Perception Sensation Reaction
I met IIja Rosendahl the man behind Latent Anxiety, back in 2006 when he asked to me to review his Perception CD. Now after several years have passed I had the opportunity to hear the more recent projects that followed titled Sensation and Reaction.
After a few listens to Reaction and Sensation I remain steadfast in my choice as Perception for my favorite recording. It only took one listen again to remember why I enjoyed it so much. Although Reaction and Sensation are good albums, the vocal style was warmer and more consistent on the first CD. The approach on the follow up releases is intentional, the music is supposed to be cold and calculating, like a premeditated act.
Perception was my first impression of Rosendahl and his creative process, the guitar playing and his interesting vocal style impressed me. Now I feel as if this artist has somewhere to go besides where he resides currently with his music. After several albums with the same sound and styles, I think its time to consider going into another direction so stagnation does not set in. All of this aside I do respect the artist for his ability to create all of this music by himself. I can also hear the strides made technically with the guitar playing and the overall production of each CD. The difference between Perception technically and Sensation then Reaction are obvious.
Latent Anxiety is dark music, even though at times the electronica elements and vocals may sound like a few octaves lower than the 80s one hit wonder Ah-Ha, which is not a bad thing at all, at heart this man is a rocker. What he is accomplishing here is to give the audience some variety. That one aspect to create songs that stand individually is where I admire this artist the most and for what he comes up with on each CD.
Writers like Edgar Allan Poe inspire IIja, thus the dark corners of the mind get some exploration through the music. The electronic parts give the sound a colder edge, and then IIja sets out to sing in robotic like chants repeating vocals to the pulsating beats. Admittedly, I become a bit agitated with the repetitive vocals and the lyrics at times are weak, however, he makes up for all of that with some good guitar work, and as a whole offers some compelling vocal mixes to complement the music. On a few tracks vocalists of the female persuasion add their touch, which softens up the darker side a bit and leans more to the electronica and pop fans, featuring less complicated story lines.
“Love Delirium” (from Reaction) is one of the best songs in the collection and it was a great choice for an interesting visual treat with an accompanying video, which is included on the media section of the CD. The CD is also available as two-disc set with one recorded in 5.1 surround sound, which I did not have the pleasure to enjoy at this time.
Other notable tracks are “Psycho Discrace” (that is not a typo), “Life in LA” and “Cold As Ice”.
Latent Anxiety is unique in many ways and a great talent that needs to explore and expand horizons to move to the next level to find the international acclaim that all ambitious artists are reaching for.
All three CDs have some great slices of rock and electronica that are hard to ignore and have a tendency to grow on you, with that said, what else could a recording artists hope for when releasing an album?
Overall Rating: 
Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck
February 22, 2009
