The Greatness That Is Anberlin

I like to think that I stay somewhat ahead of the curve when it comes to music. I have hopefully brought you some songs and maybe even bands on here so far that you haven’t heard of or didn’t know much about. My favorite band is a very fluid notion, and I have gone through several in the last few years. I would say since 2005, at bare minimum, I went through a period when it was My Chemical Romance, and then it was Fall Out Boy for a bit (probably for their 2^nd run at the title). In recent times, I was getting more into classic rock, and I would say either Zeppelin or Floyd were it for a while. But recently, as I’ve really started to absorb their whole catalog, I realized that Anberlin is currently taking that crown. Many of you may not know who they are, and many others may only know their first really bit hit (finally!), Feel Good Drag (not to be confused with an earlier song of theirs: The Feel Good Drag, which is good, but not as great as the aforementioned hit). Their musical ability is incredible and their lyrics are modern poetry in both their ability to be insanely profound and nonsensical at the same time. A very large portion of their music seems to revolve around relationships, beginning, during, and end, which brings about the raw emotion that makes most great music. And thus, as a service to you, my loyal readers, here is a primer to get you started if you decide to immerse yourself in this amazing band (and really, what are you waiting for?).

Some Background:

Anberlin is an alternative rock band from Winter Haven, FL. That city was, up until last year, the spring training home of the Cleveland Indians, and is a scant 45 minute drive from Tampa. Serendipitous? I think so! They were formed in 2002 and signed with a semi-independent label: Tooth & Nail Records. The same label that has represents some my other favorite underappreciated bands, including: Hawk Nelson, Thousand Foot Krutch, FM Static, & The Almost. The majority of this information, by the way, is from Wikipedia, “so you know its good. 60% of the time, it works, every time.”

Album Reviews:

Blueprints for the Black Market (2003) – Ironically, this debut album is one that I’ve only recently absorbed. You can definitely hear the rawness and the band still trying to discover their sound. However, incredible songs like ‘Naïve Orleans’, ‘Cadence’, and ‘Autobahn’ still make this an incredibly worthwhile album.

Never Take Friendship Personal (2005) – The title track is definitely the star, and overall, probably my least favorite of the albums, but that honestly is not saying much since all of their albums rock. ‘A Day Late’ and ‘Audrey, Start the Revolution’ would be the other classics on this album.

Cities (2007) – What I would call their breakout album, despite them getting their first significant airplay from a song of their next album. This is the album that got me into these guys, and I honestly don’t remember how I originally got into them. I do remember that the first songs I had by them were ‘Fin’ and ‘Dismantle Repair’ and it steamrolled from there. I give you a 100% Guarantee that there is not a back track on this album.

New Surrender (2009) – This album is still new, but is a great follow-up to Cities. ‘Feel Good Drag’ had a great combination of catchiness and musical awesomeness to propel them into the radio scene. ‘Breaking’ is the 2^nd single set to be released from the album, so let’s see where that ends up. It’s a very capable song, to be sure, but I would like to see ‘The Resistance’ get some play soon as well.

Top 10 Songs by Anberlin:

1. Unwinding Cable Car

2. Fin

3. Adelaide

4. A Whisper and a Clamor

5. Never Take Friendship Personal

6. Naïve Orleans

7. A Day Late

8. Feel Good Drag

9. The Resistance

10. Autobahn

Just a few of their more profound lyrics (in my humble opinion)

“This is the correlation of salvation and love”

“I am the patron saint of lost causes”

“I want to be your last first kiss”

“As time seems to drip like Dali, and neither of us has a place to be”