He released the album 'Felt' on 4th August 2009.
Saturday, 28 August 2010
Anchor & Braille
Anchor & Braille is Stephen Christian's acoustic side-project. It started when he looked through the work he had written and he realised that he had a large amount that he could not use for Anberlin, either because it just didn't go with the genre or because it felt too personal to him to share with the others and on such a big scale as Anberlin's fan-base.
He released the album 'Felt' on 4th August 2009.
He released the album 'Felt' on 4th August 2009.
The Orphaned Anything's
An “I'm up, what more do you want from me?” sticker hideously controls the back of Ayden Kosacov’s bedroom door. In his mind what started as a joke is slowly becoming his "glorious and underrated mantra".
Ayden Kosacov is alive, and that is about all you can say. In the throws of a mundane and jejune life Ayden is slowly coming to the realization that if all his world is a stage than he wouldn’t care if he did or did not miss the final scenes. Through an almost "accidental" suicide attempt and the recovery that soon follows, Ayden learns that there is more to living than just being alive. Finding his way through diverse experiences and people he comes to terms with God, his family, and finally himself.
The synopsis for Stephen Christian's 2008 memoir. It is the story of a 'lesser known' and his journey to finding that there is more to living than being alive.
It is written in an odd, un-punctuated way... which I, personally found difficult to get my head around. The read leaves you thinking.
Christian wrote a track list to go along with reading the novel...
- Doves - "Black and White Town (from the album Some Cities)
- The Stills - "Gender Bombs" (from the album Logic Will Break Your Heart)
- Death Cab for Cutie - "Transatlanticism" (from the album Transatlanticism)
- Rogue Wave - "Love's Lost Guarantee" (from the album Descended Like Vultures)
- Sigur Rós - "Starálfur" (from the album Hvarf/Heim)
- Damien Rice - "Blower's Daughter" (from the album O)
- The Innocence Mission - "Happy Birthday" (from the album We Walked in Song)
- Rachel's - "Family Portrait" (from the album Music for Egon Schiele)
- Bloc Party - "Kreuzberg" (from the album A Weekend in the City)
- Animal Collective - "Did You See the Words" (from the album Feels)
- Codeseven - "Roped and Tied" (from the album Dancing Echoes/Dead Sounds)
- Blonde Redhead - "Elephant Woman" (from the album Misery Is a Butterfly)
- The Sea and Cake - "Sporting Life" (from the album The Fawn)
- Feist - "Brandy Alexander" (from the album The Reminder)
- Radiohead - "Videotape" (from the album In Rainbows)
- Ryan Adams - "Two" (from the album Easy Tiger)
- Nico - "These Days" (from the album Chelsea Girl)
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Faceless International - Promotional Video
]
"this is the correlation of salvation and love" - The Unwinding Cable Car - Anberlin
"this is the correlation of salvation and love" - The Unwinding Cable Car - Anberlin
Monday, 23 August 2010
Faceless International - The causes
KIVA - connecting people through lending to alleviate poverty. It joins up generous people who are capable of lending money to entrepreneurs who need the help across the globe. It has helped people with over $1million in loans.
MADE BY SURVIVORS - An organisation who get survivors of human trafficking to create jewellery, clothes and bags and sell them on. All the money goes to helping the survivors of trafficking.
STOP THE TRAFFIK - A charity who help with the issue of trafficking, trying to eradicate it at the same time as raising awareness worldwide.
FREE THE SLAVES - A charity who help free people in slavery, and help them stay free.
DIVINE CHOCOLATE - A company selling fair-trade chocolate
LAND OF A THOUSAND HILLS - A company selling fair-trade coffee.
END SLAVERY IN TENNESSEE AND BEYOND - An organization who's mission is to foster slave-free communities through prevention, education and community engagement.
COMMUNITY COALITION AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING - preventing human trafficking in 55 counties in eastern Tennessee.
Faceless International
Faceless International is a non-profit organisation that are focused on fighting human traficking and modern-day slavery. It was co-founded by Christian along with two friends Seth Cain and Sarah Freeman.
"Faceless International aims to defend the plight of exploited people worldwide who have gone faceless and unknown for far too long. We exist to raise awareness about social issues happening throughout the global community. We provide first hand experience and education through trips around the world and solution-based opportunities through regional resources."
It was formed when the three friends went on a humanitarian trip to Haiti, where they realized not only what a positive impact the trip had on them, but on the others with them. The organization was formed there and then in Jacmel.
Stephen
Seth
Sarah
Sunday, 22 August 2010
Stephen Christian
Stephen Christian was born on 28th July 1980 in Kalamazoo in Michigan. After finishing school with fellow bandmates he went on to form SaGoh 24/7 and subsequently Anberlin (who, by now, you should be pretty well acquainted with).
A massive inspiration of his is his brother Paul who got a batchelor's degree in Philosophy. The conversations they shared formed a lot of Stephen's future.
He also is a co-founder of a charity called Faceless International, wrote a novel called The Orphaned Anything's and has a blog which inspires millions.
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
Stephen Christian
Stephen Christian is one of my biggest inspirations, my hero if you must. And, as cheesy as it sounds, has got me through a lot of tough times with his blogs, his lyrics and his novel. And this is why I chose Anberlin and specifically Stephen Christian as something that I think is 'good'.
I realised even just looking at my blogs from last year are each named after something he has said, either in a lyric, or an extract from his blog which I have followed since the start.
His strong belief in christianity goes through every thing he does, but he does not press it upon people, as shown in the arguments that he is not trying to preach through Anberlin, it is just part of his life.
The way he writes, very limited punctuation, but highly inspirational words really gets to me.
And on we go with the research...
Friday, 13 August 2010
The Results of the quiz
1) So have you heard of Anberlin?
22 said yes
28 said no
2) Are you a fan?
14 said yes
36 said no
3) At what point did you hear of the band?
2 said in 2003 with 'Blueprints for the Black Market'
4 said in 2005 with 'Never Take Friendship Personal'
7 said in 2007 with 'Cities'
8 said in 2008 with 'New Surrender'
2 said in 2010 with 'Dark is the Way, Light is a Place
4) Which is your favourite album?
1 said 'Blueprints for the Black Market'
3 said 'Never Take Friendship Personal'
9 said 'Cities'
6 said 'New Surrender'
3 said 'Dark is the Way, Light is a place'
5) Have you noticed any progression in both the music and the lyrics in the time that you have known them?
0 people said no
all 22 said yes
6) Have you ever seen them live?
13 said yes
9 said no
Anberlin - What the people think. The Questionnaire
So i asked 50 people a few questions regarding the band... and what they think about it and the way they have progressed through the years... these were the questions.
1) So have you heard of Anberlin?
i)yes?
ii)no?
2) Are you a fan?
i) yes
ii) no
3) At what point did you hear of the band?
i)Blueprints for the Black Market? (2003)
ii)Never Take Friendship Personal? (2005)
iii)Cities? (2007)
iv)New Surrender> (2008)
v)Dark is the Way, Light is a Place? (2010)
4) Which is your favourite album?
5) Have you noticed any progression in both the music and the lyrics in the time that you have known them?
i) yes both
ii) yes the music
iii) yes the lyrics
6) Have you ever seen them live?
i) yes
ii)no
Interview with Stephen Christian about Dark is the way, Light is a place
When we last spoke, you said you were considering leaving Los Angeles. Now I see you’re based out of Nashville.
I did, and it was for the best. I loved LA. But the fact is, when you tour nine, ten months a year and you’re paying that kind of rent but not enjoying it, it’s kind of like, ah, it’s time to move on. So for the time being I’m in Nashville, and it’s been exceptional as far as the rent is cheap and there’s some great writers out there. So when I’ve got some time off I’ve been writing with a few bands and stuff. I’m not opposed to moving back to LA, because every time I go back there I miss it so much. But for now, Nashville is home.
You made the new album in Nashville.
Yes. Ironically enough, when I moved there I had no idea the new record was going to be made there. Brendan O’Brien came to us and said “Listen, you guys get to choose, I don’t care where we do it, we can either do it in LA or Nashville, but I want one or the other. And so the band talked, and we had done New Surrender in LA, and it was just a really bad experience. It’s really hard to get into the creative mood and let the spirit move you, per se, when you’re stuck in an hour and a half traffic getting there and an hour and a half home. We never felt like we could quite get into a groove in LA, so we were like, you know what? I like LA but let’s try Nashville. If it doesn’t work out we’ll go back to LA for the next one. And Nashville just turned out to be perfect.
Brendan O’Brien is one of the biggest name producers in the industry, but I know you didn’t choose him just because he’s a big name. What specifically were you looking to get out of working with Brendan?
I think the biggest thing is that because of the caliber of musicians that he’s worked with, we felt like he was the natural next progression as to who we should go with. We felt like, listen, if anybody can take us and challenge us and shape us into the musicians we want to be, you’ve got to go with a producer like that, that’s very hands-on, that’s blunt and honest, and knows what he’s looking for. When we were discussing producers we didn’t even talk about Brendan O’Brien because we felt like he was just absolutely out of our league. He wasn’t even on our top ten because we thought “Yeah, right.” He had just won the Grammy for Producer of the Year, two Grammys, for Producer of the Year and for the AC/DC record. We never thought in a million years.
