These are all of the reviews of the Sea Anemone Inside of Me Is Mighty - Good and Bad.

Fake Jazz
www.fakejazz.com January 2nd David Barnes

The esoterically-titled The Sea Anemone Inside of Me is Mighty from the uncompromising trio Ferocious Eagle is one of the more accomplished offerings from 2006. Fed by a relentless onslaught of dual guitars, and without bass, the tracks have an Albiniesque edge to them, while remaining generally listenable. Opening with the title track, guitarists Greg Dalbey and Jon Anderson waste no time in locking in with drummer Eric Jensen's penchant for groove. Dalbey's coarse, distorted voice acts perfectly as a mediator between the bizarre lyrics and the driving music. A less affected voice may not have been as convincing in belting out lyrics so otherwise inane as these. However, it seems as if the ultimate goal of Anemone is to stretch the possibilities of dissonance, jolting tempos, and independent time signatures - as "Dinosaur" immediately kills any momentum that the previous groove may have built. The influence of Hella, among others, is extremely apparent when the trio turns down this path. Aside from hints of the Boredoms leading into "And Now We Have Your Tongue," the trio does regain this momentum in spite of the jarring compositions and doesn't let up until the final neurotic note sung by Dalbey. In fact, this momentum is so strong that even in quieter portions of songs, such as "Be Not Weary, Be Not Weak," there is a constant anxious feeling that an attack of distorted guitars and crashing drums will be felt at any possible moment. Yet without a doubt, Anemone's strongest moments are when the grooves are left uninterrupted - most noticeably in "This Song is a Train Wreck" and "Something She Said." There isn't exactly a strongest track on the CD, although these along with "Transformer" make up an excellent stretch of material. The last half of the album is dominated by relatively short tracks that blend into each other, contributing partially to a feel of the already-introduced disjointed style and partially to the sense of a rapidly-vanishing otherwise great album. The closer "I Just Don't Care" is a near-anthemic finish, featuring the most coherent work of the album, both musically and lyrically. If Anemone has any fault, it is that the band seems to coast at times - relying on furies of noise-rock that are almost certainly more effective in a live setting. This wouldn't be noticeable if not for the continual bouts of impressive fingerwork and mathy rhythms found scattered throughout the rest of the album. Yet, it is obvious that Ferocious Eagle are accomplished musicians; they also understand how to use this skill to formulate interesting concepts about chord voicing and scales, rather than simply show their technical ability in a predictable way. The follow-up to Anemone will certainly be a release for listeners to await with eagerness and a willingness to learn.


www.yourstandardlife.com January 3rd Jasin

Are you ready for some RAWK!!. That's right. Rock with a W. This trio from Portland, Oregon will give your ears an aural assault that will have them ringing. But you will LOVE it. Reminding me of Fugazi or a amped up Modest Mouse, these guys are worth a listen. Plus, I think they have the coolest artwork on their debut full length, entitled, "The Sea Anemone Inside of Me Is Mighty," which drops in mid-March. I could not find a copy of the cover online, so you're just gonna have to buy it.

The Chicago Tribune
PRESS PLAY
By Kevin Williams, Tribune staff reporter
Published January 14, 2007

"The Sea Anemone Inside of Me Is Mighty," Ferocious Eagle (Fifty Four Or Fight)

Indie rock is difficult to define until you hear this record's amalgam of influences, assembled crazy-quilt style. Big, boisterous metal drumbeats share space with thumping, rhythmic bass. Vocals -- often unison -- are another rhythm instrument, and of course there are lots of crazy tempo changes, because what would indie rock be without that? Were the Eagle a little cooler, they'd almost certainly be a Chicago band, sharing a bill with some of this city's other caustic, oddball rhythmmakers. But Ferocious Eagle is from Portland, Ore. Make what you will of that.

