I was rather eager to check out my first Anberlin CD, 2007's "Cities," which I recently acquired on a trade. While this CD is widely acclaimed by the expert customer reviewers on Amazon.com (seriously, what CD on that site is not highly praised by the majority?), I just don't see the fascination. I only see why someone was eager to trade such a recent release (and a special edition to boot!)
Anberlin is characterized as emo, or pop punk by many folks. I'm not so sure I'd refer to them in that manner (at least for this release). To me, Anberlin is in same modern rock ballpark as Hawthorne Heights or 30 Seconds To Mars.
As far as creating a solid wall of sound, Anberlin has mastered that technique. Unfortunately, nothing much jumps out from that monotonous wall of sound. There is a nice break by track 5, "The Unwinding Cable Car," which begins with a fresh change: bright, acoustic guitar. There are also some really good backing vocals throughout this track, but 4 minutes of this and I was growing tired of it. We get a similar change of pace at track 10 with "Inevitable," a pleasant enough love song in which the lead singer announces his desire to be "your last first kiss". I like the plucking orchestra in the chorus. "Hello Alone" is one of the few tracks that managed to not only grab my attention, but also make me want to hit "replay". Track 1 is an instrumental throwaway. If you are into epic tracks that feature a children's choir and feel like they are never going to end, you will love track 12 ("Fin").
On my third listen, "Adelaide" started to stick in my mind. The track is really quite good - a great vocal performance, some incredible drumming, and the typical soaring Anberlin guitars. Best of all, the chorus has a hook that finally stuck in me by spin #3.
The special edition is not all that special. It has an extra 3 tracks..."Uncanny" is actually a very good mid-tempo melodic rocker, but then we have very lame and uninspired covers of The Smith's "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" and When In Rome's "The Promise". The latter even made me laugh. Why Anberlin chose not to punk up these songs, I have no idea...an opportunity missed.
The guys exhibit solid musicianship, and I can't fault the production. They are adventurous at times and incorporate unorthodox sounds and effects into many of their tracks. And I will give credit for interesting and reflective lyrics. But when it comes to the "industrial-strength hooks," damned if I can hear them. True, they repeat a lot of the words and phrases, but you need more than that to make a good quality hook!
iPOD-worthy: 3, 7, 10, 13*
*on the special edition
Anberlin on MySpace. Official site.
Check out the video for "Godspeed":
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