Anberlin Band • Page 92

I loved vital from the get go and always considered it one of their top tier albums long with cities and vitals

 

I'm confused, haha.

 

Shucky darns.

 

Cities
Never Take
Vital
Dark Is The Way
Blue Prints
Lowborn
New Surrender

 

Sorry that was supposed to be "loved lowborn from the get go "

 

Anberlin was and is my favorite band, pretty much the case since NTFP.

Lowborn is a complicated beast for me. being that it was their farewell record, expectations from me and (i gather) most everyone were high. probably too high, admittedly. i appreciate the hell out of the fact that they threw caution to the wind and did what they wanted because they didn’t have a “future” to worry about. this was it for them, so they could do pretty much anything. at the same time, given the way some of the guys talked about just being done with Anberlin, it felt very much to me like they didn’t make a final record because they wanted to, but because they felt obligated to. i echo the sentiment about it feeling disconnected, because i don’t think they were ever all in the studio or even in the same place in the country while recording it.

many of the songs didn’t “click” for me until i read through the tumblr Stephen created where he dives into his own headspace regarding the lyrics. it doesn’t necessarily make any of the songs “better,” but i can at least see where HE was coming from with all of them, and given that the man is a goddamn poet, it makes me appreciate some of the songs more than i did on initial listens.

it absolutely has standouts. but it also has very low lows (dissenter, birds of prey) that are hard to get past.

had they ended on Vital/Devotion, i think they would have had a stronger farewell. Stephen seemed to be of the mindset that that was their defining record (agree to disagree) so it would have made sense to just let that stand on its own. i appreciate Lowborn, but it’s hard for me to say i like it anywhere near as much as Vital, Cities, or NTFP. final records are always gonna be difficult to stick the landing on, and it pains me to say i don’t think they succeeded in that regard.

/rant.

 

I remember listening to lowborn the first time and thinking there was something on it for fans of each record, and I still think that. You could easily slip most of those songs onto other records. Perhaps that makes it a little incohesive but I don’t think the quality is that drastically different from any other. Also Dissenter is fun as heck.

For what it’s worth,
Vital > cities > NTFP/lowborn > blueprints/dark > NS

 

Never Take Friendship Personal is so good. Easily my second favourite after Cities. I'd love to get an album like that these days.

 

I’m a much bigger fan of Dark than just about everyone else, it seems

 

I like dark more than my rankings suggest. I think the gap between first and second worst is smaller than most and that the different is more stylistic than quality.

 

I really like it but I do still Vital & Cities above it (maybe Lowborn & NTFP too). But it’s a brilliant album.

 

I love Dark. Usually my third fav by them, but on some days it's 2nd tbh

 

Dark is my fifth favorite album from my favorite band so take that as you will. I love Cities, Lowborn, Vital, and NTFP more (in that order) but I love them all to an extent.

One thing I’ve mentioned about Lowborn that I can’t stress enough is how every song has an epic sense of finality to it. That’s what ties the record together for me even though every song is so different. Also, Birds of Prey is a sonic delight.

 

@SpyKi loves Dark so much he can’t stand it.

 

How is when you got into Anberlin a barometer for whether or not you like Lowborn? I've loved them since NTFP and think Lowborn is great.

 

Dark is legitimately one of my least favourite albums by a band I like.

 

Minus Blueprints, which I would probably put last, same.

 

“Closerrr.... cloooserrr and CLOOOOOOSERRR!!!”

C’mon buddy! I know you know the words!

 

Dark is an anomaly for me because the production on that thing is in a whole other stratosphere. Sounds amazing.

But yeah, there are some good songs. I love the opening track and Impossible. But mostly just meh.

 

Also I love everything about Art of War except the chorus, which kind of ruins it for me. Soooooo bland.

 

Dark is an okay album. Some good songs, some meh ones. Impossible, Pray Tell, and The Art Of War are the definite highlights. Hell Or High Water should have been on it and To The Wolves should have been cut.

 

Dark blowz

 

The chorus saves it for me, haha I think the rest is boring

I remember talking about this during the brackets but the opinions on Dark were crazy to me. I find Art, Take Me, and You Belong Here boring as hell, and I love Closer and To The Wolves. They’re a bit like diluted versions of other anberlin songs, but given it’s a pretty simple record I thought they were great changes of pace. Closer’s chorus is one of my favorites.

 

They're a band that I love every album for a different reason. One of the few bands.

 

Blueprints and New Surrender are the only two from them that I only pick and choose a couple songs to listen to from. I love every other album from front to back