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Anberlin – Never Take Friendship Personal

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Melody Bot, Feb 4, 2025.

  1. Melody Bot Feb 4, 2025
    Melody Bot

    Your friendly little forum bot. Staff Member

    This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

    Because time is a cruel beast, Never Take Friendship Personal has turned 20 years old and yet it still packs that same urgency of a band hungry for more. More exposure, more fans, and plenty more music! The record itself is as gripping as they come, especially in a scene where so many emo bands were exploding out of the gate and into the pages of magazines like Alternative Press. What set Anberlin apart from the pack was their ability to lean into the genre’s best parts: anthemic and heartfelt vocals, searing guitar parts, and well-constructed songs that made a lot of sense and still had a lasting impact on the listener.

    I think the first time I heard the band name Anberlin was when I saw the young band take the stage in Baltimore, Maryland opening for Bayside. This must’ve been close to 2005, because I can vividly remember their set comprised almost entirely of material from Never Take Friendship Personal. I was instantly hooked on lead vocalist Stephen Christian’s energetic stage presence and his vocals were top-notch that evening. Later on that same weekend, I traveled to my local Best Buy to pick up a CD copy of the album, and I was immediately transported back to that fateful evening in Baltimore where I would discover one of my favorite bands of all time.

    The album is filled with dynamic and heart-pounding singles, like the sonic immediacy found on “Paperthin Hymn”, the frenetic energy of “A Day Late” that demands audience participation, and the later re-recorded scene classic of “The Feel Good Drag.” The dual-guitar attack of Joseph Milligan and Nathan Straye really sears through the mix on these tracks, and their presence is felt widely on the record. Even deep cuts like “Stationary Stationery” and the starts and stops of “The Runaways” are filled with the utmost passion behind Christian’s lyrics and vocals, while the drumming of Nathan Young also stands out prominently on repeat listens in the mix by JR McNeely.

    Also not lost in the shuffle is the incredible tutelage of veteran producer Aaron Sprinkle (Acceptance, New Found Glory), who is able to get the parts that Anberlin showed flashes of on Blueprints for the Black Market and persuade them to really lean into these strengths. Like many other bands developing in the emo/punk scene, the record features key collaborations from several other artists on the studio version. Ryan Clark (Demon Hunter) appears on the opening title track, while Seth Roberts (Lakes), Phil Sneed (Story of the Year), and Mike Weiss (mewithoutYou) each make memorable cameos. None of these spots seem forced. Instead, they allow the music to shine through brilliantly.

    ”Time & Confusion” is filled with a plethora of shout and response vocals in the chorus, while the rest of the back-half of the LP builds up the anticipation to the sprawling closing track of “Dance, Dance Christa Päffgen.” Anberlin really made their time on their sophomore record count, and even when the band did their COVID-19 livestreams, you can tell that Anberlin still truly believes in these songs.

    Luckily for us, the band still feels fondly about Never Take Friendship Personal, and have made the wise decision to re-press the vinyl for its 20th anniversary via Tooth & Nail and also in their own webstore. While the re-press doesn’t include the long sought after demo of “New Fast Automatic” that was teased in a 2011 AbsolutePunk interview with Stephen Christian, it does include plenty of tracks from Lost Songs that are making their way onto the format for the very first time. The lyrics of “If this isn’t love, then this is the closest I’ve ever been” on “Audrey, Start The Revolution!” ring a little bit truer today as I gush over my adoration for Never Take Friendship Personal.

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  2. Pepetito Feb 4, 2025
    Pepetito

    Trusted Supporter

    Great review. This album absolutely rips.

    This record and then Cities back to back is pretty hard to top.


    Edit: Speaking of Lost Songs, I think "Downtown Song" is from these sessions. Love that one as well.
     
    RaginCajun, paythetab, Oviedotiger and 2 others like this.
  3. grimis16 Feb 4, 2025
    grimis16

    Teacher in Rome

    Absolute classic. This album reminds me of late night Halo 2 multiplayer sessions.
     
    Yourbiggestflan and paythetab like this.
  4. Jason Tate Feb 4, 2025
    Jason Tate

    chr.us Staff Member

    Please remaster it for streaming and fix the volume issues.

    :heart: jason
     
    Benjamin Lee, Frinet42, JamesMichael and 2 others like this.
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  6. PaperthinHymn Feb 4, 2025
    PaperthinHymn

    Newbie

    Favorite band and favorite album of all time (obvious by the name). Great retrospective review!
     
    peoplearepoison and paythetab like this.
  7. manoverboard679 Feb 4, 2025
    manoverboard679

    If you have to ask, you can't afford it

    I always knew I wanted to name my daughter Audrey or Adelaide (Cities). Without even telling my wife she suggested Audrey because she was named after Kathryn Hepburn. Pretty insane full circle moment for me
     
    MarkM, zachmacD, Hagysaurus and 4 others like this.
  8. Pepetito Feb 4, 2025
    Pepetito

    Trusted Supporter

    Volume issues?
     
