One of the purposes of this blog was for me to spread around my crazy, half baked, infecting, biased opinions on bands and their so called life work. For my first review, I'm going to tackle Anberlin's new 4th album, New Surrender. If you know a little background and recent news about Anberlin, you can probably guess what the album sounds like, but if you don't, lemme fill you in.
Cities was great. For a technical indie band of their type, Anberlin put together a more than solid effort toward it. So good, that they were signed by one of the four goons, Universal to be exact, so all you Tooth and Nail hippies can put on your emo V-neck and wish for the days when there was a chance that the new album would be bad.
So I guess it's safe to say that Anberlin is at their Everest, and New Surrender is the flag on the peak. They have perfected who they are. The album is everything you expect from Anberlin, but with the trappings of the producer who brought you Yellowcard. The first few licks on the album make a point to showcase the new guitarist Christian McAlhaney. "The Resistance" is a typical anthem, with a particularly strong ending. Along with the opening track comes other hard hitters like "Breaking". Of course, there's also the other side of Anberlin, the almost soulfull heart-felt mild songs that rebuke culture and issues.
These songs are the only reason I hold out on becoming a die-hard fan. They cliche themselves, if that makes sense. It almost as if it is insincere. If I hear a Rise Against song, I feel that they mean what they say when they warn of me of broken love and evil Starbucks lattes, but when Anberlin warns me of "paper tigers", I lose sleep trying to think of where the line came from. They've got no where to go, so they're burning up their own image. Yea, the album is wonderful. In fact, go get it, now, errr... well, 5 days from now., but I feel that its lacking a lot of heart. The words are meaningful and backed by pop-rock magic, but they feel hollow. I'd rather enjoy the latte, cause Anberlin isn't going to make me regret it.
Back to the album, "The Feel Good Drag" gets a makeover, though its only cosmetic. Very simple changes like a new intro give the album a first single. Stephen Christian stated that the song didn't get the chance it deserved and that he wanted to give the new guitarist some ownership on the album, but I bet they wanted to make sure there was a strong single, and with their newfound friends at Universal, they had the production power to put the song on steriods. The song has been in top ten lists on Satellite radio, but I've yet to hear it down here on Earth, and BTW: I miss the screaming in the bridge.... badly, but alas, the worlds wants RFUS's. "Soft Skeletons" is by far the darkest on this record and unlike some other tunes, has real emotion behind it. I have a hunch I might know who its about, but I may be wrong. Indie soliloquies remid us that the end is near on "Misearbile Visu (Ex Malo Bonum)". "The sun will turn dark very soonYour days are numbered when there's blood on the moon" says Christian, but whats the fun in that? No more album sales for Universal? I think thats a breach of contract. Other than the doomsday lyrics, song with strange name that means "wonderful by the sight (from bad comes good)" is one of my favorites. It is the follow up to *(Fin) and a good one at that. After reading several interviews, I think that the song ends the album exactly how they wanted it. It's one of those 6 minute songs that leaves a very specific, yet hard to explain emotion with you.
In conclusion, I believe this is the end of Anberlin as we know them. No, I doubt they will disband, not when they're on top of Everest, but their style has changed little since the beginning, yes, they've matured and shifted, but the Anberlin formula is the same. I highly doubt that they will aim a 5th album in the same direction. I can't guarantee an overhaul of their style, but something's gotta give. If they bank on keeping up their style on the next one, I doubt people willl be talking about them as much as they are now. But until they wear out their welcome (which is a compliment), go buy the album.... on Tuesday that is.
Final Grade=82
Vocals/Lyrics: 17
Music: 17
Production: 19
Creativity: 14
Value (Was it worth the listen?): 15
1 comment:
you are one complex person, walt. i mean, i already knew that, but this just confirms it.
so, did you really like this? i don't know. you're review is a little jumpy, so i couldn't really tell. the score at the end helped a little. jake's been trying to get me into anberlin, and...i dunno. i have a couple of songs from all their albums, andi have all of cities. have yet to listen though. do you think i would begin to like it? maybe not? i don't know.
big fan of the blog...think it's very well designed. a little jealous. : - )
*shweet*
emilea
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