Prior to yesterday, I had not written about any artist from Charlottesville, Virginia. Now after featuring power-pop group Invisible Hand yesterday and infectious alt-rockers The Anatomy of Frank today, the city’s music scene has definitely caught my attention. The Anatomy of Frank has more polish of the two, demonstrated nicely throughout their Pangaea LP, but you wouldn’t guess it by the beginnings of opening track “Saturday Morning”, which has a creaky banjo-like progression under lo-fi vocal effects. Very quickly though, the track lifts into sparkling heights. In the chorus, there’s a bursting brass effervescence and crisp clarity that’s highly reminiscent of Beulah, probably the most surefire comparison for The Anatomy of Frank. Another highlight, “Mogwai Stole My Chord Progression”, features a more emotive vocal delivery, almost as if The Wrens collided with an angular form of Ozma-like art-rock. There’s a bunch of highlights throughout their LP Pangaea, which you can stream in full below:
