Album Review: Tony Wright - "The Anti-Album"

 

I think it's safe to say that a cursory listen to Tony Wright's solo output for those only familiar with him through his day job as singer with Terrorvision might come as a bit of a surprise. His two solo efforts so far, 2014's Thoughts 'n' All and 2016's Walnut Dash were pretty bleak overall, detailing the trials and tribulations of his life in the years leading up to them. And it's safe to say that The Anti-Album, written during the lockdown, is similarly downbeat.

Yet there's comfort in the darkness here - opening track Sleep definitely recalls the strangeness of those lockdown days with its tale of feeling like you're trapped in an endless cycle of wake up, try and pass the day somehow, sleep again and the paranoia it induces. Similarly, Nothing To Write Home About and Get It Wrong are both brutally honest tales of a life less than well lived and definitely show Tony bringing the darker side of his personality to the fore. Former single Buried You Deeper and Dreaming I'm In Love are similarly remorseful, looking back at mistakes made in previous relationships.

The tempo picks up a bit on side two with an accordion and some percussion lifting All In Our Heads to add a bit of variety in while Heaven has a dark sense of humour to it with lyrics like "If I ever met my maker, I don't know what I'd do/Probably stop for a selfie and get a signed picture for my friends too" which adds a bit of light to the darkness. Hearts And Minds has a more wistful feel to it similar to Roll Over from Thoughts 'n' All. The bleak Cannonball also has a dark humour running through it ("No-one cares about me/Shit hair, shit teeth") while the line "When it's hard to smile, remember it takes more muscles to frown" shows a chink of light at the end of the tunnel. Which just leaves the countrified Gamble, Drink And Smoke (which harks back to Tony's Grand Ol' Otley album with Ryan Hamilton a few years back) to bring things to a close. 

In many ways, The Anti-Album feels like a logical successor to Thoughts 'n' All in that it's a pretty bleak effort which doesn't pull any punches. But in a way, it sums up a lot of the dark thoughts that went through a lot of our heads during those dark lockdown days with enough chinks of light in the blackness to stop it becoming too foreboding. In other words, don't expect the bounciness you'd get from Tony's day job but for something to soundtrack those dark long nights of the soul to, this is pretty damn good thanks.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

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