Anberlin are a band that have been around the scene for what feels like forever and before hearing this, we wondered if their ‘big break’ had passed them by. Their sound has over time grown more and more pop-orientated and despite this effort being darker and moodier, it’s a bigger pop affair than ‘New Surrender’.
This succeeds where New Surrender failed though and you wonder how much of that is down to the assistance of Brendan O’Brien as producer. You feel they’re making a big statement employing him and it looks like this is almost certainly going to be the record that breaks them into the mainstream.
There are some really big tunes here, Anberlin have always had the talent for some big hooks and good melodies but there are a selection of songs that will surely be destined for radio, something that’s avoided them previously, certainly in this country. The signs are already there that this is imminent though with first single ‘Impossible’ getting a lot of push in the States, while ‘We Owe This To Ourselves’ and ‘To The Wolves’ have already been picked up for Sport TV shows out there.
Overall the album is a bit darker than ‘New Surrender’. If we had to compare, it reminds us of then the likes of U2 and My Chemical Romance and if they reach even a portion of the same success these guys have they will see this release as a triumph. There’s no doubt that this is as good an album as Anberlin have managed up to now, we just hope the moodier and pop-orientated sound doesn’t lose them some fans in the mean time.
JAMIE HIND