And then here comes a knock on our bus in Atlanta, Georgia when we were traveling through on tour, and it’s Brendan O’Brien. “Hey, I want to do all the rest of your records from here on out.” And we were like well, that kind of makes the decision for you. You don’t go back to that top ten list.
Brendan loves to pick up an instrument and play on people’s albums when he can. Did you let him do that, or did you keep him away from the guitars?
He was in very minor things such as percussion. There was a very percussion heavy song on this record, he joined in there. And actually he sang some harmony parts with me on two songs. So he definitely had a little hand in there somewhere, but I think our guitarists are pretty exceptional. But even in pre-production, when we were running through the record, he blew our minds because we would all five be in a room, and we’d all be at our instruments. He would listen to the song once and then go to a keyboard, play exactly what we had just shown him for the first time, and go “Okay, here’s what I want you to do. I want you to improve by changing it here, here, here, here, and here.” And we were like oh my gosh, he only heard the song once, and he was at the keyboard translating it and making it better.
Every time I think you’re going in an inspirational direction, you go the other way, like “Feel Good Drag” or when it’s the other way, “Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place.” It seems like you enjoy twisting the sentiment in the middle of a phrase to where you don’t know whether it’s positive or negative.
Yeah, I do. I don’t know if that’s on purpose of just kind of subconscious. I feel like that title kind of was a summation of every song on that record. It may be dark and heavy in the song, but the lyrics are sobering and heavy, just a feeling of heaviness. But at the end, it’s still a hopeful record. And so when I was reading poetry by Dylan Thomas, I felt like every work of his, every poem, was the same exact way. He would start out and curse God, and I hate God, and I don’t even believe in God, but at the end of the poem he’s just like, and now I’m going to pray to God and say thanks. Or he’d be like this life sucks, it’s over, but I love it. It’s just kind of like, what are you doing? And so it was only fitting that I read through one of his poems called Happy Birthday, as the title suggests, he wrote on his birthday, about how life sucks. But during the midst of it, he gave this hopeful word, like “dark is the way, but light is a place” and it just kind of felt like, woah, that’s the summation of my record as well. It just feels like at moments it’s sobering and heavy, and at other moments it’s just hopeful and melodic.
It feels like there’s that vibe in the lead single. I listen to Impossible, and I’ve heard every word of it, and I still can’t make up my mind whether it’s actually saying this relationship is over, or it’s saying no it’s not over.
Absolutely. And it’s kind of like, I don’t want to say choose your own adventure books, but it’s kind of like one of those things like, what mood are you in, and when you listen to it, that’s what you’re going to get out of it. If you had just got out of a relationship and that person broke your heart, then you’re gonna hear Impossible one way. But if you’re on top of the world, and you’re in the trenches of and in the midst of your relationship with this person and you’re in love, Impossible is going to be such a positive thing. I’m never gonna leave you, I’m in love with you, thanks for sticking it out with me, and that’s the summation of it.
You’ve got a song in the new Tap Tap game. Are there any other iPhone apps that are jumping out at you lately?
What I’ve done is I’ve set up my new iPhone, I’ve got the new iPhone 4, into different boxes as far as utilities and stuff like that. So I’ve got a “tour” folder, and that has Vicinity and Yelp. I think I did a review of Vicinity for you once. But being international, the best one is Skype phone. It’s really handy as far as being able to call back home. There’s also Truphone that works off wifi. And then obviously for the band world, Facebook and the Twitter app are essential to keep in communication with fans. But as far as travel, I’ve been using iTranslate. There’s also a free wifi connection and a converter. Those three have been so handy on this trip, being over in Europe, that I can find the free wifi, I can translate and get around as far as what kind of meal I’m about to order, and then the converter to figure out how bad our dollar is doing compared to every other currency around the world [laughs]. But my favorite app that I am addicted to right now is called Hipstamatic, and it just basically turns my amateur-hour photography, I think I did a review awhile back for you of CameraBag, but this one is even better. It’s kind of like CameraBag 2.0. It’s called Hipstamatic, and it goes through and you can set your film, you can set your camera, and it takes high-res pictures, which unfortunately on CameraBag and the old iPhone, you would try to print out an old iPhone picture and it would just be very grainy and low quality. But with the iPhone 4 and the improvements they’ve done there and the megapixels and this new Hipstamatic, you can come out with very, very professional looking, awesome looking pictures.
Anberlin is playing in Berlin. Do people in Berlin gravitate toward you because of the similar names?
We’ve never played Berlin, so you call me back in two days and I’ll let you know if it is or not. And I still can’t figure out if it’s cheesy to get up there and go “Ich bin ein Berliner,” so I don’t know. I’m sure if I’m gonna say it or not. But I’ll let you know about that too.
Do you have a sense of which song might be the next single, or what the candidates might be?
There’s a few candidates, but I have no idea. Right now it looks like We Owe This To Ourselves might be, or Closer, one of those. If those take off, hopefully we’ll get a few more singles on the radio. But who knows? The music world is so fickle, you could be here today and gone tomorrow.
I did, and it was for the best. I loved LA. But the fact is, when you tour nine, ten months a year and you’re paying that kind of rent but not enjoying it, it’s kind of like, ah, it’s time to move on. So for the time being I’m in Nashville, and it’s been exceptional as far as the rent is cheap and there’s some great writers out there. So when I’ve got some time off I’ve been writing with a few bands and stuff. I’m not opposed to moving back to LA, because every time I go back there I miss it so much. But for now, Nashville is home.
You made the new album in Nashville.
Yes. Ironically enough, when I moved there I had no idea the new record was going to be made there. Brendan O’Brien came to us and said “Listen, you guys get to choose, I don’t care where we do it, we can either do it in LA or Nashville, but I want one or the other. And so the band talked, and we had done New Surrender in LA, and it was just a really bad experience. It’s really hard to get into the creative mood and let the spirit move you, per se, when you’re stuck in an hour and a half traffic getting there and an hour and a half home. We never felt like we could quite get into a groove in LA, so we were like, you know what? I like LA but let’s try Nashville. If it doesn’t work out we’ll go back to LA for the next one. And Nashville just turned out to be perfect.
Brendan O’Brien is one of the biggest name producers in the industry, but I know you didn’t choose him just because he’s a big name. What specifically were you looking to get out of working with Brendan?
I think the biggest thing is that because of the caliber of musicians that he’s worked with, we felt like he was the natural next progression as to who we should go with. We felt like, listen, if anybody can take us and challenge us and shape us into the musicians we want to be, you’ve got to go with a producer like that, that’s very hands-on, that’s blunt and honest, and knows what he’s looking for. When we were discussing producers we didn’t even talk about Brendan O’Brien because we felt like he was just absolutely out of our league. He wasn’t even on our top ten because we thought “Yeah, right.” He had just won the Grammy for Producer of the Year, two Grammys, for Producer of the Year and for the AC/DC record. We never thought in a million years.
And then here comes a knock on our bus in Atlanta, Georgia when we were traveling through on tour, and it’s Brendan O’Brien. “Hey, I want to do all the rest of your records from here on out.” And we were like well, that kind of makes the decision for you. You don’t go back to that top ten list.
Brendan loves to pick up an instrument and play on people’s albums when he can. Did you let him do that, or did you keep him away from the guitars?
He was in very minor things such as percussion. There was a very percussion heavy song on this record, he joined in there. And actually he sang some harmony parts with me on two songs. So he definitely had a little hand in there somewhere, but I think our guitarists are pretty exceptional. But even in pre-production, when we were running through the record, he blew our minds because we would all five be in a room, and we’d all be at our instruments. He would listen to the song once and then go to a keyboard, play exactly what we had just shown him for the first time, and go “Okay, here’s what I want you to do. I want you to improve by changing it here, here, here, here, and here.” And we were like oh my gosh, he only heard the song once, and he was at the keyboard translating it and making it better.
Every time I think you’re going in an inspirational direction, you go the other way, like “Feel Good Drag” or when it’s the other way, “Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place.” It seems like you enjoy twisting the sentiment in the middle of a phrase to where you don’t know whether it’s positive or negative.
Yeah, I do. I don’t know if that’s on purpose of just kind of subconscious. I feel like that title kind of was a summation of every song on that record. It may be dark and heavy in the song, but the lyrics are sobering and heavy, just a feeling of heaviness. But at the end, it’s still a hopeful record. And so when I was reading poetry by Dylan Thomas, I felt like every work of his, every poem, was the same exact way. He would start out and curse God, and I hate God, and I don’t even believe in God, but at the end of the poem he’s just like, and now I’m going to pray to God and say thanks. Or he’d be like this life sucks, it’s over, but I love it. It’s just kind of like, what are you doing? And so it was only fitting that I read through one of his poems called Happy Birthday, as the title suggests, he wrote on his birthday, about how life sucks. But during the midst of it, he gave this hopeful word, like “dark is the way, but light is a place” and it just kind of felt like, woah, that’s the summation of my record as well. It just feels like at moments it’s sobering and heavy, and at other moments it’s just hopeful and melodic.
