Album Review: Anaru – Public A(n)als
Artist: Anaru
Title: Public A(n)als
Label: Independent
Release date: January 23rd, 2025
Country: Lithuania
Format reviewed: High-quality digital recording
Album Review: Anaru – Public A(n)als by #Pegah
“Public A(n)nals” is the fourth album by Lithuanian artist Anaru. The first thing that catches the eye is the album title — strange, provocative, and ambiguous. It immediately signals that this is not an ordinary album, preparing the listener for something unexpected. According to Edvardas himself,” I called it that way because I wanted to make it relatable to the other people, maybe someone else also sees things in life and life itself as a compilation of certain objectives or missions that have to be achieved.”
The album begins as if tuning into a radio station a station break before an announcement until the music gradually fades, swallowed by a rising noise that dominates the atmosphere and erases the calmness that came before. This is the moment you become disconnected from this world and are thrown into another, or let’s say, you are disconnected from your life and forced to what society dictates you. “Landing” feels like searching for a new frequency, but no other stations can be found. Something seems off something missing, something broken. The soundscape evokes a machine struggling to function, a sonic manifestation of corruption. “Infiltration” starts with a harsh, intrusive sound, deepening the sense of disconnection. It feels as though signals are trying to penetrate your brain and overwrite it with alien data. The sounds grow increasingly distorted and violent, culminating in another forced disconnection.
“Sabotage” the track title itself suggests something unpleasant is taking place. The soundscape confirms this. It evokes malfunction, manipulation, and quiet destruction. Compared to the previous track, the sounds here are less chaotic, more restrained, but still carrying an underlying tension that something is being dismantled from within. “Data Leak” presents a mysterious soundscape, as if foreshadowing an inevitable breach. It feels like the device has momentarily stabilized, operating with an eerie calm. The sounds are steadier, less erratic, but eventually, the system fails again, and everything comes to a stop.“Evacuation”, the final track, opens with a surprising calmness so different from everything that came before. There is no trace of chaos anymore. It feels as though everything has come to an end; the mission, whatever it was, has been completed. The soundscape turns almost ethereal, even magical at moments, as if drifting through an abandoned place where all signs of life have vanished. This emptiness has a haunting beauty a sense of quiet after the storm.
“Public A(n)nals” is not an easy listen it’s a journey through malfunction, distortion, and disconnection. But beneath the noise and chaos lies a carefully constructed narrative, one that moves from confusion and sabotage to eventual silence and strange beauty. As Edvardas says, “This album is nihilistic, cold, and anti-human.” It’s an album that challenges the listener to surrender control and get lost in its fractured frequencies. 7/10
7/10: Victory is Possible!
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