The Aquarian
ARTS WEEKLY JANUARY 17,2007 www.theaquarian.com

The statues on the cover art might portend a band that takes itself way too seriously, but rest assured, that is in no way the case with Ferocious Eagle, whose Anemoneis something of an anomaly when it comes to being properly classified. If there's one thing this band has, it's humor. Sonically, they're in an art-punk vein that Deerhoof like to play around the borders of from time to time. This is especially apparent in the guitar sound, but Ferocious Eagle's songs are more constructed than the faster Deerhoof material. Album highlights "Lion Hearted,""And Now We Have Your Tongue"and closer "I Just Don't Care"show that the goal set (and achieved) was to be a band that didn't sound like everyone else. If you're bored to tears of whatever you've been listening to for the last eight months, check out Ferocious Eagle. They probably won't make your head explode, but it's a safe bet that they'll smack the stagnant taste right out of your mouth. In A Word:Caw Grade:A—by JJ Koczan


Ferocious Eagle
The Sea Anemone Inside of Me Is Mighty
Spacecityrock.com
First off: hot damn, the album cover just plain freaks me out (mmm...blood). And kind of in a good way, which is a bit disturbing to me. I like it, though, because it's a fairly hard-to-miss declaration of what's to come: whatever the hell this Ferocious Eagle thing is, it's going to be strange, possibly violent, and definitely not pretty.
Okay, so maybe I'm making a lot of blather out of a stupid picture, but the fact remains that the Portlanders definitely fit the description above on The Sea Anemone Inside of Me Is Mighty. The album is a full-on squall of Fugazi-influenced post-rock -- plenty of starts and stops, quirky-yet-arresting sung/chanted vocals, and a sinister, murky feel. The music churns and barrels along its tracks like a less-backwoodsy Federation X, or maybe Refused if they dropped the polemical stuff and dug back through those jazz collections they love so much. The songs get messy and chaotic at points ("Dinosaur," "Lion Hearted"), but even then they somehow coalesce into something solidly musical, which is no mean feat. There's a little Modest Mouse craziness here, to boot, particularly on album closer "I Just Don't Care" (which also makes me think of fellow Northwesterner Kind of Like Spitting), along with a fair dose of Polvo-esque math-rock.
Really, though, what comes to mind the most as I listen to Sea Anemone (and this surprises me, actually) is NoMeansNo -- I can vividly remember the first time I listened to "The Tower," and how simultaneously thrilled and scared the living shit out of me, so much so that I couldn't stop listening to it. Ferocious Eagle has the same kind of purposeful, dangerous momentum to its music, like a big-ass rock that rolls down a mountain and just plain never stops but keeps on going, crushing things in its path. You know you should get out of the way, but while you're staring at its destructive progress, you can't; you're mesmerized. Similarly, I put on Sea Anemone, my hands and feet start to move...and then the next thing I know, it's over and I've lost a half-hour of my life.
Of course, as you might expect from an album like this, the lyrics make zero sense, barring a brief (and surprisingly uplifting) little pseudo-Biblical interlude in "Be Not Weary, Be Not Weak." But eh, that's not the point -- the point is in the locked-down groove these three guys drive unrelentingly into your skull. Just step back and watch. (Jeremy Hart // 1/17/07)

1/19/07 Absolutepunk.net
Who?

Portland oddballs, Ferocious Eagle, utilizing angular-rock ethics in their recent release of The Sea Anemone Inside Me Is Mighty. Being primarily guitar based and largely experimental calls similar bands such as Polvo and Deerhoof to mind, though they maintain the appeal of Cake, sans a more radio-friendly slant.

How Is It?

Although Ferocious Eagle alternates between noise-rock ("Dinosaur"), indie-rock ("The Sea Anemone…"), instrumental ("This Song is a Train Wreck"), and a mix of the above ("Rape Whistle"), the album still scrapes to keep attention. While their adept musicianship is undeniable, the vocal and lyrical sensibility of Less Pain Forever and the guitar tuning/mathy instrumentation of Polvo's infamous Today's Active Lifestyles mix for less than stellar results. The album's title track seems to be the most focused and sadly digresses from there into uninspired noise-rock, clumsy guitar work, and obtuse song progression ("I Just Don't Care"). You may get into The Sea Anemone Inside Me Is Mighty, but it'd be a stretch to come back to it more than a few times.

