Anamanaguchi

Last summer, after living across the country from each other for several years, the four members of Anamanaguchi decided to try something new. Their label Polyvinyl had rescued the famed American Football house from potential destruction, so the band took the opportunity to move in and write together. Over the course of a month, Anamanaguchi – pioneers of hyper-melodic 8-bit rock, whose extraordinary ascent has led them to topping charts with a virtual pop star – flipped their typically meticulous digital process on its head. The result is Anyway. Written in the converted living room-turned-practice space, Anamanaguchi walked away with the most personal record of their career. And it's a rock record for the ages. The band brought these demos to Grammy-winning rock producer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, MGMT), whose old school approach drove the point home. Once again staying under the same roof – this time at the Fridmann’s cozy Tarbox Road Studios in western New York – they recorded Anyway straight to tape, uniting around live instruments and lyrics sung by everybody in the band. Fridmann encouraged live tracking and spontaneous performances, which were shaped by Luke Silas’ propulsive drumming. Adds bassist/vocalist James DeVito, “This time there was no undo button, no alternate versions. The decisions had to be made before, not after.”