Anberlin

To move away from the pop that I have been loving lately, we'll go with a Christian Rock band--Anberlin.

Basic stats...

Hometown: Orlando, FL

Label: Universal Republic Records (haven't released anything through URR yet), Tooth and Nail Records

Albums: Blueprints for the Black Market, Never Take Friendship Personal, Cities, Lost Songs

I first caught this band opening for Fall Out Boy in 2004. (I don't care how much you hate Fall Out Boy or Pete Wentz, but they have a solid history of touring with great bands) I saw them first at one of my favorite venues ever, mostly because it is so small, yet filled with great memories, Top Cat's in Cincinnati. (I hate doing research because I always find out bad news...according to their myspace page, Top Cat's is now closed! :( I'm waiting on confirmation from my friend Brittany who still lives there) Anyways, I have seen them all over the country with different types of bands--Story of the Year, Plain White T's, Bamboozle 2005, Motion City Soundtrack, etc.

More (sad) news that comes from research, Anberlin's guitarist, Nate Strayer, recently left the band, but Christian McAlhaney (formerly of Acceptance) has joined the band.

I had an opportunity to sit down with vocalist and band representative Stephen Christian for an interview a few years ago when they played at the Factory. Stephen told me that his band borrowed its name from him--Anberlin was a name that Stephen was saving to name his daughter, if he ever had one. He said the name stuck with the band and he wouldn't use it for his daughter anymore--wouldn't want people to think it was an ego thing. The band is NOT named after porn star Amber Lynn--really? Do people really think that a Christian rock band would borrow a name from a porn star?

Stephen Christian is quite the inspirational guy. He insists that Anberlin is not a Christian rock band, but I can see the influence on their music. He has a side project that is clearly inspired by his religious views, Anchor and Braille.

Over the years, Anberlin's sound has changed quite a bit. If you listen to tracks like "Glass to the Arson" and "Change the World (Lost Ones)" from Blueprints, and then compare them to newer songs from Cities (that are up on their myspace page) like "Dismantle. Repair." and "The Unwinding Cable Car", you can see a BIG change. However, "Hello Alone" and "Godspeed" are very reminiscent of the older Anberlin sound. I didn't really notice until now, but they even introduced more synth throughout Cities, where Blueprints only let it slip on "Autobahn".

By the way, don't think this band isn't a little poppy...tracks like "A Day Late" and "Stationary Stationery" could easily be Top 40 material--in heavy rotation. Both of these songs are from Never Take Friendship Personal which is a solid alt/pop album, but still makes a pretty even mix of Cities and Blueprints.

...and about 2 hours later, YouTube is still not working on my computer. I'll post some video later, but you definitely MUST HEAR THEM!

Abbey