It’s wild that [[Anamanaguchi]] continues to reinvent itself with every album release. We’ve come so far from the chiptune of my highschool days, which blared so chaotically that my least favorite digital arts teacher asked me to turn it off when I’d hang out there after class to work on assignments. **[Anyway](https://anamanaguchi.bandcamp.com/album/anyway)** is the group’s first album with their own vocals, and it shows! It’s amateur and rough, and that’s the beauty of this album. What was originally an album about rage ended up accidentally becoming an album about enjoying making music with your friends — the process, instead of the result. > [!quote] From **Anyway’s Bandcamp** > At first, Anamanaguchi aimed to explore rage as the record's main theme, reflecting the various frustrations of the world. But quickly they found themselves distracted by having fun together, and Anyway instead captures a band creatively and personally energized: the experience of four best friends reviving their connection in a disconnected world. As Anamanaguchi has always been an instrumental band, the decision to sing suddenly confronted them with the question of what the band’s voice would ultimately be. They explore this newfound power in every song, making it their most emotionally resonant work yet. I don’t review music, so I can’t really describe what it sounds like, but I can tell you what **Anyway** makes me feel: like I’m back in the backseat of the car playing **Link’s Awakening** before my mom took us to the park. Does that make sense? ~~Anyway~~ Either way, it’s instantly hitting my summer album rotation, and I’ve already got the vinyl ordered. I don’t know if I’ll ever hate anything that [[Anamanaguchi]] puts out. Does that make me a stan? Probably. But the fact that I kickstarted **Endless Fantasy**[^1] with one of my first ever paychecks has put me on a level of parasocial that I’m aware of and comfortable with. They’re that good! [^1]: Still got the USB too!