Customer Reviews

Anberlin - The Anthology (3CD)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Anberlin is just one of many bands recently signed to Tooth And Nail Records, right now the best indie label out there, and this CD is just plain amazing. Some people have said Stephen's voice takes a little getting used to but once you do, you realize it fits perfectly with Anberlin's music.
********
Track 1 - Ready Fuels: The song Tooth And Nail used to promote this band, very upbeat and driving, great solo, and the chorus is one of the catchiest things I've ever heard! This song will stick in your head for days.

Track 2 - Foreign Language: Very catchy song, with one of the best lyrics I've ever heard: "Boys speak in rhythm, girls just lie." Very true. Overall a very simple song, but in no time you'll be singing "doo doodoo dooooo" right along with them.

Track 3 - Change The World - Slow, but powerfully intense song. Beautifully written, especially the chorus. My 3rd favorite on the CD.

Track 4 - Cold War Transmissions - Another slower paced, but intense song. Great lyrics, Stephen takes on the role of a Russian soldier in the Cold War..."This is Russian radio here, calling you to come back home. Run while you still can."

Track 5 - Glass To The Arson - My favorite song on this CD. Steady, intense, amazing chorus, incredible solo...this song has it all. Stephen usually screams in the breakdown live, but not on the CD.

Track 6 - The Undeveloped Story - More fast-paced than the last few songs, sounds slightly similar to Ready Fuels. The best part about this song is the COWBELL!!! It adds the perfect touch to the "dance all night" parts.

Track 7 - Autobahn - Acoustic guitars and synthesizers add a nice touch to this song with great lyrics about a guy and a girl and the freedom they feel driving really fast and spending time together. Very happy song with a really light mood.

Track 8 - We Dreamt In Heist - Upbeat song--at first I didn't like it so much, but it grew on me. Another chorus that you'll be singing along to..."And I try-y-yy-y-y-yyyy-yyy"

Track 9 - Love Song - Yes, they covered this Cure song, and I just want to say that its 999 MILLION TIMES BETTER THAN 311's version, and Anberlin also did it first. Just listen to it, and you'll see.

Track 10 - Cadence - My second favorite song on the CD. Slow-paced but steady, and the chorus is AMAZING, and it has one of the best guitar solos I've ever heard. The acoustic guitars toward the end make it complete.

Track 11 - Naive Orleans - Couldn't have picked a better ending song. "And I've finally found that life goes on without you, and the world still turns when you're not around." Pretty upbeat, with an almost relieved feeling to it, like he's happy the relationship is over. The end fades out REALLY slowly.
********
Anberlin is one of those bands that are re-defining indie rock, and they are definitely worth knowing. I met them at a show once and they're some of the nicest, most down-to-earth people I've ever met. If you like Anberlin, check out Tooth And Nail's other amazing bands: Mae, Emery, FM Static, Further Seems Forever, and Holland.

I wasn't sure sure what to expect of Anberlin with their debut album. Tooth and nail has been hyping this album almost as hard as their other major mainstream act, Further Seems Forever. Like fsf, this album was worth all the hype the label gave it. I've yet to figure out how it is "emo"...since emo is usually annoying kids with stuffy noses. However, this cd is as good as the hype. If you like the song ready fuels(my personal favorite), you will love this cd. Most of the other songs are stylistically similar. This cd is a masterpiece of energetic modern alternative rock. There aren't any filler songs on this cd. The only song I hated was one formerly know as "driving" when it was a demo. They fixed most of what was wrong with it and retitled the song autobahn. The only complaint I have with the cd is the "do do do do" lyric as filler in autobahn and foreign language(listen to the clips...you'll understand). I find that lyric uninspired and actually annoying. Other than those 2 songs, this cd is a heavy, melodic, passionate, and brilliant album. If you enjoy modern alternative rock at all, this cd is for you. Next to Further Seems Forever "how to start a fire", this cd is probably the most passionate and powerful album to come out in a long time. By all means, buy this cd.

I heard "Change The World" on Air1. At first, I wasn't impressed because they sounded just like everyone else in the Christian music industry. Then, I went to a concert where they were playing random songs over the air while the band set up. "Cadence" came on and I couldn't figure out where I knew the voice from but I really liked the sound of the song. I asked some friends who asked the sound tech and he informed me that the band was Anberlin. I looked them up on the Internet and to my surprise, it was the same band that I didn't care too much for.
They definitely deserved the second listen!

I downloaded 2 of Anberlin's songs on Purevolume and liked them so I got the CD. My dad and I were driving home from a city about 4 hours away, and we never agree on music. He likes hymns. But he let me skip through the tracks, and then he said 'They all sound the same.'

Yeah, they do in a way. The songs are all fast, with catchy hooks. The lead singers voice is different, but after getting used to him I like it a lot. And you can sing along, which is my top requirement for a good CD.