It feels like there’s that vibe in the lead single. I listen to Impossible, and I’ve heard every word of it, and I still can’t make up my mind whether it’s actually saying this relationship is over, or it’s saying no it’s not over.
Absolutely. And it’s kind of like, I don’t want to say choose your own adventure books, but it’s kind of like one of those things like, what mood are you in, and when you listen to it, that’s what you’re going to get out of it. If you had just got out of a relationship and that person broke your heart, then you’re gonna hear Impossible one way. But if you’re on top of the world, and you’re in the trenches of and in the midst of your relationship with this person and you’re in love, Impossible is going to be such a positive thing. I’m never gonna leave you, I’m in love with you, thanks for sticking it out with me, and that’s the summation of it.
You’ve got a song in the new Tap Tap game. Are there any other iPhone apps that are jumping out at you lately?
What I’ve done is I’ve set up my new iPhone, I’ve got the new iPhone 4, into different boxes as far as utilities and stuff like that. So I’ve got a “tour” folder, and that has Vicinity and Yelp. I think I did a review of Vicinity for you once. But being international, the best one is Skype phone. It’s really handy as far as being able to call back home. There’s also Truphone that works off wifi. And then obviously for the band world, Facebook and the Twitter app are essential to keep in communication with fans. But as far as travel, I’ve been using iTranslate. There’s also a free wifi connection and a converter. Those three have been so handy on this trip, being over in Europe, that I can find the free wifi, I can translate and get around as far as what kind of meal I’m about to order, and then the converter to figure out how bad our dollar is doing compared to every other currency around the world [laughs]. But my favorite app that I am addicted to right now is called Hipstamatic, and it just basically turns my amateur-hour photography, I think I did a review awhile back for you of CameraBag, but this one is even better. It’s kind of like CameraBag 2.0. It’s called Hipstamatic, and it goes through and you can set your film, you can set your camera, and it takes high-res pictures, which unfortunately on CameraBag and the old iPhone, you would try to print out an old iPhone picture and it would just be very grainy and low quality. But with the iPhone 4 and the improvements they’ve done there and the megapixels and this new Hipstamatic, you can come out with very, very professional looking, awesome looking pictures.
Anberlin is playing in Berlin. Do people in Berlin gravitate toward you because of the similar names?
We’ve never played Berlin, so you call me back in two days and I’ll let you know if it is or not. And I still can’t figure out if it’s cheesy to get up there and go “Ich bin ein Berliner,” so I don’t know. I’m sure if I’m gonna say it or not. But I’ll let you know about that too.
Do you have a sense of which song might be the next single, or what the candidates might be?
There’s a few candidates, but I have no idea. Right now it looks like We Owe This To Ourselves might be, or Closer, one of those. If those take off, hopefully we’ll get a few more singles on the radio. But who knows? The music world is so fickle, you could be here today and gone tomorrow.
DARK IS THE WAY, LIGHT IS A PLACE - SPUTNIKMUSIC REVIEW
I have to admit that I approached Dark is the Way, Light is a Place with a considerable amount of doubt. There are few times in which I can recall a band proclaiming their upcoming work to be their “darkest and heaviest yet” or making some similarly brash prediction without seeing it crash and burn within the wreckage ignited by their own arrogance. Naturally, when Stephen Christian announced that their fifth LP would be “darker and edgier” than prior releases, painting a picture of a magnum opus, I stood unwavering within my stubbornness and reasonable speculation that this would be an unsuccessful attempt at Cities meets New Surrender. Thankfully, Anberlin had the motivation and skill to prove me – along with a slew of other doubters – completely wrong.
On Dark is the Way, Light is a Place, Anberlin flawlessly combines their staple sound with experimental elements ranging from traces of U2 (“Impossible”) to a Jimmy Eat World vibe across several of the album’s later tracks (notably “To The Wolves” and “Depraved”). Perhaps the most impressive feat accomplished here is the band’s ability to mix together all of these musical ideas and turn out something that is both fresh and possessing a sound that is wholly Anberlin. The band’s best and most endearing traits remain intact – Christian’s vocals are as strong as ever, alternating between atmospheric howls and moderately aggressive growling. The guitar work is quite solid throughout, creating peaks of emotional grandeur and breathtaking valleys that will help the listener get caught up in every second of the journey. They still have those “diamond in the rough” tracks that qualify as “good finds”, but the irony is that there is really no “rough” on the album. Dark is the Way, Light is a Place is a consecutive string of gems, with no disconcerting interruptions to make you question the band’s intentions or the thematic direction of the record. As a result, we have Anberlin’s most consistent album to date.
As I alluded to before, Dark is the Way, Light is a Place is one of those albums that qualifies as an experience. The flow from track to track is both smooth and sweet, with virtually no uncomfortable gaps or moments of filler, making the album feel like an intimate travel through the soundwaves created by each carefully crafted bridge and chorus. From the nearly perfect one-two punch of opening tracks “We Owe This To Ourselves” and “Impossible”, to the thunderous drum beats and compelling lyrics of “Pray Tell”, the album offers quite the intriguing listen. Closers “Depraved” and “All We Have” highlight the album’s final moments, with a heavily emotional aura and epic production. Anberlin accomplishes an unmatched flow in a variety of ways, but the most obvious explanation is that, during the recording of the album, they were simply in the zone. If there was any doubt about the band’s direction after the polarizing, streamlined New Surrender, those concerns have be put to rest. They are clearly on top of their game, and have produced three straight critically acclaimed albums to prove it.
Dark is the Way, Light is a Place is the sound of Anberlin gaining momentum, with no intentions of slowing down. It may not obliterate memories of Cities, but it is just what Anberlin needed to show fans that they can mature gracefully while simultaneously bringing new ideas to the table. Best of all, the new ideas they concocted have clearly elevated them to a whole new level of success – one that will pack arenas while also staying true to the most loyal of fans.
On Dark is the Way, Light is a Place, Anberlin flawlessly combines their staple sound with experimental elements ranging from traces of U2 (“Impossible”) to a Jimmy Eat World vibe across several of the album’s later tracks (notably “To The Wolves” and “Depraved”). Perhaps the most impressive feat accomplished here is the band’s ability to mix together all of these musical ideas and turn out something that is both fresh and possessing a sound that is wholly Anberlin. The band’s best and most endearing traits remain intact – Christian’s vocals are as strong as ever, alternating between atmospheric howls and moderately aggressive growling. The guitar work is quite solid throughout, creating peaks of emotional grandeur and breathtaking valleys that will help the listener get caught up in every second of the journey. They still have those “diamond in the rough” tracks that qualify as “good finds”, but the irony is that there is really no “rough” on the album. Dark is the Way, Light is a Place is a consecutive string of gems, with no disconcerting interruptions to make you question the band’s intentions or the thematic direction of the record. As a result, we have Anberlin’s most consistent album to date.
As I alluded to before, Dark is the Way, Light is a Place is one of those albums that qualifies as an experience. The flow from track to track is both smooth and sweet, with virtually no uncomfortable gaps or moments of filler, making the album feel like an intimate travel through the soundwaves created by each carefully crafted bridge and chorus. From the nearly perfect one-two punch of opening tracks “We Owe This To Ourselves” and “Impossible”, to the thunderous drum beats and compelling lyrics of “Pray Tell”, the album offers quite the intriguing listen. Closers “Depraved” and “All We Have” highlight the album’s final moments, with a heavily emotional aura and epic production. Anberlin accomplishes an unmatched flow in a variety of ways, but the most obvious explanation is that, during the recording of the album, they were simply in the zone. If there was any doubt about the band’s direction after the polarizing, streamlined New Surrender, those concerns have be put to rest. They are clearly on top of their game, and have produced three straight critically acclaimed albums to prove it.
Dark is the Way, Light is a Place is the sound of Anberlin gaining momentum, with no intentions of slowing down. It may not obliterate memories of Cities, but it is just what Anberlin needed to show fans that they can mature gracefully while simultaneously bringing new ideas to the table. Best of all, the new ideas they concocted have clearly elevated them to a whole new level of success – one that will pack arenas while also staying true to the most loyal of fans.
DARK IS THE WAY, LIGHT IS A PLACE - ABSOLUTEPUNK REVIEW
Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place is more than a title. It’s more than a reference to the Dylan Thomas work Poem On His Birthday. It’s more than a statement or theme. Rather, Anberlin’s fifth studio album (and second for Universal Republic) is a journey through your psyche, your deepest and darkest thoughts. It’s a place where the themes of life, love, pain, and disappointment duke it out, as lead man Stephen Christian explains that, “"Love is a friction, a chemistry. We need to fight it out in a good way, not with threats of leaving, but to, in love, find an understanding." On Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place, Christian and company try to find that understanding.
Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place is an emotionally gripping album that will channel your innermost feelings. It’s dark, aggressive, and heavy, but not in the “blazing guitar riffs/power chords/huge crashing cymbals” kind you’re imagining in your head. Sure, opener “We Owe This To Ourselves” falls in that category, but the album is much more than that sound. The Florida quintet exclaimed that this was "the best record that we can ever accomplish," and that the band was basically in the zone. And you hear that on songs like first single “Impossible.” The laid-back rhythm really brings out Christian’s stunning vocals, while the nicely-executed guitar riff that appears on the bridge will draw comparisons to Jimmy Eat World. Eventually the chorus buys up some property in your head, and that is when you realize how massive the song is. Two songs in and we need to catch our breath already.
Right on cue, “Take Me (As You Found Me)” shows up as a throwback to the mid 90’s pop ballad. You know the one that you secretly loved in grade school and wouldn’t change the dial when it popped up on that one morning radio show. The haunting “Closer” flexes the guitar chords over one of the heavier choruses, while Christian’s vocals soar over a beautiful melodic breakdown during the bridge. That song begins the very strong middle portion of Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place, as the band expands their musical boundaries with the rhythmic clap/stomping of “Pray Tell.” The thick, harsh guitar chords are paced by the syncopated beat produced by drummer Nathan Young and bassit Deon Rexroat. “Pray Tell” is just one of many musical achievements on this record.
Anberlin picks up the pace with the eerie “Art of War.” The cold, industrial sound clashes with the warm, gentle nature of Christian’s voice, thus creating a beautiful contrast. Lyrically, Christian exposes a lot here, declaring that, “there are songs I’ll never write/because of you walking out of my life/there are words that don’t belong/because of you I’ll never write another love song.” You can hear the pain over the delicate melody of the song, but quickly that pain turns into aggression on “To The Wolves.” Angry guitar riffs and chords flash throughout the song, while Christian’s voice has some bite to it as he exclaims, “who needs enemies/when we got friends like you.” Older fans of Anberlin will eat this song up, as it is a definite album highlight.
As I mentioned earlier, Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place is a journey. And closer “Depraved” is the culmination. The slow build-up is a trait we’ve come to expect with recent Anberlin album closers, and this is no different. It rises and falls between calm and chaos, as Christian’s voice toys with our ears. Finally, the perfect storm arrives, as a flurry of sound crashes into your ear canal. The track brings the journey full circle. The album features some of Christian’s bleakest lyrics yet, but also some of his most encouraging: it’s a walk through the good and the bad. “Depraved” sends the message of picking yourself up and rising to the challenges one faces in life.
It’s fairly apparent throughout the album that Anberlin was definitely in their element, asDark Is The Way, Light Is A Place is exactly what mainstream music needed: a challenging and engaging rock and roll album anyone can relate to. Their songwriting and musicianship have never been better. This is a record meant to soar in arenas, but not in a way that will alienate loyal fans. No matter where you’ve been in life or where you are heading, Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place will serve as the perfect companion.
Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place is an emotionally gripping album that will channel your innermost feelings. It’s dark, aggressive, and heavy, but not in the “blazing guitar riffs/power chords/huge crashing cymbals” kind you’re imagining in your head. Sure, opener “We Owe This To Ourselves” falls in that category, but the album is much more than that sound. The Florida quintet exclaimed that this was "the best record that we can ever accomplish," and that the band was basically in the zone. And you hear that on songs like first single “Impossible.” The laid-back rhythm really brings out Christian’s stunning vocals, while the nicely-executed guitar riff that appears on the bridge will draw comparisons to Jimmy Eat World. Eventually the chorus buys up some property in your head, and that is when you realize how massive the song is. Two songs in and we need to catch our breath already.
Right on cue, “Take Me (As You Found Me)” shows up as a throwback to the mid 90’s pop ballad. You know the one that you secretly loved in grade school and wouldn’t change the dial when it popped up on that one morning radio show. The haunting “Closer” flexes the guitar chords over one of the heavier choruses, while Christian’s vocals soar over a beautiful melodic breakdown during the bridge. That song begins the very strong middle portion of Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place, as the band expands their musical boundaries with the rhythmic clap/stomping of “Pray Tell.” The thick, harsh guitar chords are paced by the syncopated beat produced by drummer Nathan Young and bassit Deon Rexroat. “Pray Tell” is just one of many musical achievements on this record.
Anberlin picks up the pace with the eerie “Art of War.” The cold, industrial sound clashes with the warm, gentle nature of Christian’s voice, thus creating a beautiful contrast. Lyrically, Christian exposes a lot here, declaring that, “there are songs I’ll never write/because of you walking out of my life/there are words that don’t belong/because of you I’ll never write another love song.” You can hear the pain over the delicate melody of the song, but quickly that pain turns into aggression on “To The Wolves.” Angry guitar riffs and chords flash throughout the song, while Christian’s voice has some bite to it as he exclaims, “who needs enemies/when we got friends like you.” Older fans of Anberlin will eat this song up, as it is a definite album highlight.
As I mentioned earlier, Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place is a journey. And closer “Depraved” is the culmination. The slow build-up is a trait we’ve come to expect with recent Anberlin album closers, and this is no different. It rises and falls between calm and chaos, as Christian’s voice toys with our ears. Finally, the perfect storm arrives, as a flurry of sound crashes into your ear canal. The track brings the journey full circle. The album features some of Christian’s bleakest lyrics yet, but also some of his most encouraging: it’s a walk through the good and the bad. “Depraved” sends the message of picking yourself up and rising to the challenges one faces in life.
It’s fairly apparent throughout the album that Anberlin was definitely in their element, asDark Is The Way, Light Is A Place is exactly what mainstream music needed: a challenging and engaging rock and roll album anyone can relate to. Their songwriting and musicianship have never been better. This is a record meant to soar in arenas, but not in a way that will alienate loyal fans. No matter where you’ve been in life or where you are heading, Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place will serve as the perfect companion.
DARK IS THE WAY, LIGHT IS A PLACE
Now the news that Anberlin were releasing another album on Universal Republic was probably was only second to the news that they are touring England in November in my most exciting moments of the year.
They took another change in direction, deciding to record and produce the album in Nashville with award-winning producer Brendon O'Brien, who had previously worked with bands such as Pearl Jam and Rage Against the Machine. He had followed Anberlin since the beginning, having being introduced to them by his daughter.
The title was taken from one of Christian's favourite poems 'Poem on his birthday' by Dylan Thomas.
And once again, the album is a progression from its successor in the maturity level. The band say themselves it is a lot darker than previous work. Talking about the battles in life and love, loss and depression. Stephen Christian said " love is a friction, a chemistry... we need to fight it out in a good way, not with threats of leaving, but to, in love, find an understanding".
The album has been out less than a week in the US but has already sold over 40, 000 copies, reaching number 2 on the iTunes chart. A complete turnaround to the beginning of the band's life.
1. We Owe this to Ourselves
2. Impossible
3. Take me (As you Found me)
4. Closer
5. You Belong Here
6. Pray Tell
7. The Art of War
8. To the Wolves
9. Down
10. Depraved
Monday, 9 August 2010
Anberlin - Feel Good Drag
This is the first single off the album 'New Surrender' it is a re-make of an old song off 'Never Take Friendship Personal'.
NEW SURRENDER - ABSOLUTEPUNK REVIEW
I was forced to deal with some devastating news: Anberlin has signed to a major label. Put on your black graphic tee and mourn. It’s time to un-bookmark their Myspace and Twitter pages. Well, at least until now there was the slim chance New Surrender would be terrible. Hell, I’d dump Jasmine in a heartbeat if it would make this album contain terrible ballads and safe, music-executive approved radio rock. They’d be back on an indie and they’d be all mine. Of course it’s just my luck that New Surrender rocks with the force of Blueprints and smarts of Never Take Friendship Personal. And worse still, Jasmine found out my father doesn’t own and never has owned a private island near Bermuda. If you need me, just listen for the sobs at Anberlin’s next packed arena concert.
It didn’t take the 10 billion listens I’ve given New Surrender to tell me this, but opening barnburners “The Resistance” and “Breaking” hit with such a precision that radio may actually collapse upon itself. Guitarists Joseph Milligan and new addition Christian McAlhaney pummel and delight with intricate fingerplay. Don’t snap my neck, but this is their record. Case in point, the last 20 seconds of “The Resistance” will spin you around with lightning fast shredding. As my colleague Rich Duncan would say, “Don’t piss your bed!”
Even though the faster songs satisfy the most, we’ve come to expect a certain level of care with the band’s thoughtfully paced rockers. “Retrace” is the first of these mid-tempo jams to bounce us on its knee with Deon Rexroat’s bass and Stephen Christian’s smooth delivery. Christian commands an orchestrated bridge with the lyrics, “Photographs, they haunt me lately / Chasing shadows as the evening takes me / I’m still searching but the picture’s fading.” Perfect ammo for an away message. “Breathe” also slow dances the listener with NTFP-era acoustic guitars and hugely contrasting bass drum kicks. Tinkling percussion, a downtrodden guitar solo and choral “Whoa Oh’s” – my kryptonite when it comes to tearing up - bring the song home in such a way that you’ll never get ballad-itis. Most upbeat rock bands can hide their lack of dynamism behind solos and speed. This song stands out in the open and allows the world to dissect its flaws. Good luck finding any.
