Anubis Rude - Sunbow

 Released: September 4 

The latest album from Anubis Rude is what I like to think of as a collection of happy and fun nonsense. Really, there is no overarching theme or message I can decipher, but rather an assortment of some pretty melodies and harmonies that have a glint of retrowave influences and a bright demeanor. Much of the album feels like laying in the sun on a clear early spring day, feeling the gentle warmth and soft breeze. Layers of leads and pads carry you off into a dreamlike state, like you just closed your eyes long enough to reach that stage in between awake and asleep. The tempo is relaxed throughout, keeping the energy low and carefree and maintains a joyful simplicity to it that I thoroughly enjoyed. 

There’s a few tracks that particularly caught my attention, one of which is the almost comical “Tugboat.” It’s really all about the lead synth on this one for me, as it sounds tugboat-ish for lack of a better term. Like many of the other tracks on the album, it gives off that retro RPG vibe, feeling somewhere in between medieval times and retro-futuristic. Speaking of medieval, there was also the track titled as such which keeps that same vibe, evoking images of an 8-bit rendering of the castle gates of some long lost kingdom as soft pads rise and fall along with a wonderfully cheesy horn sound. There’s also a couple of truly odd pieces, like the spinning and delay-soaked “Press Circle” and the similarly dizzying “Jewelry Box Reprise.” Both of which feel like strange diversions that keep with the gentle vibes of the album.

Don’t expect anything too serious from this album. Just start listening with a goal of enjoying yourself and the experience will reward you with that feeling.