Anberlin Band • Page 202

From problem to problematic

 

I wish so many other people were filling in other than Matty, he really is the issue. Anthony Green would be great. Sam from Architects. Cove from Saosin. Either Matt or Toby from Emery. If that guy from Ivoryline is still doing music, he'd be a good fit. I could go on and on. I hope this is only a short phase with Matty and they move on to other touring vocalists, I have no intention of seeing them with him. And I really hope it is only Stephen on main vocals for recordings.

 

Get Jason Vena.

 

I agree that Stephen is a unique enough vocalist/lyricist/frontman that anyone that’s not him can create a problem for fans, but as I said in my previous post, for me, matty is very much a part of the problem. Matt or Toby would be pretty sweet, that’d be a great idea. Ace Enders would be cool. Would love to hear Aaron marsh do Nothing More.

 

in trying to see about any more news on the album, i stumbled upon an interview someone did with Stephen when he hopped on his IG live (which is apparently a thing he does?) and then posted to YouTube. from what i caught, he said the intention wasn't to go into the studio and write all the material as an album and split it into two EPs, but to just write, release EPs, and potentially combine them into a full-length down the line. he also said that the new material they've been recording is some of his favorite stuff they've ever done, and that he almost wishes they would replace some of the EP songs with these new ones on the full-length, but i guess the album release is locked. oh well.

 

Looks like they are embracing Stephen’s hiatus with the new music video:

 

Doesn’t seem like a fair audition process.

 

iirc, they teased this concept for a video a number of months ago? Stephen might be in it too?

 

Walk Alone is up on YouTube with a VPN... ...i actually don't hate this? Matty's vocals don't sound as synthetic as i think we expected them to be (even if i'd definitely prefer to hear Stephen singing them, he and the others all have writing credits on this), and i could be wrong, but i might be hearing Stephen singing BGVs in a section of the chorus (i also think you can hear Christian a bit near the end)? either way, it sounds a lot better than the live version that's out there, and while the most generic of the 12 songs on the album, it somehow fits the sonic pallette of the others pretty damn well (and surprisingly does feel like an Anberlin song that could've been on some of their earlier albums). it's serviceable at least and pretty alright at best (for now).

update: that's not Christian, that's Stephen.

 

also the album clocks in just under 52 minutes long. Seven is over 5 minutes long.

 

Got a link? Just connected to an Aussie VPN

 

Hmm neither NZ or AUS working...on my VPN at least

 

i got mine with NZ. not sure why it's not running. FWIW, i was able to access it directly in the YouTube app.

 

Phone worked, thanks

 

this is growing on me with more listens. would i prefer Stephen singing lead vocals on this? absolutely. Matty's no Stephen, and i'm not a fan of his prior output with MMF or any other projects. is it the most exciting song on the album? absolutely not. it definitely leans a little more generic than i'd like, and i can see a lot of people ranking this at the bottom of their list for the album, aside from the fact that Matty is singing on it (unless you're a huge fan of NTFP because it reminds me a lot of Stationary Stationery). but i'm not gonna sit here and say it's utter dogshit, because it's not. the production more or less aligns with what they did with the EPs. it's serviceable and works well enough for what they're trying to do. and if this arrangement means that Stephen is gonna still be the primary frontman for recorded material (which he's indicated many times he will be), i'll tolerate a couple Matty-led tracks (with Stephen on BGVs, ofc). it really does sound like they're able to rein in the vocal processing, and so far it's definitely the best thing i've heard Matty sing on (which is still a much lower bar, but it is what it is).

 

Y'all remember when Phil from Story of the Year filled in for Saosin between AG and Cove at Warped Tour? Then went on to do Greek Fire? That dude would've absolutely killed this, and I would be 100% stoked on it.

For the uninitiated.

EDIT: and I forgot he did backing vocals on The Runaways! What are we doing! Alright I'm done.

