Country : Germany Label : Sacred Bones Genres and styles : Alternative / Grunge / post-grunge / Post-Punk Year : 2025

Anika – Abyss

· by Stephan Boissonneault

I’ll admit I had never heard of the Berlin-based Anika, until this latest album, Abyss, was sent to me through the music PR world. At first listen, I heard an onslaught of screaming guitars, thundering bass, crashing drums, and Anika’s thick spectral voice. It’s a very gnarly 90s grunge /alt rock sounding album, and after listening to a bit of Anika’s previous work, I learned, completely different from her usual stuff.

Anika comes from more of an electronic dub world, but decided to completely shift gears for Abyss, deciding to pretty much leave the synth (save for a few tracks) behind to exchange it for a more classic rock band setup. I’ll say that this new sound is much attuned to my ears, but many of these songs feel rather sameish. The first three all have the same dark tenacity, with pushed back mixed lyrics about fake news, societal loathing and other chaos of the world—and kind of all meld together.

Anika’s voice is quite singular, feeling to me a bit like Bjork, Cate Le Bon, or Nena, but because her register basically stays the same throughout Abyss, I had a hard time picking out any standout track, besides “One Way Ticket.” That song is quite catchy, with its post-punk walk down bass and blaring lead guitars, as Anika waxes poetic about the rise and hopeful death of fascism. Perhaps these Abyss songs have a bit more juice to them live, which we can see firsthand in late September at La Sala Rossa.

Latest 360 Content

FIJM 2025 | Funky funky, Trombone Shorty

FIJM 2025 | Funky funky, Trombone Shorty

FIJM 2025 | Symphonic Avishai Cohen: Bewitching magic

FIJM 2025 | Symphonic Avishai Cohen: Bewitching magic

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Phantom Island

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Phantom Island

Common Holly – Anything glass

Common Holly – Anything glass

FIJM I Hanorah Sets the TD Stage Ablaze with Soulful R&B

FIJM I Hanorah Sets the TD Stage Ablaze with Soulful R&B

FIJM I Still Taking Us There, Mavis Staples Electrifies Montreal JazzFest

FIJM I Still Taking Us There, Mavis Staples Electrifies Montreal JazzFest

Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp – Ventre Unique

Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp – Ventre Unique

Fantastic Negrito – Son of A Broken Man

Fantastic Negrito – Son of A Broken Man

Cumbia, Chaos, and Resistance: Empanadas Illegales Bring the Heat to Montreal Jazz Fest

Cumbia, Chaos, and Resistance: Empanadas Illegales Bring the Heat to Montreal Jazz Fest

Turnstile – Never Enough

Turnstile – Never Enough

FIJM | Meggie Lennon and The Desire Days Story

FIJM | Meggie Lennon and The Desire Days Story

FIJM | Dianne Reeves and Romero Lubambo: An Intimate Duo of Virtuosos

FIJM | Dianne Reeves and Romero Lubambo: An Intimate Duo of Virtuosos

FIJM | Brandon Woody’s Upendo: Baltimore Represents !

FIJM | Brandon Woody’s Upendo: Baltimore Represents !

FIJM | Stella Cole: From Tik Tok to The Biggest Jazz Stages

FIJM | Stella Cole: From Tik Tok to The Biggest Jazz Stages

ALICE on Her X

ALICE on Her X

FIJM  | Samara Joy: Pushing Classic Vocal Jazz Repertoire to its Limits

FIJM | Samara Joy: Pushing Classic Vocal Jazz Repertoire to its Limits

FIJM | Nas symphonic and Nas not symphonic

FIJM | Nas symphonic and Nas not symphonic

Suoni | The Jellicle KIKI Ball #2 – Feline Grace is Served

Suoni | The Jellicle KIKI Ball #2 – Feline Grace is Served

Suoni | The Dark, Wicked, Warm and Absurd on the Same Dish

Suoni | The Dark, Wicked, Warm and Absurd on the Same Dish

FIJM | Azimuth: Brazilian Jazz Fusion of the Highest Order

FIJM | Azimuth: Brazilian Jazz Fusion of the Highest Order

FIJM | Anomalie and Lewis: Two hour Jam by Two Heavy Hitters

FIJM | Anomalie and Lewis: Two hour Jam by Two Heavy Hitters

FIJM | Thanya Iyer and Arooj Aftab, Perfect Transplants!

FIJM | Thanya Iyer and Arooj Aftab, Perfect Transplants!

Festival de Lanaudière | Renaud Loranger Explains The Program

Festival de Lanaudière | Renaud Loranger Explains The Program

FIJM | Kojo Melché Roney, Born to Drum

FIJM | Kojo Melché Roney, Born to Drum

Subscribe to our newsletter