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The esoterically-titled The Sea Anemone Inside of Me is Mighty from the uncompromising trio Ferocious Eagle is one of the more accomplished offerings from 2006. Fed by a relentless onslaught of dual guitars, and without bass, the tracks have an Albiniesque edge to them, while remaining generally listenable. Opening with the title track, guitarists Greg Dalbey and Jon Anderson waste no time in locking in with drummer Eric Jensen's penchant for groove. Dalbey's coarse, distorted voice acts perfectly as a mediator between the bizarre lyrics and the driving music. A less affected voice may not have been as convincing in belting out lyrics so otherwise inane as these. However, it seems as if the ultimate goal of Anemone is to stretch the possibilities of dissonance, jolting tempos, and independent time signatures - as "Dinosaur" immediately kills any momentum that the previous groove may have built. The influence of Hella, among others, is extremely apparent when the trio turns down this path. Aside from hints of the Boredoms leading into "And Now We Have Your Tongue," the trio does regain this momentum in spite of the jarring compositions and doesn't let up until the final neurotic note sung by Dalbey. In fact, this momentum is so strong that even in quieter portions of songs, such as "Be Not Weary, Be Not Weak," there is a constant anxious feeling that an attack of distorted guitars and crashing drums will be felt at any possible moment. Yet without a doubt, Anemone's strongest moments are when the grooves are left uninterrupted - most noticeably in "This Song is a Train Wreck" and "Something She Said." There isn't exactly a strongest track on the CD, although these along with "Transformer" make up an excellent stretch of material. The last half of the album is dominated by relatively short tracks that blend into each other, contributing partially to a feel of the already-introduced disjointed style and partially to the sense of a rapidly-vanishing otherwise great album. The closer "I Just Don't Care" is a near-anthemic finish, featuring the most coherent work of the album, both musically and lyrically. If Anemone has any fault, it is that the band seems to coast at times - relying on furies of noise-rock that are almost certainly more effective in a live setting. This wouldn't be noticeable if not for the continual bouts of impressive fingerwork and mathy rhythms found scattered throughout the rest of the album. Yet, it is obvious that Ferocious Eagle are accomplished musicians; they also understand how to use this skill to formulate interesting concepts about chord voicing and scales, rather than simply show their technical ability in a predictable way. The follow-up to Anemone will certainly be a release for listeners to await with eagerness and a willingness to learn.

Ferocious Eagle at Amazon & Insound