Willamette Week Describes Them As "Ferocious-As-Fuck": "The Sea Anemone Inside Me Is Mighty", "This Song Is a Train Wreck"

Better Check The Following Out First: Polvo, Cake, Hella, Deerhoof


Foxydigital.com
At first listen, there is nothing new about Ferocious Eagle's approach. Even within its 2 guitar & drum format, you initially hear just straight-ahead modern rock, with a little emo threatening to break into full sob. But listen again. Soaring bridges and passionate vocals need not be MTV-ready, and FE has enough aggression and volume to scare away the hit parade.

"This Song is a Trainwreck" and "Be Not Weary, Be Not Weak" are representative tracks, in sound and message. Angry, pleading vocals and melodic but string-snapping riffs push across their mixed message of hope and suspicion with believable jams. Other tracks like "Something She Said" and "Rape Whistle" are in the same disturbed vein, but the inspiration is noticeably less than total.

Still, when most straight-ahead rock bands have their ears just a little too close to the mainstream looking for clues on how to get love, Ferocious Eagle seem intent to rock their own way as authentically as possible, and win fans one riff at a time. 7/10 -- Mike Wood (13 February, 2007)



Zeromag.com

This CD is so fucking fun, I want to run around with a hammer smashing stuff every time I put it on. Ferocious Eagle is three guys from Portland Oregon, and although I have just discovered them, I bet their live show would kick my ass. No bass, just guitars, drums, and yelling makes up this album, yet they pull it of with profound style. They sound like Modest Mouse on acid, or the Locust playing a slow song.

"Dinosaur", the second track on the album is chaotic as hell and really exhibit's the band's strength as musicians and songwriters. "Rape Whistle" and "Lion Hearted" round out the CD with even more chaotic fun. The album contains a whopping 31 minutes of craziness so be prepared to have your CD player set on repeat.

- Jake Fouts


www.independentclauses.com
Josh Hogan

There is an old saying that goes: "WHAT THE F*CK?!?" And clearly the members of Portland, Oregon's Ferocious Eagle have studied these ancient words, as they are applied excessively on their recently released The Sea Anemone Inside of Me is Mighty. The word strange would be a drastic understatement in trying to describe any of the 12 songs on this album. Yet for the most part the three gents in this band somehow manage to hold it all together despite constantly being on the brink of bursting at the seams and unleashing nothing but musical noise and nonsense.

Like the music, the band's line up is slightly off-kilter with the lack of bassist: Ferocious Eagle consists of two guitarists and a drummer. The lack of low-end is present at times but is not something that is detrimental to the band's sound. The two guitarists, Dalbey and Anderson, are good at keeping things busy with a nice variety of guitar parts interchanging between the two of them. Eric Jensen is the man behind the kit, and like his co-workers he understands dynamics to the fullest extent. The three members have a tightly wound chemistry which would be a pre-requisite for this genre(s) of tunes.

As opposed to attempting to describe this album's sound in detail, it is more realistic that I forewarn anyone who has a "mainstream" bone in their body to avoid this CD at all costs. You WILL NOT find gratification after a mere one listen and will only end up cursing the gods of music.

However, bands like Ferocious Eagle aren't aiming to please folks with MTV in their eyes. They are searching for folks like you on IndependentClauses.com who look for deeply gratifying and artistic music (After all, that is why you are on this website, right? ...RIGHT?).

Everything can be heard on this album, from subtle melodies to chaotic dissonance to circus music - even if you only hear them for seconds at a time. Other than the lack of low-end, the only real downfall may be the cluttered production. I do, however, realize anyone who attempts to produce such a dysfunctional musical conglomerate would likely experience the same issues without going well over a reasonable production budget. And these minor quirks only further add to the distinction of the Ferocious Eagle sound(s).

My personal favorite tracks would have to be "Be Not Weary, Be Not Weak," for the circus meets indie-folk, "Dinosaur," for going from catchy to spazztastic noise, and "Rape Whistle" just for being what it is.

