absurdly exciting electronic prog odyssey, with an invigorating, burnt-rubber beat that threatens to collapse in on itself; while "The Space Between Us" is, as implied, a monumental post-everything, space rock indulgence, albeit one that will throttle you with your own heartstrings.

Ultimately, the name on the door is an irrelevance. Daniel Cavanagh has nurtured these songs from hesitant birth to triumphant, full-bodied realization, and WEATHER SYSTEMS seems as good a vehicle as any to take them to the people. "Ocean Without A Shore" is food for the soul and the most welcome comeback of the year.