Anberlin: New Surrender

Its hard to write an unbiased review... so I am not even going to try on this one. You are going to get a completely biased review here. Why am I biased? Well because this band just happens to be my most favorite band ever! I had the chance to listen to Anberlin's new album before it was released. The actual album will be out on September 30th. So somehow I got an a copy early. And this in no way means I will not be buying the album the day it comes out... because I will! I believe that I now have a responsibility in spreading the word about this band even more and on top of that... anyone who claims to love Anberlin better damn well better buy the cd. Hows the cd you ask?

Well after listening to it over and over again here are some of my thoughts... The album starts off just like all their other cd's. And that's a very good thing! The first track is titled The Resistance. The song in every way just rocks! Its fast tempo and energetic , much like Godspeed and Never Take Friendship Personal. The nest song is Breaking. For those who have seen Anberlin recently, this is the song they played acoustic at Warped Tour. The song starts off with a nice piano intro as the tempo gradually builds up through the song. The song could potentially be a huge radio hit. Blame Me! Blame Me! is the third track and was a song that I thought might be my least favorite but then after the second or third listen I was wrong... the chorus is catchy and has a dancy guitar riff. The fourth song entitled Retrace may just be my favorite song on the cd. Its got a different vibe than past songs from the band. But Stephens voice is amazing on this one not to mention its got a nice relaxing tune. This song seems to be in the vein of The Unwinding Cable Car off of the album Cities. The song seems to talk about retracing your steps to lead you to where you are at your point in your life. I absolutely love this song. The next song is a familiar one. They rerecorded The Feel Good Drag and made it a little more radio friendly. They seemed to take out the screaming. I like the original version better but this one is still a great version. In fact it their first radio single. The next song also has potential for huge radio play. Disappear is just a great rock song. In fact you can hear it now on their myspace page. Breathe is the next song which I think inspires the name of the album. The song is on the soft side and talks about surrendering to who you are and accepting everything about yourself. Tracks 8 through 11 are just what you would expect from a solid Anberlin cd. Great guitar riffs, amazing breakdowns, lyrics that actually mean something other than meaningless high school relationships like so many ohter bands produce nowadays. And not to mention amazing vocals from singer songwriter Stephen. The final song on the cd entitled Misearbile Visu (ex malo bonum) is exactly what you would expect from a band who concluded their last cd with the epic song Fin. New Surrender is exactly what I would expect from my favorite band. An incredibly solid cd!

I truly believe that that Anberlin will be the next big band in music. This album can easily put them among the ranks of Jimmy Eat World, Death Cab For Cutie and My Chemical Romance. And by joining the ranks of these bands I mean these guys will soon be playing in bigger venues and getting massive radio play. So whats the bottom line on the cd?

I of course give this album a solid A.

For fans of: Classic Crime, Acceptance and Jimmy Eat World

Album is out September 30th. Please do yourself a favor and pick this album up when it comes out. And if you dont have the previous three albums... pick them up! Blueprints for the Blackmarket, Never Take Friendship Personal and Cities now available!