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Lucas27's Recent Activity

  1. Lucas27 liked disambigujason's post in the thread Band Anberlin.

    I try not to think too much about band’s managing their legacies, “cash grabs,” tying a band’s identity to specific members, etc etc and I try to recognize that bands’ opinions and strategies and goals can change (though anberlin have always required us to be really charitable to take things they say at face value), but the annoying part for me is that even from a marketing perspective this just doesn’t make sense to me. I’m sure there are plenty of people that like both bands, matty’s voice aside it’s not that surprising of a crossover, and I appreciate that the larger emo community is having more time in the sun again, but there is nothing they can do with NTFP or old school music that’ll make it hit like it did in the scene’s heyday/during our formative years. It just doesn’t sound sustainable and to waste resources trying to hit this target audience feels silly. Even if you like the re-record, is anybody, anberlin or MMF fan, going to listen to it more than once or twice? Beyond a month? I mean I don’t even listen to most faithful re-recordings/remasters/etc from bands without singer changes. I feel like the target audience of people who like MMF enough to listen to matty do covers of songs they’ve had 20 years to learn to enjoy but didn’t, plus people who are casual enough fans of anberlin to not mind hearing a different voice on old songs, plus new fans to either band that want modern production on 2004 music is painfully small. We’re seeing bands release music trying to capture nostalgia magic in new music and by and large it just doesn’t seem to be that good of a strategy. Granted a lot of bands also struggle to expand their audience with sound changes, I get the concern with being too artsy (wtf man) but again this just doesn’t seem like the best use of time or resources to maximize the bands longevity. Not like you have to worry about making music too artsy with matty anyway.

    Mar 20, 2025 at 3:03 PM

  2. Lucas27 liked Jason Tate's post in the thread Band Anberlin.

    The more I think about it, the more if it was just an honest statement when they decided to change the band to be Anberullins, I woulda been more ok with it. Someone saying they were disappointed at the live show and a band member replying "No refunds" is what just doesn't set well with me. And this is like a top 20 band all time for me, I love this band, just do not care at all for this variation of them and it bums me out what I've seen.

    Mar 20, 2025 at 10:40 AM

  3. Lucas27 liked Jason Tate's post in the thread Band Anberlin.

    I have to be honest and say I think this is it. It has to be with the way we’re going out. A lot of bands are like, “Oh, we’re taking a break,” or “It’s a hiatus and we’re done until further notice.” I think for this to have an impact like we want it to, it has to be the end. We don’t want to taint that with anything. Say years later we come back and we’re not on it as much, and our live show isn’t as good as it used to be, or we put out another record and it sounds like we’re phoning it in. The quotes are kinda funny to read back though.

    Mar 20, 2025 at 10:39 AM

  4. Lucas27 liked ChampsMusic's post in the thread Band Anberlin.

    They weren't phoning it in with the EPs though. Which makes it even more jarring going from some epic releases to then "I'm out". I'll still support this band no matter what, just might not be in the same (monetary) capacity.

    Mar 20, 2025 at 10:39 AM

  5. Lucas27 replied to the thread Band Anberlin.

    Sorry this is overly long. This is my favorite band of all-time and I've been trying to process all of this... At this point, I can't tell if the band isn't being fair to me or if I'm not being fair to the band. On one hand, I don't understand how you can just move on with a new singer to the chagrin of so many fans. Playing live was one thing. Bringing him in on new recorded material was another. That was a very tough pill to swallow. And now, re-recording a beloved album without Stephen wasn't even something that occurred to me. No one wants to hear Joshua Tree without Bono. No one wants to hear Hot Fuss without Brandon. Literally the only justification for this is, "Well, Anberlin isn't U2 or The Killers." But to some of us, even if they're not as popular, they're more important and Stephen is even more iconic as a vocalist. It feels a bit disrespectful to long-time fans, but it also feels disrespectful to themselves. And why? So the singer of Memphis May Fire gets to live his teenage dream? On the other hand... I like Stephen's heart in this a lot. I feel like the execution couldn't be more misguided, but he loves the band and doesn't have the capacity to be as part of it as he would otherwise want to be. I can see why this feels like a best-case scenario and I think he's coming from a genuine place of humility and passing the torch. The guys are clearly having a blast and it feels crappy to throw a fit while they're getting stoked. It's just, if you wanted to tour with the guy, that's totally understandable. Rewriting your legacy is crazy. I don't think the new songs are awful (although I don't like "Walk Alone"). Probably unpopular, but I think there's some potential even if new songs contain a blend of Stephen and Matty. Also unpopular, if the band is going to re-record with a different singer, I'd much rather it be NTFP than Cities. If they start re-recording other albums, it's going to absolutely break my heart. I've just never heard of any other band doing this. I don't know, man. It makes me tired. They went out so well and came back so well. And now, this is like... a hard pivot into something that just feels so sad. At the end of the day, it's frustrating to be doing mental gymnastics to be supportive of a band who has given me so much. I don't feel like I should have to will support for my favorite band of all-time. It's just the decisions and the bandmates' response to the response and the doubling down on the things that long-time fans are struggling with... That's what's so hard. As a business decision, it makes sense. Memphis fans are going to come out in droves. Casual fans are gonna say big whoop. I have a friend who doesn't like Anberlin who heard the new version of "A Day Late" and thinks it's better. Okay. But then, it's like, you're Anberlin. What about your fans? And why do I feel like this band that raised me is thriving without me? Is this my problem or the band's? Am I an unstable superfan that I think I have a better pulse on the band's legacy than they do? I'll always love this band. I just don't understand it. Maybe they'll pivot back. But I just think their priorities are different from us. They just want to play forever. We want Anberlin to stay Anberlin even if they never played again... Which is basically calling them on what they said when they hung it up in 2014. Aaaaand, this might be the longest comment I've ever commented on this site.

    Mar 19, 2025 at 7:48 PM

  6. Lucas27 liked Phantoms's post in the thread Band Anberlin.

    [MEDIA] I’m happy for the guy regardless of how disappointed I am in the current state of the band. Really just hoping his absence isn’t permanent.

    Mar 19, 2025 at 8:06 AM
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