OK, yeah, “Feel Good Drag”: not a whole lot has changed (see ya, screaming!), and in my opinion, this isn’t even the best single choice on New Surrender. However, despite its hard-hitting nature, there is just enough mystery to this song. I hardly expect a flop.
Perhaps “Younglife” (and happy-go-lucky “Haight St.” to an extent) is due to a fluke phase when the band wore turtlenecks and played broomball with their church youth group. The song sits stagnant despite fuzzily-produced drums and catchy “la la la’s.” Anberlin pick themselves back up, however, with “Soft Skeletons,” which happens to be one of the darkest songs of their career. Bending guitar segues, eerie electronic noises and Christian laying everything out on the line for lyrics like, “There’s life in your veins / These needles are chains to hold you down / How can you expect to win this war / If you’re too afraid to fight?” serve to wrap the listener in a hazy fog. If you’re not careful, this song will overpower you. Keep your composure, for although we have but one song left, it’s a monumental doozy.
As has been the norm for Anberlin, "Misearbile Visu (Ex Malo Bonum)" elongates their trusty formula and seriously turns up the emotion. The song’s apocalyptic subject matter (“The sun will turn dark very soon / Your days are numbered / When there’s blood on the moon”) only makes it more intense. Try to stay stoic once the track fully unleashes its onslaught of guitar solos and Vheissu-sized percussion. While “Misearbile…” may, at its core, be just another lengthy buildup number we’ve heard from the band before, it’s still wonderfully executed - especially lyrically - with drama and grace.
On second thought, a band like Anberlin winding up on the radio may actually save the medium. (Although, if “Misearbile Visu (Ex Malo Bonum)” winds up true, there won’t be much left to salvage.) New Surrender showcases a band still brimming with ideas, a band primed to finally see the audience it has so long deserved. Worry not, there’s plenty of Anberlin to go around.
It didn’t take the 10 billion listens I’ve given New Surrender to tell me this, but opening barnburners “The Resistance” and “Breaking” hit with such a precision that radio may actually collapse upon itself. Guitarists Joseph Milligan and new addition Christian McAlhaney pummel and delight with intricate fingerplay. Don’t snap my neck, but this is their record. Case in point, the last 20 seconds of “The Resistance” will spin you around with lightning fast shredding. As my colleague Rich Duncan would say, “Don’t piss your bed!”
Even though the faster songs satisfy the most, we’ve come to expect a certain level of care with the band’s thoughtfully paced rockers. “Retrace” is the first of these mid-tempo jams to bounce us on its knee with Deon Rexroat’s bass and Stephen Christian’s smooth delivery. Christian commands an orchestrated bridge with the lyrics, “Photographs, they haunt me lately / Chasing shadows as the evening takes me / I’m still searching but the picture’s fading.” Perfect ammo for an away message. “Breathe” also slow dances the listener with NTFP-era acoustic guitars and hugely contrasting bass drum kicks. Tinkling percussion, a downtrodden guitar solo and choral “Whoa Oh’s” – my kryptonite when it comes to tearing up - bring the song home in such a way that you’ll never get ballad-itis. Most upbeat rock bands can hide their lack of dynamism behind solos and speed. This song stands out in the open and allows the world to dissect its flaws. Good luck finding any.
OK, yeah, “Feel Good Drag”: not a whole lot has changed (see ya, screaming!), and in my opinion, this isn’t even the best single choice on New Surrender. However, despite its hard-hitting nature, there is just enough mystery to this song. I hardly expect a flop.
Perhaps “Younglife” (and happy-go-lucky “Haight St.” to an extent) is due to a fluke phase when the band wore turtlenecks and played broomball with their church youth group. The song sits stagnant despite fuzzily-produced drums and catchy “la la la’s.” Anberlin pick themselves back up, however, with “Soft Skeletons,” which happens to be one of the darkest songs of their career. Bending guitar segues, eerie electronic noises and Christian laying everything out on the line for lyrics like, “There’s life in your veins / These needles are chains to hold you down / How can you expect to win this war / If you’re too afraid to fight?” serve to wrap the listener in a hazy fog. If you’re not careful, this song will overpower you. Keep your composure, for although we have but one song left, it’s a monumental doozy.
As has been the norm for Anberlin, "Misearbile Visu (Ex Malo Bonum)" elongates their trusty formula and seriously turns up the emotion. The song’s apocalyptic subject matter (“The sun will turn dark very soon / Your days are numbered / When there’s blood on the moon”) only makes it more intense. Try to stay stoic once the track fully unleashes its onslaught of guitar solos and Vheissu-sized percussion. While “Misearbile…” may, at its core, be just another lengthy buildup number we’ve heard from the band before, it’s still wonderfully executed - especially lyrically - with drama and grace.
On second thought, a band like Anberlin winding up on the radio may actually save the medium. (Although, if “Misearbile Visu (Ex Malo Bonum)” winds up true, there won’t be much left to salvage.) New Surrender showcases a band still brimming with ideas, a band primed to finally see the audience it has so long deserved. Worry not, there’s plenty of Anberlin to go around.
NEW SURRENDER - SPUTNIKMUSIC REVIEW
Anberlin are one of the most surprising bands in music today. In theory, they seem fairly generic; they combine a heavier rock sound with the catchy hooks of pop-punk. But in practice, there's an x-factor in their music that elevates them above all of the other bands in mainstream rock. This x-factor isn't too easily identifiable; for my money the best answer would be the fact that they utilize devices that are seemingly inherently kitschy, but they somehow manage to present them in a way that is anything but cheesy or contrived. Sing-a-long style "la la's," hand claps, group vocals, and a children's choir have all been employed by Anberlin over the past few years, and they haven't made a misstep yet. Led by the ridiculously strong vocals of Stephen Christian, Anberlin will release New Surrender a week or so from now, and they deserve every bit of the praise that this album will hopefully garner.
If there was one problem with Cities, it was that there were one or two songs that didn't live up to the rest of the album. It was an understandable flaw - clearly Anberlin were still trying to gain their footing as a band that had recently gone from a fairly standard pop-punk sound to a more fleshed out sound that actually set them apart from other bands. On a few songs, it was apparent that they were still trying to capture some of the youthfulness of Never Take Friendship Personal while disregarding the fact that they had matured beyond that level. With New Surrender, they've rectified that problem with their strongest songwriting yet, and on a few tracks they even manage to bridge the gap between old Anberlin and new Anberlin effectively, something they couldn't quite manage to do on Cities. In short, New Surrender is the best Anberlin album yet - an album that shows an energetic, passionate band firing on all cylinders.
The most apparent comparison that can be made to the progression Anberlin have made is through the re-recording of Never Take Friendship Personal's "Feel Good Drag." Most saw the decision to re-record the song as a questionable move, but it turns out to be just the opposite. The song is now heavier (even without the screamed bridge; a great sign of their progression in songwriting) and more streamlined, doing away with some of the pointless nuances that made the track feel bogged down on Never Take Friendship Personal. It also couldn't have better placement in the tracklist; it fits perfectly with the new songs on the album. In short, that's New Surrender. It's Anberlin taking their previous sound and refining it, taking away unnecessary aspects and adding in the flair for straightforward yet impressively cohesive songwriting that they began to display on Cities.
Anberlin continue their trend of hard-hitting openers and epic closing tracks with this album. "The Resistance" somehow sounds even better than "Godspeed," one of the strongest tracks on Cities. The most predominant member of Anberlin has always been vocalist and lyricist Stephen Christian, who is easily one of the most talented vocalists in rock music. He commands a formidable range of lows and falsettos, and he sounds amazing on every song here, but on "The Resistance" in particular because he displays something that was rarely heard on earlier albums - aggression. He's always been an energetic singer, but here he sounds angry, as if he could spearhead a revolution, and that's something that's rarely, if ever, heard in rock music today. If it weren't for "(*Fin)", "The Resistance" would be his strongest vocal performance yet. "Misearbile Visu (Ex Malo Bonum)" is a bit different from typical Anberlin closing tracks. First, it's a bit shorter than both "(*Fin)" and "Dance, Dance Christa Paffgen," and it shows a remarkable amount of restraint by everyone in the band. Beginning with minimal drums and atmospheric guitar playing that back Christian's impressively morbid lyrics ("Your days are numbered when there's blood on the moon"), the track progresses from a subdued quiet into an absolutely huge arena rock chorus, and the song's conclusion will leave you breathless. While it may not be as amazing as "(*Fin)," it's a fitting conclusion to the record, and nothing the band does will likely ever match "(*Fin)" anyway.
