Ok, so I figured for my first post I would talk about my favorite band, Anberlin. Although the purpose of this blog is to discuss lesser known bands, and Anberlin seems to be gaining popularity, I still find those who have never been introduced to this (in my view) great and hard-working band. One of the first things I love about Anberlin, or any band for that matter, is progression and maturity. I feel that with each new release, Anberlin steps it up and redefines themselves over and over again.
Anberlin's first release, "Blueprints for the Blackmarket", debuted in 2003. At the time, I had never heard of them. That was until about 2004-2005 when I recieved a sampler disc from a christian music store with a ton of different bands on it. The last song on the disc was "Change the World" off of Anberlin's first release. When I listened to that particular song, for some reason, something just clicked. Their style at the time wasn't completely mind-blowing, but at the same time I had never heard anything really like it before. The song conveyed such raw emotion and honesty, I couldn't stop listening to it.
In 2005, Anberlin released their second album, "Never Take Friendship Personal". I still had not purchased their first album. A friend at school had NTFP, and once she gave me her CD player with that album in it to listen to, I had a hard time giving the player back to her. I fell in love with the album and bought it soon after. For me, it was just one of those albums that I could listen to from begining to end without skipping any of the songs. Every song was so different, but at the same time they pulled together into a very cohesive album. At that point I was sold. I bought their first album as well and became an honest to goodness Anberlin fan.
I have only seen Anberlin once in concert, back in 2006, but it was one of the best live shows I have ever been to. I hardly paid any attention to the other bands playing (except for a band called The Classic Crime), and it was kind of annoying hanging out with a bunch of drunk people around wanting to crowd surf. But once Anberlin took to the stage, all the other crap from the night just faded into the background. I am not really sure how to explain Anberlin live, it's just that they really have a lot of energy and you can tell that they are giving it their all. And unlike some bands that play live, they actually sounded good. Unfortunately I did not get to meet the band afterwards. Long story short, the security dudes at that particular venue were jerks and once my friends and I walked outside for a second, we weren't allowed back in. Never the less, Anberlin rocked the stage that night.
Then there was 2007, the year Anberlin would release their third studio effort, "Cities". This album garnered much aclaim and got Anberlin a spot on the Bilboard charts, I believe the album got to number 19. Not only did their sound mature and grow, but this album also introduced fans to a slightly darker Anberlin. Now, darker isn't really a bad thing, but it certainly brought a fresh characteristic to some of their songs. Lyrically, the album dealed more with inner struggles then any of the previous albums had, which I just felt was very honest and real. That is another thing I love about this band, every album they produce seems to a have a few songs that really resonate with me, that I can really relate to. Personally, I felt Anberlin had reached their peak, but I soon learned that you can always go further and grow into something even stronger than before.
In the time between "Cities" and Anberlin's latest release, "New Surrender", the band signed to a major label and would end up working with a brand new producer, namely Neal Avron, who has worked with many big bands in the scene today. The results of the new label and new producer turned out great. "New Surrender" is not only a great album, but Anberlin once again proved how versatile they are. Although their sound was not quite as dark on this album, it still contains depth and variety, both lyrically and musically. They can go from fast paced rock the one second, then catchy and up-beat pop the next. Once again, thats why I love them so much. Every song doesn't sound the same, like a lot of bands I know, and the album has great transitions song to song.
Alright, so I talked about my background with the band and discussed their albums, now I'll throw a few more things at you. Again, I can't say it enough, this band is all about progression. Stephen, the band's vocalist, has always had a good and unique voice. But if you were to listen to each album in order, it is clear that his voice has grown stronger and better, inot a voice that truely stands out. Lyrically, what Stephen writes about is usually very down to earth and easy to coneect with, but at the same time not cheesey and cliched. While the other members of the band are also great musicians, I feel that the other member who has shown great progression is the band's drummer, Nate. He was only about 14-15 when the band started, and with each album his drumming has grown more intricate and sophisticated. I guess you could take my word on all these things, but I would say you should go out and buy and album or two just to see what I am talking about. I guess thats all for now.