The thing that bothers me the most about Anberlin is the song content. There's nothing really deep... 'we're running hot tonight''boys speak in rhythm, girls just lie' 'we can change the world' 'this is Russian radio' 'try i i i i i i i i' 'my heart lost in New Orleans' it's all light. Not that that's a bad thing, I just would like them to sing about something and be able to feel like it was something incredibly important to them. They seem slightly bored through the entire CD.

But I think Anberlin has a lot of talent (really an unfair amount of talent for their ages), and if things go the right way they should become a big hit. I definitely recommend this CD, especially for driving.

I don't know about anyone else, but I find Naive Orleans is the best song on there, just such a cool riff. And I personally prefer their sophomore album "Never Take Friendship Personal", but this is an album NOT TO OVERLOOK!!! Such an amazing album with every single song reminding me of something and they are each unique in their own way. And such an amazing voice to compliment such great music. I highly recommend even if you're iffy about Christian music....(personally i don't understand why it's such a big deal...people not liking Christian Rock/HipHop/or whatever). It's not like you'd be such a loser if you listen to it or automatically turn in to a robotic christian...RELAX and enjoy the wonderful sounds of pure awesome Rock!!

I bought this album because of the opening track, Readyfuels. I really loved the main guitar hook and the multi-layered chorus. I was hoping the rest of Blueprints For the Black Market could live up to its beginning.

In short, it didn't, but I like it anyway. The immediately following track reminded me lyrically of "Boys & Girls" by Good Charlotte (which is a bad thing), but at least it's more enjoyable to listen to. The rest of the album goes by pretty painlessly. It's all pretty good punk with good musicianship, but nothing that will blow you away or really affect you significantly.

A couple other standout tracks are "Glass to the Arson" with its slightly different, catchy verses and smooth chorus, and a fairly nice cover of the Cure's "Love Song", which takes the main synth hook and does it with a piano.

Anberlin has a good singer and some talented musicians, so if they could settle down and write some music that actually means something, they could be a really good band. 3.5 stars rounds up to 4.

Since it's release, this album has been a top 3 in my collection. It's one of about 5 CDs that I will listen to straight through, over and over and over. It's usually in my car's CD player for 2-3 months (straight) before I switch to something else... they only give you about 1/4 a second to hit the eject button - then the next amazing track starts up.

Now... that's all hype, and I admit it. It's true, but it's hype.

What I really want to talk about is why I enjoy the CD for more than just it's feel-good rock goodness... namely, the technical things that I hear as a musician and sound engineer. Anberlin has little things in their riffs and rhythms that I just don't hear anywhere else. They are subtle and maybe only a trained ear will hear them, but they have an incredible ability to add energy and edge to their songs. If you can learn it and apply it, I hope you find success because I need more of it (and Anberlin isn't releasing albums at the pace I require). :)

I challenge you, if you're a guitar player, to learn the parts verbatim... you'll find the fretwork isn't that hard. However, you will start to notice that there are a lot of rhythmic/timing tricks. Specifically, the guitars 'throw' beats... by throwing, I mean they will hit a chord slightly ahead or behind the beat. A great example of this is in "Foreign Language" during the verses. There's a 'throw' right at the end of the line "Give it to me now" (it's right on the word "now"). All the chords in the chorus of "Ready Fuels" are thrown... not much, but if you listen carefully to the snare and guitars, it's there. The entire album is littered with them... sometimes the drums are throwing beats, sometimes the guitars and sometimes everyone.

Anyway, I just wanted to share a little different perspective on why I enjoy the album (and band) so much. They have a freshness (even 7+ years after release) that I crave.

Wow! All three of these albums are absolutely incredible! Several bands are able to put out one or even two great albums, and then kind of start to disappoint, but only a handful are able to make all of their CDs better and better like Anberlin. I was stoked when I saw this awesome deal to buy these three albums for a very decent price. I definately would have bought all three seperately so this was a perfect choice!

I have Anberlin's two other cds, kind of found out about them when their 3rd cd was being released. I know kinda backwards but lets forward to know i finally bought. The first cd by them "Blueprints" and yeah i can see why they are in this business, first off i love the way they title some of their songs like "Foreight Languauge" and "Naive New Orleans". The latter being one of my fav songs on the entire cd. I dont think there was a song that i didnt enjoy after the first listen.

But the obvious choice for song i press play on over again is "Cadence". Love everything about the song, vocals, background and the overall feel of the song in all aspects. Anberlin is seriously talented and whatever your preference is on music. You can find something from this super talented group on the way up to enjoy over and over again.

PS-also check out "Never Take Friendship Personal" and "Cities" by Anberlin as well. Fantastic 2nd and 3rd releases as well.

This CD is absolutely amazing. In fact, it is by far the best collection of music I have ever heard. Cold War Transmissions all the way through the end of the CD is one of the few segments of my music library I can listen to over and over without ever getting tired of the songs.

The only songs that I think less than perfectly of are Foreign Language and Glass to the Arson. Other than that this is simply an amazing disc and one that any music lover should own.

"We Dreamt In Heist" did get stuck in my head for the longest time, so watch out for that. ;)