Those two songs aren't the only standouts though. Additionally, "Younglife" is everything that a few tracks on Cities wished they could be, displaying both the innocent nature of Anberlin's first records and the matured songwriting of Cities. Guitarists Joseph Milligan and Christian McAlhaney shine here with gorgeous acoustic playing and sliding electric riffs in the chorus that weave around Stephen's vocals, and the transition into the sing-a-long section at the end of the track was an ingenious touch. The conclusion of "Retrace" brings a string section into the picture, elevating an already great track into one of the album's most triumphant moments. "Breathe" is a poignant acoustic track to match Cities' "Inevitable," and "Soft Skeletons" manages to be epic despite its four minute length.
New Surrender is basically everything that Anberlin fans could have hoped for. It's a natural progression from Cities, with a notable advance in songwriting and instrumental techniques. Stephen Christian's vocals are stronger than ever, and if there was ever any question as to whether he was a formidable frontman or not, he puts those doubts to rest here. New Surrender contains twelve of the strongest Anberlin songs yet; there isn't a weak track to be heard. The best part is that it's apparent that they aren't even close to burning out yet, and if they keep this up, their next album could be a masterpiece of modern rock music.
If there was one problem with Cities, it was that there were one or two songs that didn't live up to the rest of the album. It was an understandable flaw - clearly Anberlin were still trying to gain their footing as a band that had recently gone from a fairly standard pop-punk sound to a more fleshed out sound that actually set them apart from other bands. On a few songs, it was apparent that they were still trying to capture some of the youthfulness of Never Take Friendship Personal while disregarding the fact that they had matured beyond that level. With New Surrender, they've rectified that problem with their strongest songwriting yet, and on a few tracks they even manage to bridge the gap between old Anberlin and new Anberlin effectively, something they couldn't quite manage to do on Cities. In short, New Surrender is the best Anberlin album yet - an album that shows an energetic, passionate band firing on all cylinders.
The most apparent comparison that can be made to the progression Anberlin have made is through the re-recording of Never Take Friendship Personal's "Feel Good Drag." Most saw the decision to re-record the song as a questionable move, but it turns out to be just the opposite. The song is now heavier (even without the screamed bridge; a great sign of their progression in songwriting) and more streamlined, doing away with some of the pointless nuances that made the track feel bogged down on Never Take Friendship Personal. It also couldn't have better placement in the tracklist; it fits perfectly with the new songs on the album. In short, that's New Surrender. It's Anberlin taking their previous sound and refining it, taking away unnecessary aspects and adding in the flair for straightforward yet impressively cohesive songwriting that they began to display on Cities.
Anberlin continue their trend of hard-hitting openers and epic closing tracks with this album. "The Resistance" somehow sounds even better than "Godspeed," one of the strongest tracks on Cities. The most predominant member of Anberlin has always been vocalist and lyricist Stephen Christian, who is easily one of the most talented vocalists in rock music. He commands a formidable range of lows and falsettos, and he sounds amazing on every song here, but on "The Resistance" in particular because he displays something that was rarely heard on earlier albums - aggression. He's always been an energetic singer, but here he sounds angry, as if he could spearhead a revolution, and that's something that's rarely, if ever, heard in rock music today. If it weren't for "(*Fin)", "The Resistance" would be his strongest vocal performance yet. "Misearbile Visu (Ex Malo Bonum)" is a bit different from typical Anberlin closing tracks. First, it's a bit shorter than both "(*Fin)" and "Dance, Dance Christa Paffgen," and it shows a remarkable amount of restraint by everyone in the band. Beginning with minimal drums and atmospheric guitar playing that back Christian's impressively morbid lyrics ("Your days are numbered when there's blood on the moon"), the track progresses from a subdued quiet into an absolutely huge arena rock chorus, and the song's conclusion will leave you breathless. While it may not be as amazing as "(*Fin)," it's a fitting conclusion to the record, and nothing the band does will likely ever match "(*Fin)" anyway.
Those two songs aren't the only standouts though. Additionally, "Younglife" is everything that a few tracks on Cities wished they could be, displaying both the innocent nature of Anberlin's first records and the matured songwriting of Cities. Guitarists Joseph Milligan and Christian McAlhaney shine here with gorgeous acoustic playing and sliding electric riffs in the chorus that weave around Stephen's vocals, and the transition into the sing-a-long section at the end of the track was an ingenious touch. The conclusion of "Retrace" brings a string section into the picture, elevating an already great track into one of the album's most triumphant moments. "Breathe" is a poignant acoustic track to match Cities' "Inevitable," and "Soft Skeletons" manages to be epic despite its four minute length.
New Surrender is basically everything that Anberlin fans could have hoped for. It's a natural progression from Cities, with a notable advance in songwriting and instrumental techniques. Stephen Christian's vocals are stronger than ever, and if there was ever any question as to whether he was a formidable frontman or not, he puts those doubts to rest here. New Surrender contains twelve of the strongest Anberlin songs yet; there isn't a weak track to be heard. The best part is that it's apparent that they aren't even close to burning out yet, and if they keep this up, their next album could be a masterpiece of modern rock music.
NEW SURRENDER
Following the success of 'Cities' Anberlin signed to major label 'Universal Republic Records' on 16th August 2007 and 'New Surrender' was the first album released following the deal and was released on 30th September 2008.
Lyrically, Christian found this one more difficult than the previous, as he had to write it in a very short amount of time, so took inspiration from books, art and friends to try and take a new direction for this album. He wrote most of the lyrics on a trip to New Orleans in a cafe. He went through a small mental breakdown after the pressure from Universal was imposed, he took the holiday to New Orleans to try and get over it and said "the songs that came from the trip, inspired by New Orleans, are like none other before".
His 5 strongest influences on writing these lyrics were...
1.The war in Iraq.
2. Revelations/conspiracy theories
3. The news that one of his close friends was diagnosed with a terminal disease
4. His trip to New Orleans
5. His current relationship
Stephen Christian on the name of the album...
"We will all come to the point in our life where we have to admit that we feel defeated, that something has conquered us. We must change, not because we want to, but because we desperately have to. We can not take life in its current suffocating state, even to admit such desperation shows that we are feeling deserted, wandering the barren desert, a shell of our former selves. It is only up from here, it is impossible to sink any lower into ourselves or our circumstances. But we can be salvaged, a deliverance. No vice can stand, no fix can take. The thorn in the side can be removed, but you have to be willing to admit and surrender. Surrender your habits, your lifestyle, your past, your present, and your future. This is your new surrender. The new surrender. New Surrender."
The band knew they needed a change in direction to really hit the American market, but they didn't want to change who they were. The result was this album.
Proving this, the album went straight to number 13 on the Billboard charts and sold 36, 000 copies in its first week.
1. The Resistance
2. Breaking
3. Blame me! Blame me!
4. Retrace
5. The Feel Good Drag
6. Disappear
7. Breathe
8. Burn Out Brighter (Northern Lights)
9. Younglife
10. Haight Street
11. Soft Skeletons
12. Miserable Visu
Neal Avron (New Found Glory) - Production, Engineering, Mixing
Nate Albert - A&R
Ted Mensen - Mastering
Sunday, 8 August 2010
Anberlin - "The Unwinding Cable Car"
Now this video is my favourite music video ever made. The use of type to add emphasis to the lyrics they deem the most important is brilliant. And the use of red against a black and white video adds to the depressing aura of the song
CITIES - ABSOLUTEPUNK.NET review
For every individual who listens to music, there is also that one “iffy” band. It could be a band that has released solid yet not spectacular albums, or has released a few great songs and a few mediocre songs; basically, it’s a band that has grabbed your attention but cannot seem to hold on to it. One band that has fit this description for me is Anberlin. Sure, their first two albums have some great tracks, but they also have contained tracks I could care less for. They’ve also been a band that couldn’t seem to figure what they wanted to sound like. Some tracks they would be very intense while other tracks were as poppy as can be. Because of this, Anberlin was a band that I was very lukewarm towards. Until I heard Cities. With their third album, the Florida quintet has shattered everything I used to think about the band. Produced by Aaron Sprinkle, Cities display a vast improvement in every aspect. The drums hit harder, the guitars sound tighter, and Stephen Christian’s vocals soar higher than every before. In other words, the overall sound of Anberlin is bigger than ever.
The first thing I immediately noticed was Nathan Young’s improved drumming. Whether it’s Sprinkle’s doing or just an improvement with age (or a combination of both), it is vastly better and adds so much to the overall sound of Anberlin. The musicianship from guitarist’s Joseph Milligan and Nathan Strayer and bassist Deon Rexroat is tighter than ever, adding more depth from what they played on 2005’s Never Take Friendship Personal. But most impressive of all is the improvement of Christian’s vocals. I don’t know how he did it, but his voice commands your full attention in each song, whether it’s his powerful or gentle delivery. When discussing the best voices in the scene, Stephen Christian HAS to be brought up. He is, in my opinion, the best singer currently in the scene.
