The Resistance is Breaking on Haight St.
Posted October 02, 2008
By art10,
Anberlin has carved a great notch in the musical tree over the years, and have created quite a fanbase in the process. But all magnificent trees must change their leaves, so Anberlin was faced with the prospect of following up their perceived masterpiece known as "Cities," and they're making their major label debut. What color do the leaves turn? Burning orange? Flaming red? Kentucky blue? Well, this tree's leaves have all three colors.
For the more hardcore alternative emo side, or "classic" side of Anberlin, you'll be well-served at the beginning of the record where Steven Christian feels the need to scream in the hardcore "The Resistance." "Breaking" and "Blame Me! Blame Me!" will also feel familiar to fans. But then "Retrace" gives a hint of what's to come with a more mellow yellow summer love song, which hits some excellent high points on the chorus.
Chances are you've heard "Feel Good Drag" before, whether it be from their earlier take on the song a few albums ago, or rock radio, where the song has achieved monumental success, currently being the #1 song on Sirius Radio's Alt Nation Countdown. The song hits hard, gets your blood pumping and it is irresistible to turn the volume up to unhealthy volumes. The rock fest only continues on the rousing, but generally unmemorable "Disappear."
It's here where you might say, "Where's the Anberlin I knew???" The songs on the back-half of the record are more laid-back, softer, more acoustic based, and they generally deal with a love for that special someone. "Breathe" is probably the best of these tracks, with its sweet lyrics, and music that would fit right into a powerful and moving worship song.
The trend only continues with "Burn Out Brighter (Northern Lights), "Younglife" and "Haight St" (is that really how it's spelled?). For me, these pleasant and harmless tracks remind me of those of the pop/punk stalwarts pioneered by New Found Glory, mastered by The Early November and popularized by The Plain White T's. If you love the genre, then you have great tastes in music and you'll greatly appreciate these tracks. If you're one of the many haters of the genre and its perceived unoriginality, then you might want to stick to "Cities."
"Misearbile Visu (Ex Malo Bonum), which is Latin and I'm told translates to "Terrible by the Sight (Good Out of Evil)," is epic, but starts off rather slow and generally uneven, only finding its footing after three minutes. It's an overall great close for the album, as it generally fits Anberlin's sound for the album, new and different.
The only track I really found fault with was "Soft Skeletons," which had a good message of 'turn away from drugs,' which might speak to some, but it comes off so terribly cliched in a bad way. The message is so overdone, as you can find it in plenty of Seven Day Slumber songs, the song comes off incredibly preachy and boring. It might just be Anberlin's worst song, not counting any of their covers or secondary songs.
So overall, Anberlin tries hard with this record, they try hard to please, they try to grow and expand, and whether they try too hard is up to you. I generally liked the record, and would probably name it Anberlin's best. Longtime fans on the other hand will probably be lost and confused, while others will eventually grow to liking the new sounds. In either case, like spinach, you have to try it at least once, and I highly recommend doing so.
Note: I tried to put all bias aside, as they're based out of Winter Haven, FL, where I was born, and lived thirty minutes from most of my life. So they're basically my hometown band, but you might have heard that before. View All Music And Book Reviews By art10 | View art10's Profile
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