Will Ferocious Eagle ever break into the limelight? I'm gonna have to go out on a limb and say no. But will folks searching for something with a little more originality than your standard affair be pleased? I'm gonna have to say yes on this one...but don't let me be the judge. Only you can decide if this stimulates your senses, and I urge you to prepare yourselves for 12 songs of musical debauchery.

3/14/07 Willamette Week Jason Simms

Ferocious Eagle's full-length debut winks and teases, but doesn't deliver.

[POST-HARDCORE] Like lovers, good rock bands are often coy. Groups like the Blood Brothers and the Hunches make music that is, at times, grating, annoying and inaccessible. While such qualities may take some warming up to, they are also what make those bands' shifts into beautiful, collar-grabbing lucidity all the more satisfying.

On its debut full-length, The Sea Anemone Inside of Me is Mighty, Ferocious Eagle—a two-guitar trio made up of Greg Dalbey, Jon Andersen and drummer Eric Jensen (Tractor Operator)—is playing hard to get. Ugly, slightly discordant, Primuslike stomping riffs—like those on the instrumental refrain of "Dinosaur"—and the chirpy, hollered vocals that follow in the same song's chorus are status quo for The Sea Anemone. It is not, however, an album that deflects your attention. While "Dinosaur," the second track, won't leave you swooning, there is the sense that rapture is just around the corner.

Following the wavelike builds at the intro to "Something She Said," the song's verses of offer the most loosely melodic vocal moments on the album. You'll think, "Is this where I'm going to fall in love with Ferocious Eagle?" just like you thought it during the not-pretentious-at-all hammer-ons and finger-taps on the opening, title track's lead guitar. But the title track, too, with its cutesy, sort of noodly instrumental bridge and shrill chorus, decries any sense of flirtation—and makes it awfully hard to fall for Ferocious Eagle.

Of course, one might argue, as Keats does in "Ode on a Grecian Urn," that "Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard/ Are sweeter." And—just as for the lovers in that poem—there certainly is some pleasure in the fruitless pursuit of Ferocious Eagle. At just under a minute and a half, "Spunky" does a great job of leaving a lot unheard: The cowboy-style guitar and the song's only line, "I saw you get hit by a car/ Good night," demand immediate relistening, as does a throbbing, post-punk rendition of the theme to Sesame Street—which arrives smack in the middle of "Transformer."

But at the end of the day, these compositional touches are a poor substitute for the gut-wrenching, mind-blowing or extraordinarily amusing moments of similarly coy artists. Though Ferocious Eagle's choice of band name has been affirmed by many a WW and LocalCut.com writer—and is certainly fun to toy with: Ferocious Seagull, Precocious Beagle, you get the drift—The Sea Anemone leaves me longing for a little action—or, at least, for the band to finally draw some blood.

www.dagger.com 3/10

FEROCIOUS EAGLE- THE SEA ANEMONE INSIDE OF ME IS MIGHTY- 54 40 OR FIGHT- Two guitarists who both sing and a drummer who was probably tapping on his desk since first grade grind out 12 songs of pure…something. They sound like they simply love to play (imagine that ) and would great on a bill withother like-minded nuts like Deerhoof . ( www.fiftyfourfortyorfight.com )


Ferocious Eagle
The Sea Anemone Inside Of Me Is Mighty
Polk Records
Street: 02.01
Ferocious Eagle = Deerhoof + Hella – The hoof and the hell
"Jam bam," "hammy-ham hands" and "jiggle-wiggle toss" effectively describe the sounds of Ferocious Eagle. The sea anemone inside of the rock trio is—like they say—mighty, although, it's also chockful of anxiety. Pummeling through the album with half-shouts about roundabouts (credit cards, Jesus, newspapers) and choppy, angular guitars, FE is like coffee on an empty stomach: a hot charge that nonetheless leaves you sweating in weird places and feeling irresolute. There's not much cohesion through the album nor in the songs themselves, but with song titles like "This Song Is A Train Wreck" and "I Just Don't Care," I have a feeling these guys are content with rocking like dinosaurs. –Senator Spencer