Musically, the band eliminates almost all their pop sensibility while remaining immensely catchy. There aren’t any songs that’ll be so sugary that it’ll rot your teeth. Rather the album displays a moodier vibe throughout, as displayed in the “(Debut)” track. They also hit harder than ever before on the rip-roaring first single, “Godspeed,” as Young relentlessly pounds on the skins. The synth makes a few appearances on some tracks, adding another element to tracks like “Adelaide” (which is one of the catchiest choruses’ Anberlin has ever written) and “Reclusion,” an industrial rocker played at break-neck speed. “Hello Alone” features superb drumming again from Young and Milligan and Strayer guitars bring on an assault to your ears. “Alexithymia” begins slow and gentle, but the guitars on the outro needle in and out along with soothing background “ooohs.” “Dismantle Repair” is bound to be a fan favorite, as the band balances when to be loud and when to be quiet very well.
While a lot of the songs are high on adrenaline and are meant to played loud, there are still a handful of slower songs that Anberlin excel in. “The Unwinding Cable Car” is a beautiful track that shows how versatile Christian’s voice is, while “Inevitable” is the romantic ballad of the album, featuring the line “I want to be your last first kiss/for all time.” But the highlight of Cities comes in the form of the six and a half minute album closer, “(*Fin).” The acoustic guitar is mesmerizing as Christian calmly sings his passionate lyrics. But the song really reaches its peak when all the instruments kick in, along with a children’s choir, to give “Fin” an emphatic and epic ending. Not only is the best song Anberlin has written, but it is also one of the best songs you’ll hear in 2007.
To describe Cities as the maturation of Anberlin would be an incorrect assessment. They have always been mature; rather this is the progression of their sound. They have taken what they’ve produced on previous albums and taken it to the next level. Could this be the best album Tooth & Nail releases all year? Damn right, it could. Should major labels be knocking on Anberlin’s door after this release? Damn right, they should. Fans of the band will be knocked to the floor after hearing this, and Cities should be able to gain some new fans as well. It sure as hell converted me.
The first thing I immediately noticed was Nathan Young’s improved drumming. Whether it’s Sprinkle’s doing or just an improvement with age (or a combination of both), it is vastly better and adds so much to the overall sound of Anberlin. The musicianship from guitarist’s Joseph Milligan and Nathan Strayer and bassist Deon Rexroat is tighter than ever, adding more depth from what they played on 2005’s Never Take Friendship Personal. But most impressive of all is the improvement of Christian’s vocals. I don’t know how he did it, but his voice commands your full attention in each song, whether it’s his powerful or gentle delivery. When discussing the best voices in the scene, Stephen Christian HAS to be brought up. He is, in my opinion, the best singer currently in the scene.
Musically, the band eliminates almost all their pop sensibility while remaining immensely catchy. There aren’t any songs that’ll be so sugary that it’ll rot your teeth. Rather the album displays a moodier vibe throughout, as displayed in the “(Debut)” track. They also hit harder than ever before on the rip-roaring first single, “Godspeed,” as Young relentlessly pounds on the skins. The synth makes a few appearances on some tracks, adding another element to tracks like “Adelaide” (which is one of the catchiest choruses’ Anberlin has ever written) and “Reclusion,” an industrial rocker played at break-neck speed. “Hello Alone” features superb drumming again from Young and Milligan and Strayer guitars bring on an assault to your ears. “Alexithymia” begins slow and gentle, but the guitars on the outro needle in and out along with soothing background “ooohs.” “Dismantle Repair” is bound to be a fan favorite, as the band balances when to be loud and when to be quiet very well.
While a lot of the songs are high on adrenaline and are meant to played loud, there are still a handful of slower songs that Anberlin excel in. “The Unwinding Cable Car” is a beautiful track that shows how versatile Christian’s voice is, while “Inevitable” is the romantic ballad of the album, featuring the line “I want to be your last first kiss/for all time.” But the highlight of Cities comes in the form of the six and a half minute album closer, “(*Fin).” The acoustic guitar is mesmerizing as Christian calmly sings his passionate lyrics. But the song really reaches its peak when all the instruments kick in, along with a children’s choir, to give “Fin” an emphatic and epic ending. Not only is the best song Anberlin has written, but it is also one of the best songs you’ll hear in 2007.
To describe Cities as the maturation of Anberlin would be an incorrect assessment. They have always been mature; rather this is the progression of their sound. They have taken what they’ve produced on previous albums and taken it to the next level. Could this be the best album Tooth & Nail releases all year? Damn right, it could. Should major labels be knocking on Anberlin’s door after this release? Damn right, they should. Fans of the band will be knocked to the floor after hearing this, and Cities should be able to gain some new fans as well. It sure as hell converted me.
CITIES - SPUTNIKMUSIC REVIEW
Anberlin made a huge leap into the modern day pop punk scene with their 2005 release Never Take Friendship Personal. Its energetic, often times riff based pop punk tunes, extremely smooth toned singing and intelligently written lyrics lead to a fun and catchy yet dense and original sound. Needless to say it marked a very refreshing change of pace from the numerous Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco carbon copy acts and stood out very easily in its field. Enter 2007 and their newest release, Cities. Present on Cities are plenty of songs showing maturity while carrying on their trademark, core sound. However, the group further expands on this sound by adding some acoustically driven songs as well as some very interesting effects, instruments, and atmospheres. The result is not only improvement and growth, but also the beginning and the birth of a new style and identity. All of this contributes to one honest and incredible record in Cities.
Right from the get go energy is apparent as the opening of “Godspeed” can start a dance party in sheer seconds. Immediately listener’s can sense the growth the band has experienced as things are especially finely tuned and precise. Stephen Christian’s smooth vocals compliment the music perfectly as he really digs in for emotion during the chorus. The hook “They lied / When they said the good die young” really gets trapped in ones head. But their music does not revolve around mere hooks as the perfectly placed guitar lead and timely bass fill will show. As expected, Godspeed introduces the record perfectly and builds up anticipation for what is to follow. What follows up is “Adelaide”, another fairly fast paced and catchy number. Hats go off once more to Joe Milligan for delivering an ever so tasteful guitar lead which enhances the song wonderfully. Between the overall catchy atmosphere and very solid musicianship, quality is strong. Lyrics only contribute to this as plenty will be able to relate to the opening four lines. “ You're repeating me lines that you think I wanna hear / But I don't wanna hear anymore / As if sorry is any consolation / For what it's worth, you're stringing me along”Stephen’s lyrics are influenced by real life situations, self flaws, and his overall observations of society. His general attitude of appealing as an everyday person really makes the lyrics come to life, as they can easily appeal to a variety of listeners. While the first two songs show the core Anberlin sound in a more matured state, plenty of the record wanders down a new path in turn establishing a new identity for the band.
The first tune to do so is “The Unwinding Cable Car”. It is a dominantly acoustic track but still incorporates plenty of melody. Stephen’s singing perfectly fits the music here and really shines. His lyrics do the same as they are wonderfully crafted. The starts of both verses really stick out “ You're motive and stable / You're like an unwinding cable car / Listening for voices but it's the choices that make us who we are” and “ Backing away from the problem of pain / You never had a home / You've been misguided, you're hiding in shadows for so very long”. When the rest of the group comes in things flow very well as they maintain the tranquil atmosphere the song opened with. Overall it touches on something the group has not spent a whole lot of time on. Despite being a new sound, things work out phenomenally. The new found sound hitting a home run is no coincidence, as the group only improves upon it. One of the final tracks “Inevitable” really struck an emotional peak with me. It opens with a single acoustic guitar melody before coming in with some of my favorite lyrics on the record. (pardon me for taking up space, but these lyrics have so much meaning to me and are just wonderfully written)
“ Do you remember when we were just kids
And cardboard boxes took us miles from what we would miss
Schoolyard conversations taken to heart
And laughter took the place of everything we knew we were not
I wanna break every clock
The hands of time could never move again
We could stay in this moment (stay in this moment)
For the rest of our lives
Is it over now hey, is it over now
I wanna be your last, first kiss
That you'll ever have
I wanna be your last, first kiss
Amazing how life turns out the way that it does
We end up hurting the worst, the only ones we really love”
The overall mood of the song is just so unmistakably touching and emotional. The lyrics showcase so much honesty and are almost tear jerkers. As if that wasn’t enough, the drum and violin section at the end really brings in a grand feel to this song as it closes in an epic manner. Pardon the excessive use of third person but I haven’t heard a song that meant this much to me in a long, long time. Aside from that, it is something fresh and new for the band and they do it quite properly. It seems all too often a band tries something different and fails. Than again, Anberlin isn’t exactly the typical group as they succeed with flying colors with the acoustically driven tunes found sprinkled throughout the record.
