A ticking clock, bleeping heart-rate monitor and croons of “James, open your eyes for me” set the stage in the opening title track, followed by numerous news reports regarding the critical condition of the fictional media mogul, James Osborne-Fox. After 2014’s Hitchhiking to Byzantium, a more personal and emotional offering from the band, The Second Handsees Anubis return to writing cinematic concept albums, but this time with a concept that is blatant from the off. Previously, Anubis have been somewhat enigmatic in their concept albums: 230503 and A Tower of Silence’s ambiguous and poetic lyricism and expositional ambiance convey their respective narratives with subtlety, arguably to a point of obscurity. Though some may see it to be a misstep in an excellent discography, The Second Hand is an admirable effort, where Anubis’ shift in musical style and approach to concept albums present some of the band’s best and worst newfound qualities. Their previous albums, 230503, A Tower of Silence, and Hitchhiking to Byzantium remain some of my favourite albums, and those of you who have read my review of the latter may even accuse me of, dare I say, ‘fanaticism’? However after first hearing their fourth studio album, The Second Hand, I began to second guess myself and my expectations of the band – am I right to expect an artist’s latest work to be the same as their others? Am I right to even have expectations? What this record shows, both as a part of Anubis’ discography and through its politically-charged concept, is that to err is human. The pedestal is a potentially dangerous object, sometimes even metaphorically – though it really depends on how hard you can throw it.Īustralian progressive rock band Anubis have been sitting quite comfortably on my pedestal for quite some time.