Anberlin’s latest great, as usual

By Natalie Tupta
Charleston Catholic High School

As you pick up the CD case, you wonder what kind of music could be inside when the cover contains multiple, vertical charcoal-looking smudges on a plain white background. Opening the case, you find a shockingly orange disc.

You stick it in the CD player and press “play.” An electric guitar begins to moan a short, suspenseful piece while sirens come and go in the background.

As the music picks up on track two, called “Godspeed,” it’s upbeat, energetic, and most of all catchy. It’s a good start, you think to yourself.

But you probably expect the rest of the CD to decline in quality, as you have experienced so many times before. However, track three keeps the quality up. So do four, five and, well, all of the rest of them.

With the release of its debut CD in May 2006, Anberlin fast made fans with its catchy melodies and creative and unique lyrics. When it released its sophomore album in February 2005, it wowed fans again with similar tactics. So it comes as no surprise to fans that Anberlin’s latest, “Cities,” released in February, is amazing.

“I don’t feel that we as Anberlin have evolved into something our fans won’t recognize, but I definitely think we have matured musically and broadened our listening tastes, coming into our own as a band,” explains vocalist Stephen Christian on the band’s website (www.anberlin.com).

This is very true. There is some definite growth from album to album, but through it all Anberlin has remained true to itself. Fans who loved the either or both of the band’s first two albums will also enjoy “Cities.” Likewise, those who enjoy “Cities” will love the previous albums.

If there’s one thing about Anberlin that’s constant, it would have to be that the band is predictably great. And that’s definitely not a bad thing.

From the strength of the electric guitar-driven intros in songs like “Godspeed” and “A Whisper and a Clamor” to the soprano voices of a choir in “(*Fin),” Anberlin shows that it can be diverse and create a masterpiece in each different scenario.

Besides its invigorating music, Anberlin also boasts captivating lyrics. One theme is loneliness and depression, especially in the songs “Hello Alone” and Alexithmyia.” “Though I know a thousand names, I seem my only friend. I feel helpless, sleeping at best, waiting for your return. Are you ever coming home? Is anybody out there?” Christian sings on the former, and on the latter, “It’s not that we don’t talk, it’s just no one really listens, and honesty fades like a politician who lost in the course. All smiles, but no one remembers our names.”

The lyrics of “Cities” are not very uplifting, so do not expect that out of them. However, they are extremely thought-provoking and deserve to be pondered. They were obviously written with much experience of the situations described and with careful consideration.