Now if I said they stopped experimentation there I would be lying. Certain tracks have this groovy little edge to them due to some guitar effects and synthesizers. The result is almost like a synth is present. The result is also exceptional. The first showing of this style is on“Whisper and A Clamor” which comes as a nice refreshing new sound early on in Cities. While the guitar part makes a wonderful entrance in the intro, it perhaps works even more effectively throughout the verse. Its tone balances perfectly with Stephen’s almost dark sounding singing creating a very distinguishable and unique mood. The new element in the phaser filled guitar certainly contributes to a new feeling track but their strong points still stay at a peak, more specifically the lyrics. “ Clap your hands all ye children / There's a clamor in your whispering / Clap your hands tonight / Hear what the silence screams.” Piano also makes an appearance as it marks a terrific outro to an all around incredible song. They once again exercise use of the effect in “There Is No Mathematics”. If this isn’t a synthesizer here I advise you all to do some research and figure out what kind of effect pedal is making this sound. That aside, I find this title a bit misleading. There certainly is some wacky equation of mathematics present here as the group combines some clean guitar and snyth melodies, multiple passages, and diverse sounding sections. Ready for the catch? It all works together brilliantly and their cohesive sound becomes incredibly obvious. Things flow nearly flawlessly despite the usage of an unfamiliar instrument. Yet again the listener cannot help but to be enthralled as to how well the band has embraced change and used variety to enhance their overall sound and diversity.
When it comes to closing the record, “(Fin)” works incredibly successful as it showcases plenty of the group’s new ideas. The first three minutes are made up of acoustic chords, an acoustic melody, and a very distinct and faint sounding distorted lead. When the rest of the group comes in a real epic feel fills the air. This is the type of thing plenty of acts attempt and very few succeed in doing so convincingly. Speaking of which, the group also manages to use a choir vocal passage, once more making it work wonderfully unlike some peers (cough underOATH…excuse me :clears throat:). The choir section might seem a little bit drawn out and excessively long but it still works so incredibly well with what the rest of the band is doing. The faintish lead persisting through the passage only pushes the grand atmosphere further. Despite clocking in at well over six minutes, (Fin) goes by in a flash as it really captures the group’s experimental elements and ends the record in an unbelievable fashion.
It is probably best to say now that very bluntly Cities is a simply breathtaking record. While continuing to push their core sound forward with maturity, they really strike strong notes. But it is their daring efforts to frequently break from their typical formula and make strong usage of violin, piano/synth and acoustic guitars that really steals the show. It not only shows diversity but establishes a new identity for the band overall. To top it off, the members deliver solid performances on an individual level as the rhythms stay tight throughout, lead lines are tasteful, bass makes its presence felt, and vocals and lyrics are as strong and inspired as ever. To be honest I was expecting something good from Anberlin, but Cities has completely surpassed the bar of my expectations. It is original, brilliant, and an overall spectacular album which captures their new sound perfectly and should only continue to further diversify the group from their genre. This is something new, something honest, something stylish, and something very refreshing. This is Cities, and Cities marks Anberlin’s best work to date.
Right from the get go energy is apparent as the opening of “Godspeed” can start a dance party in sheer seconds. Immediately listener’s can sense the growth the band has experienced as things are especially finely tuned and precise. Stephen Christian’s smooth vocals compliment the music perfectly as he really digs in for emotion during the chorus. The hook “They lied / When they said the good die young” really gets trapped in ones head. But their music does not revolve around mere hooks as the perfectly placed guitar lead and timely bass fill will show. As expected, Godspeed introduces the record perfectly and builds up anticipation for what is to follow. What follows up is “Adelaide”, another fairly fast paced and catchy number. Hats go off once more to Joe Milligan for delivering an ever so tasteful guitar lead which enhances the song wonderfully. Between the overall catchy atmosphere and very solid musicianship, quality is strong. Lyrics only contribute to this as plenty will be able to relate to the opening four lines. “ You're repeating me lines that you think I wanna hear / But I don't wanna hear anymore / As if sorry is any consolation / For what it's worth, you're stringing me along”Stephen’s lyrics are influenced by real life situations, self flaws, and his overall observations of society. His general attitude of appealing as an everyday person really makes the lyrics come to life, as they can easily appeal to a variety of listeners. While the first two songs show the core Anberlin sound in a more matured state, plenty of the record wanders down a new path in turn establishing a new identity for the band.
The first tune to do so is “The Unwinding Cable Car”. It is a dominantly acoustic track but still incorporates plenty of melody. Stephen’s singing perfectly fits the music here and really shines. His lyrics do the same as they are wonderfully crafted. The starts of both verses really stick out “ You're motive and stable / You're like an unwinding cable car / Listening for voices but it's the choices that make us who we are” and “ Backing away from the problem of pain / You never had a home / You've been misguided, you're hiding in shadows for so very long”. When the rest of the group comes in things flow very well as they maintain the tranquil atmosphere the song opened with. Overall it touches on something the group has not spent a whole lot of time on. Despite being a new sound, things work out phenomenally. The new found sound hitting a home run is no coincidence, as the group only improves upon it. One of the final tracks “Inevitable” really struck an emotional peak with me. It opens with a single acoustic guitar melody before coming in with some of my favorite lyrics on the record. (pardon me for taking up space, but these lyrics have so much meaning to me and are just wonderfully written)
“ Do you remember when we were just kids
And cardboard boxes took us miles from what we would miss
Schoolyard conversations taken to heart
And laughter took the place of everything we knew we were not
I wanna break every clock
The hands of time could never move again
We could stay in this moment (stay in this moment)
For the rest of our lives
Is it over now hey, is it over now
I wanna be your last, first kiss
That you'll ever have
I wanna be your last, first kiss
Amazing how life turns out the way that it does
We end up hurting the worst, the only ones we really love”
The overall mood of the song is just so unmistakably touching and emotional. The lyrics showcase so much honesty and are almost tear jerkers. As if that wasn’t enough, the drum and violin section at the end really brings in a grand feel to this song as it closes in an epic manner. Pardon the excessive use of third person but I haven’t heard a song that meant this much to me in a long, long time. Aside from that, it is something fresh and new for the band and they do it quite properly. It seems all too often a band tries something different and fails. Than again, Anberlin isn’t exactly the typical group as they succeed with flying colors with the acoustically driven tunes found sprinkled throughout the record.
Now if I said they stopped experimentation there I would be lying. Certain tracks have this groovy little edge to them due to some guitar effects and synthesizers. The result is almost like a synth is present. The result is also exceptional. The first showing of this style is on“Whisper and A Clamor” which comes as a nice refreshing new sound early on in Cities. While the guitar part makes a wonderful entrance in the intro, it perhaps works even more effectively throughout the verse. Its tone balances perfectly with Stephen’s almost dark sounding singing creating a very distinguishable and unique mood. The new element in the phaser filled guitar certainly contributes to a new feeling track but their strong points still stay at a peak, more specifically the lyrics. “ Clap your hands all ye children / There's a clamor in your whispering / Clap your hands tonight / Hear what the silence screams.” Piano also makes an appearance as it marks a terrific outro to an all around incredible song. They once again exercise use of the effect in “There Is No Mathematics”. If this isn’t a synthesizer here I advise you all to do some research and figure out what kind of effect pedal is making this sound. That aside, I find this title a bit misleading. There certainly is some wacky equation of mathematics present here as the group combines some clean guitar and snyth melodies, multiple passages, and diverse sounding sections. Ready for the catch? It all works together brilliantly and their cohesive sound becomes incredibly obvious. Things flow nearly flawlessly despite the usage of an unfamiliar instrument. Yet again the listener cannot help but to be enthralled as to how well the band has embraced change and used variety to enhance their overall sound and diversity.
When it comes to closing the record, “(Fin)” works incredibly successful as it showcases plenty of the group’s new ideas. The first three minutes are made up of acoustic chords, an acoustic melody, and a very distinct and faint sounding distorted lead. When the rest of the group comes in a real epic feel fills the air. This is the type of thing plenty of acts attempt and very few succeed in doing so convincingly. Speaking of which, the group also manages to use a choir vocal passage, once more making it work wonderfully unlike some peers (cough underOATH…excuse me :clears throat:). The choir section might seem a little bit drawn out and excessively long but it still works so incredibly well with what the rest of the band is doing. The faintish lead persisting through the passage only pushes the grand atmosphere further. Despite clocking in at well over six minutes, (Fin) goes by in a flash as it really captures the group’s experimental elements and ends the record in an unbelievable fashion.
It is probably best to say now that very bluntly Cities is a simply breathtaking record. While continuing to push their core sound forward with maturity, they really strike strong notes. But it is their daring efforts to frequently break from their typical formula and make strong usage of violin, piano/synth and acoustic guitars that really steals the show. It not only shows diversity but establishes a new identity for the band overall. To top it off, the members deliver solid performances on an individual level as the rhythms stay tight throughout, lead lines are tasteful, bass makes its presence felt, and vocals and lyrics are as strong and inspired as ever. To be honest I was expecting something good from Anberlin, but Cities has completely surpassed the bar of my expectations. It is original, brilliant, and an overall spectacular album which captures their new sound perfectly and should only continue to further diversify the group from their genre. This is something new, something honest, something stylish, and something very refreshing. This is Cities, and Cities marks Anberlin’s best work to date.
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