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by Tony Pascarella Published: February 2, 2005
Formed in Orlando, Florida, Anberlin is an alternative rock quartet with religious influences. Their sound is a little bit emo, a little bit rock, but it all comes together with a rousing squeal of the guitar. Stephen Christian sings and plays guitar for the band; he's a talented yet underrated vocalist. Joseph Milligan serves as lead guitarist and Deon Rexroat is on bass guitar. Both of them are excellent on Never Take Friendship Personal. Nathan Young's work on the drums adds a personality to Anberlin that can keep anyone entertained for all eleven songs and numerous replays. Anberlin's 2005 release Never Take Friendship Personal is an ambitious bit of rock. While the band could be classified as many vast genres, including hardcore, emo, and alternative rock, their music is certainly not routine. I've never been a big fan of the genre, but I did enjoy some songs off their 2003 album, Blueprints for the Black Market, which caused me to check out their new one. Title tracks are usually hit or miss, but Anberlin nailed this one dead on. Squealing riffs highlight the song as a whole, while the lyricism is actually pretty good. Several times through, and you'll be singing along with "Never Take Friendship Personal." Much heavier and darker, "Paperthin Hymn" infuses an almost metal element with a tortured rock melody. Luckily, it never deteriorates into screaming. "Stationary Stationery" is an interesting track that strays very far into the radio-friendly area of alternative rock, which isn't a bad thing at all. Rather than sounding slightly preachy, Christian's vocals are melodic, while backed by catchy guitar riffs. Upbeat yet cynical, this song is just a winner. "Symphony of Blasé" is a simply exhilarating ballad. It's special, in that it follows the formula Anberlin uses, but manages to be free. The backing instruments together as one produce a musical effort worthy of all the praise it will ever get and more. The band rocks out on "A Day Late." A chugging guitar intro leads into pulverizing riffs and more great vocals from Stephen Christian. If Anberlin keeps putting out songs like this, they'll develop a solid mainstream following, that's for sure. You can draw a definite connection between this song and the style of Jimmy Eat World's Clarity, the album which shot them to stardom. Starry guitar riffs lead off "The Runaways." Stephen Christian's part here is extremely catchy, and you'll be humming the chorus for weeks afterward. All throughout the song, Milligan, Rexroat, and Young do a remarkable job of making the rest of "The Runaways" on par with its vocals. "Time and Confusion" is another infectious one. With wide-eyed dreams, Anberlin seems to reach a sort of epiphany here. While it's not hook-laden, Christian's vocals definitely border on uplifting. I'd definitely mark this one down in the category of superb. "The Feel Good Drag" is about three and a half minutes of blistering music in which the singer teeters on the edge of screaming. While that's usually the death knell of a song unless you're talking about heavy metal, Anberlin pulls it off flawlessly. My only problem is that "The Feel Good Drag" is a bit too repetitive, but that's a minor complaint on the scale of things. "Audrey, Start The Revolution" is along the lines of other tracks from NTFP, but in its own way, it's entirely different. The guitar riffs are varied and layered well, and Stephen Christian shows once again just how great of a vocalist he really is. "A Heavy Hearted Work of Staggering Genius" is a simple instrumental that measures in at just over one minute. It's smooth and dark, but not overly remarkable. "Dance, Dance Christa Paffgen" is eccentric rock, or so it seems. Aside from the mainstream-sounding chorus, the verses are actually quite novel, and they're crisp and refreshing. Be forewarned, this song runs just over seven minutes in length; it tends to cross paths already covered, but there is a message in there somewhere It's a bit more progressive than I've heard the band do before, but the song does work in the overall scheme. It's an epic of sorts, and one of the few seven-minute songs out there that can keep my attention. Perhaps the only word I can use to accurately portray Never Take Friendship Personal is "wow." The band's talented musicianship will keep nearly anyone glued to their headphones/speakers, and Stephen Christian's singing is top notch. If the releases for this year are on the whole anywhere near as good as Anberlin's latest, I'll have to start my Best Of list now. Never Take Friendship Personal is riff after ass-kicking riff for forty minutes. It only briefly lets up, only to come back faster and harder-hitting. I was certainly not expecting an album of this caliber when I picked up Anberlin's latest, but they made a believer out of me.  Recommendation: Excellent album; highest purchase recommendation. Genre: Alternative Rock Overall Grade: A Links: Official Anberlin Website | Anberlin's MySpace Site |
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