 

Yeah Phil taking Stephen's spot was a dream wish. In the scene I feel like he's the closest to Stephen tone wise, while still having a distinctive voice. Oh what could've been

 

didn't Phil also fill in for Stephen a couple times when there was something going on with his family? i think it might've been during their tour with Switchfoot

 

Just listened to the song. It's exactly what I expected it to sound like with Matty. My wife was in the room with me and I had to give her a very quick explanation of what's going on with Anberlin (she doesn't care to follow stuff like this herself) then played the song and she just said, "Is he supposed to sound like the other guy? ... Are they using autotune? Why? They didn't with the other guy right? ... I don't like it."

It's just so generic. Nothing about this would make me think this is Anberlin. I just don't know if the band without Stephen have that strong of an identity.

 

This makes me think they had to have at least floated the idea to him and he declined for one reason or another. I guess there's no reason to think they didn't ask anyone other than Matty.

 

to be fair, some earlier Anberlin material also felt pretty generic (at least instrumentally). if you swapped out Matty's vocals here for Stephen (or even another vocalist like Phil), i think listeners would either call it a return to form or derivative of their older work. so it really does just boil down to Matty's voice vs. Stephen's voice as the defining characteristic (which i agree that Stephen singing these type of songs does give that sound a distinct edge).

my assumption with Walk Alone has always been that they chose this as the single of the two new songs because they know this sound defined their earlier and most popular work and wanted to attempt getting older fans on their side. is it an effective maneuver? time will tell, but i know lots of people have already made up their mind on Matty. if they chose Seven instead, maybe the reception might be different, but that one has always felt like the stronger of the two tracks (especially for Matty's vocals), and i think they might want to hold it back to surprise those who haven't heard it live yet.

what i'd really be interested in seeing with the new material they're currently working on is getting Matty out of his sonic comfort zone. from what i've heard of his vocal work, he seems to gravitate toward/work best with either straightforward alt. rock or heavier songs (which Anberlin has toyed with recently with the past two EPs/songs on this record). definitely not suggesting he should tackle a softer song like Cable Car, Inevitable, Down, etc. (because i don't know if he could handle that the way Stephen could), but something more experimental/less conventional like what they've been doing with their post-DITW output might put him in a position where his vocals can't sound generic.

maybe he can't handle that either, and if that's the case, if you're gonna keep him for recorded material, relegate him to straightforward/heavier songs and let Stephen handle everything else (because you know those more conventional songs are also what their set is gonna gravitate towards, so it makes sense for him to be a heavier feature on those cuts). Stephen's voice definitely has a broader applicability across different styles than Matty's does, so i agree that it's probably what sets them apart from their contemporaries. at the same time, the other defining characteristic of Anberlin's sound for me has been their willingness to experiment with instrumentation and production styles. i go back to DITW, Vital, Lowborn, and the Vega-era material way more than their first four albums because it always felt more unique and mature. this seems to be their drive nowadays, moreso than doing another album that sounds exactly like NTFP or Cities. if the latter was the case, i think they'd have Matty lead more songs, but i don't think that's gonna happen, and that's why i don't feel compelled to write this new era off entirely, since that spirit of experimentation is still likely to be present in their upcoming material. i guess all of that to say Walk Alone is definitely more generic, but it works for what it is (i.e. a song in the vein of NTFP and Cities), and i doubt it's gonna be the norm for their sound moving forward. now bring on the weirder, less-conventional shit, and if you're gonna incorporate Matty, play to his strengths and use him in heavier material or find a way to incorporate his and Stephen's voices in the same songs.

 

If we've got to make the best with what we've got with this guy, I want the ambient, atmospheric heavy songs with him. He can do harsh vocals, Anberlin has toyed with it for a long time, go do it now that you've got a guy comfortable with it.

 

exactly. i don't want them to go too heavy or anything, but i'd be curious to see what an Anberlin song would sound like with Stephen and Matty trading off on clean and harsh vocals, respectively (as in Stephen's cleans then Matty's harsh then Stephen's cleans, etc).

 

I… don’t hate it