Anomie Belle – Sleeping Patterns

Anomie is a sociological term that describes a feeling of purposelessness and alienation resulting from a lack or breakdown of values. In some ways it’s a perfect word to use in connection with trip-hop as a genre and Anomie Belle as an artist with its brooding electronic music and her languid vocal delivery. Likewise, Sleeping Patterns is a great descriptive title that is both a comment on the ways that we as individuals and a society are asleep and of Toby Campbell’s voice which has a whispered lullaby quality throughout the album.

Not surprisingly, Massive Attack and Portishead are listed as influences on her Myspace page. There’s also more than a little bit of Sneaker Pimps and Esthero in the mix as well. Peaking in the mid ’90s, I’m somewhat surprised to note the current resurgence in trip-hop’s popularity. With more than a decade between the initial wave and the current one there should be some obvious evolution. While Toby puts her own mark on the music there is little that propels it into the present, a likely unintentional projection of the purposelessness and malaise of anomie. This is not a condemnation as this album is every bit as enjoyable as its predecessors, merely an observation.

Toby is a classically trained violinist and she uses this skill to good effect throughout the album, most notably in the violin solo of “John Q Public” and the instrumental “Cascade.” There is both a longing and a distance within the violin pieces; the cold nature of the mostly electronic music provides a perfect backdrop for both the music and the concept. Again, true to the nature of the form, the drumming comes from a machine and only occasionally lapses in what could be considered canned. Then, from out of nowhere, a sultry saxophone sings smooth jazz in “Dox Amsterdam,” another instrumental piece.

In “Bedtime Stories” she sings “I can’t be held responsible for all the mistakes my parents made cause it’s their generation that has left us a nation of waste and complacence and apathy… time goes by and I become less than I could ever dream than I had ever known I could have done.” Boy, when she picks a theme she sticks with it. The flip side of the breakdown of values is that there is space and freedom to create a new set of values, which she points out in “How Can I Be Sure,” as she sings “my hope my apathy/ you know it ain’t easy maintaining my belief that we are free.” Sociology becomes political in Toby’s indictment of American culture in “American View.” Lest she become too philosophical, she ventures into love and its breakdown in “Greenhouse” and “Before You Leave Me.” Despite the dripping anomie, Sleeping Patterns is self-produced and released so Toby can’t be too apathetic.

“Belle” is defined as a charming, attractive, young woman. In the end, that is exactly what Anomie Belle and Sleeping Patterns is, charming and attractive music that deals with themes of apathy and social and relational breakdown. I don’t recommend playing the album at a party (unless you’ve got really depressing friends.) But, if you feel like walking around aimlessly at dusk past neighbors that are sitting on their porches staring at nothing, this would make a great soundtrack.

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