Members of Anberlin:
Stephen Christian: vocals
Nate Young: drums
Joseph Milligan: guitar
Deon Rexroat: bass
Christian McAlhaney: guitar
Albums:
"Blueprints for the Blackmarket" 2003
"Never Take Friendship Personal" 2005
"Cities" 2007
"Lost Songs" (compilation of unreleased and remixed tracks) 2007
"New Surrender" 2008
Anberlin's first release, "Blueprints for the Blackmarket", debuted in 2003. At the time, I had never heard of them. That was until about 2004-2005 when I recieved a sampler disc from a christian music store with a ton of different bands on it. The last song on the disc was "Change the World" off of Anberlin's first release. When I listened to that particular song, for some reason, something just clicked. Their style at the time wasn't completely mind-blowing, but at the same time I had never heard anything really like it before. The song conveyed such raw emotion and honesty, I couldn't stop listening to it.
In 2005, Anberlin released their second album, "Never Take Friendship Personal". I still had not purchased their first album. A friend at school had NTFP, and once she gave me her CD player with that album in it to listen to, I had a hard time giving the player back to her. I fell in love with the album and bought it soon after. For me, it was just one of those albums that I could listen to from begining to end without skipping any of the songs. Every song was so different, but at the same time they pulled together into a very cohesive album. At that point I was sold. I bought their first album as well and became an honest to goodness Anberlin fan.
I have only seen Anberlin once in concert, back in 2006, but it was one of the best live shows I have ever been to. I hardly paid any attention to the other bands playing (except for a band called The Classic Crime), and it was kind of annoying hanging out with a bunch of drunk people around wanting to crowd surf. But once Anberlin took to the stage, all the other crap from the night just faded into the background. I am not really sure how to explain Anberlin live, it's just that they really have a lot of energy and you can tell that they are giving it their all. And unlike some bands that play live, they actually sounded good. Unfortunately I did not get to meet the band afterwards. Long story short, the security dudes at that particular venue were jerks and once my friends and I walked outside for a second, we weren't allowed back in. Never the less, Anberlin rocked the stage that night.
Then there was 2007, the year Anberlin would release their third studio effort, "Cities". This album garnered much aclaim and got Anberlin a spot on the Bilboard charts, I believe the album got to number 19. Not only did their sound mature and grow, but this album also introduced fans to a slightly darker Anberlin. Now, darker isn't really a bad thing, but it certainly brought a fresh characteristic to some of their songs. Lyrically, the album dealed more with inner struggles then any of the previous albums had, which I just felt was very honest and real. That is another thing I love about this band, every album they produce seems to a have a few songs that really resonate with me, that I can really relate to. Personally, I felt Anberlin had reached their peak, but I soon learned that you can always go further and grow into something even stronger than before.
In the time between "Cities" and Anberlin's latest release, "New Surrender", the band signed to a major label and would end up working with a brand new producer, namely Neal Avron, who has worked with many big bands in the scene today. The results of the new label and new producer turned out great. "New Surrender" is not only a great album, but Anberlin once again proved how versatile they are. Although their sound was not quite as dark on this album, it still contains depth and variety, both lyrically and musically. They can go from fast paced rock the one second, then catchy and up-beat pop the next. Once again, thats why I love them so much. Every song doesn't sound the same, like a lot of bands I know, and the album has great transitions song to song.
Alright, so I talked about my background with the band and discussed their albums, now I'll throw a few more things at you. Again, I can't say it enough, this band is all about progression. Stephen, the band's vocalist, has always had a good and unique voice. But if you were to listen to each album in order, it is clear that his voice has grown stronger and better, inot a voice that truely stands out. Lyrically, what Stephen writes about is usually very down to earth and easy to coneect with, but at the same time not cheesey and cliched. While the other members of the band are also great musicians, I feel that the other member who has shown great progression is the band's drummer, Nate. He was only about 14-15 when the band started, and with each album his drumming has grown more intricate and sophisticated. I guess you could take my word on all these things, but I would say you should go out and buy and album or two just to see what I am talking about. I guess thats all for now.
Members of Anberlin:
Stephen Christian: vocals
Nate Young: drums
Joseph Milligan: guitar
Deon Rexroat: bass
Christian McAlhaney: guitar
Albums:
"Blueprints for the Blackmarket" 2003
"Never Take Friendship Personal" 2005
"Cities" 2007
"Lost Songs" (compilation of unreleased and remixed tracks) 2007
"New Surrender" 2008
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