Anberlin - New Surrender
Record Label: Universal Republic
Release Date: September 30, 2008
To surrender is to give in. It marks a defeat against a force that has become burdening or too strong to face. But to surrender newly means to meet a force one may have met before and to give in yet again, but this time for reasons exempt from tiredness and defeat. It’s to give in, but to give in willingly.
It would be dandy to say that Anberlin has surrendered to its own demons over the last several years. It’s always advantageous to speak of a band overcoming obstacles and releasing an album that’s as momentous as the overcoming itself, but with Anberlin, this isn’t the case. The band hasn’t suffered any troubled internal affairs other than a few line-up changes, and as of yet, hasn’t been cheated by their label. And surrender is not the only new thing to the band. The changes of label and producer have marked a slight change in the band’s musical vision as well. New Surrender is much cleaner than the Anberlin the listener may be used to, and much poppier at that. Tracks such as “Breathe” and “Retrace” are slow and polished, and although the band hasn’t strayed from ballads in the past, Neil Avron’s smooth work behind the boards make the songs sound polished enough to be played on Top 40 radio. This may not necessarily be negative, but in exchange for their radio-friendliness the band has seemingly lost some of the artistic tone it possessed on Cities.
Indeed, the overall tempo of New Surrender is slower, but not every song is fit for a seventh grade slow dance. The opener “The Resistance” shows the attitude that has made Anberlin renowned, as heavy, driving guitars inundate the chorus behind lead-vocalist Stephen Christian’s enunciation of “speak for yourself, you paper tigers”. The album’s first single “Feel Good Drag” moves with the same kind of energy, but doesn’t hit the mark of the original song as the guitars are too clean and the drums aren’t as heavy. “Disappear” offers fulfilling arrangements and a pleasing bridge, but as far as the band’s precedence goes, it’s nothing new. “Blame Me! Blame Me!” follows much of the same pattern, but falls deeper into the realm of mediocrity.
“Breaking” bears the most similarity to the Anberlin of the Cities era, and is as melodically-driven as an Anberlin has ever been and is also as equally catchy. “Haight Street”, a throwback to the band’s Never Take Friendship Personal era, is the catchiest song on the record, chalking up hand-claps and whoa-ohs along the way, and showing a marked improvement upon hook-centered songwriting. “Younglife” and “Burn Out Brighter (Northern Lights)” are less memorable in themselves than the latter, but are supported by strong melodic backbones.
Stephen Christian’s vocals remain superlative throughout the record, further solidifying his stature as one of the best vocalists in the scene. The addition of Christian McAlhaney (ex-Acceptance) on guitar is complimentary to Christian’s vocal dexterity and with the stalwart Milligan rounding out the songwriting line-up, the band is star-studded. However, despite positive changes in lineup, label, and producer, New Surrender is a step sideways for the band who have seemingly given up the thick, earth-like feel they developed on Cities. In essence, they’ve cleaned up their sound. In songs like “Haight Street”, this change is for the better. But in songs like “Soft Skeletons,” which is the cheesiest song the band has ever written, the style should be left for Simple Plan.
In the end, New Surrender was surprising. With the diverse influences that have been leaking into the band’s blogs and music (they covered Radiohead’s “Creep” for cripes sake), a pop record was seemingly the last thing on the band’s plate. Nevertheless, the band has written a pop-leaning record, and although it’s by no means unpleasant, it doesn’t unleash the raw purity the band has revealed in the past. But this is a new surrender and a new era for the band, and all that stands in their way is themselves.
"“Soft Skeletons,” which is the cheesiest song the band has ever written"
Wrong. Go listen to foreign language. And Soft Skeletons is a great song, IMO, and not cheesy. Other than that, decent review. Youre score doesnt seem to match the review though, by the negative tone of the review I would guess you gave it a 70 at the highest.
"“Soft Skeletons,” which is the cheesiest song the band has ever written"
Wrong. Go listen to foreign language. And Soft Skeletons is a great song, IMO, and not cheesy. Other than that, decent review. Youre score doesnt seem to match the review though, by the negative tone of the review I would guess you gave it a 70 at the highest.
In my opinion, Soft Skeletons is awful. It's slow and has an awful, downtrodden melody. Foreign Language is a faster, punk influenced song, and although I will agree that its not the best song, one has to remember that that came from their first album. This is their fourth and have shown they have the ability to write songs that are way better than soft skeletons.
"“Soft Skeletons,” which is the cheesiest song the band has ever written"
Wrong. Go listen to foreign language. And Soft Skeletons is a great song, IMO, and not cheesy. Other than that, decent review. Youre score doesnt seem to match the review though, by the negative tone of the review I would guess you gave it a 70 at the highest.
i will agree and disagree with you.....soft skeletons is unlistenable.....but foreign language is their cheesiest song by far....
Youre absolutely entitled to your opinion about the song, I was just telling you mine. But noone can say that Soft Skeletons is cheesier than Foreign Language. And I love Foreign Language
I think Soft Skeletons is the weakest song on the album in my opinion. I feel that it's only there to fit between the catchy Haight St. and their closer.
The lyrics may be introverted, and may relate to previous albums, but the song itself it very, very boring.
OMG...I can't believe you all think Soft Skeletons is cheesier than Foreign Language? Also, I disagree that "Haight Street" is the catchiest song. Although, you were dead on with your comparison of "Feel Good Drag," the new version isn't near as good as the old; however, I do like the guitars on the newer version.
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