    RaginCajun likes this.
  9. Jason Tate Feb 4, 2025
    Jason Tate

    chr.us Staff Member

    It's extremely quiet on streaming platforms.
     
    Pepetito and Benjamin Lee like this.
  10. paythetab Feb 4, 2025
    paythetab

    Chorus.FM Album Reviewer (Adam Grundy) Supporter

    It seems to be leveled right on Amazon Music...I just checked a few minutes ago.
     
  11. Jason Tate Feb 4, 2025
    Jason Tate

    chr.us Staff Member

    Jun 7, 2023, and the main info: Jun 8, 2023

    Pretty sure it's how it's mastered; if you listen to it and then anything else back to back, if the music app isn't normalizing the audio itself, it's very very noticeable.
     
    zachmacD and paythetab like this.
  12. paythetab Feb 4, 2025
    paythetab

    Chorus.FM Album Reviewer (Adam Grundy) Supporter

    Interesting...the dynamics actually are pretty noticeable when I went to something else recently released. Good catch!
     
  13. xenoabe Feb 4, 2025
    xenoabe

    Regular

    One of my favorite albums. This one felt like something new when I heard it.
     
    paythetab likes this.
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  15. SFguitar Feb 4, 2025
    SFguitar

    Regular

    This album is great and it sucks they abandoned this sound. Some of their stuff after was super boring. Apparently Matty's trying to bring them back to this sound
     
    Pepetito likes this.
  16. Excal101 Feb 4, 2025
    Excal101

    The sword and the faith. Supporter

    Dance, Dance Christa Päffgen is a wildly underrated track and a top tier album closer.

    Great album.
     
    Pepetito, exanctile, Hagysaurus and 2 others like this.
  17. Jason Tate Feb 4, 2025
    Jason Tate

    chr.us Staff Member

    [​IMG]
     
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  18. Hagysaurus Feb 5, 2025
    Hagysaurus

    Newbie

    This album will always be linked to AP.net in my mind. One day, a much younger me searched "Music News" in Altavista and came across ap.net and found a bunch of members discussing NTFP. I had never heard of Anberlin before. After just one trip to the site I had a new favorite band and a new favorite music site.
     
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  19. David Falcone Feb 5, 2025
    (Last edited: Feb 5, 2025)
    David Falcone

    i do not exist.

    I love this band and album. I especially love how mutually loved and respected this band has always been in the scene. Arguably the best band on Tooth & Nail Records.
     
    paythetab likes this.
  20. MarkM Feb 5, 2025
    MarkM

    Duuuude

    i remember taking late night drives with stale azzwater listening to this album, singing along to every word, air drumming and being carefree. what a time to be alive.
     
    paythetab likes this.
  21. SFguitar Feb 5, 2025
    SFguitar

    Regular

    Who here is looking forward to NTFP (Matty's Version)

    Jason and who else?
     
  22. kidwithhelmet Feb 5, 2025
    kidwithhelmet

    WELCOME THRILLHO Supporter

    One of those albums that I remember right where I was and right what I was doing when I heard it.

    19, had just been let go from a job that I loved and was really emotional about it because it came from out of nowhere. NTFP must've been on my radar from AP.net so I bought the CD from the neighboring Best Buy to play for the drive home even though I was absolutely fucking broke.

    Just a shot in the dark purchase that absolutely hit at a crucial time for me, still love this album.
     
    paythetab likes this.
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  24. peoplearepoison Feb 5, 2025
    peoplearepoison

    It takes strength to be gentle and kind Supporter

    Back when this album came out, if you went to tooth and nail’s website, an advertisement would pop for this first and I printed that out and hung that on my wall. One of the first advertisements for a band I ever hung up. Good ol days
     
    BeenPunkSince03, Jason Tate and paythetab like this.
  25. ixigojerrygoixi Feb 5, 2025
    ixigojerrygoixi

    Newbie

    Being from tampa I was first introduced to these guys as Sagoh 24/7. A few years later one of the guitarist, Joey was messaging my girlfriend at the time asking her to come out. That relationship is long dead but at the time I never listend to anyting by them due to hating them because of that. Is it petty......hell to the yeah haha. I do acknowledge they are a great band though.
     
    grimis16 likes this.
  26. Mitch Howell Feb 6, 2025
    Mitch Howell

    Newbie

    Classic Album by an absolutely phenomenal band. While it is probably #5 on my list from them, it just goes to show how damn good this band was specifically with Stephen on vocals.