Def agree with fan consensus, especially on forums and talking to fans at shows. The part I underlined is my exact view of how their albums went down to fans. Agreed, there haven't released a bad song IMO and they could pick songs out of a hat and I would be satisfied. I think they had chart success and (perhaps) feel like they have to play the chart toppers for those fans but I wonder if they know the fans love their entire catalogue?
I always feel like I need to be in the mood to listen to some of their records now, which is a shame, because it prevents just casually putting on one of their records and just vibin. I'm going to try to give them a discog run this weekend. Some of the earlier work hasn't aged well in my eyes (even though I consider some of it "classic"), but I really felt like they were hitting some major stride towards the end there. Hoping they come back guns blazin.
I’m really interested to see what direction they’d go in lyrically these days... whether more faith-based, more political, more introspective, etc.
Honestly - never really felt one way or another about some of his lyrics, which is generally not the case for me personally.
I’ve tried to get into the new A&B album but the lyrics have been a turn-off. Granted I haven’t tried very hard, but after digging deep into the new 1975 stuff with tons of really deep and smart and creative lyrics, the first couple songs on the A&B album felt very generic and like they didn’t have much to say.
I think you should probably go ahead and assume the answer will be, ‘not saying that much.’ He’s employed at a massive mega-church, and they’ve used him as a ‘face’ for the community. They hired him knowing who he is, but I can’t imagine they’d be fine with him being political/in any way controversial (and that’s the job he needs these days). And I think his faith based stuff goes to other artists (his solo album was comprised of songs other musicians had passed on or didn’t fit with other people). So that leaves... nebulous vagaries? Of course now that I say all that, your initial post is a good one - I DO wonder what he’d have to say at this point in his life, especially given his life situation.
I've been feeling the same way unfortunately, was surprised to see a lot of people really digging it. The overall sound and lyrics are pretty cheesy to me. "If character falls in the dark does it ever ever really make a sound" makes me cringe every time I hear it.
There are 26 vinyl copies left of Anchor & Braille and then it's out of print/gone. I know I sound like a broken record :) but don't want anyone who's interested to miss out. Tension A & B : TANR : Tooth & Nail Records
Going through Anberlin’s discography. Man, I feel like we all be sleeping on “We Dreamt in Heist”. Every time I go through Blueprints it catches me off guard.
I’ve heard better debut albums, but I can think of few other debut albums where the band has a clearer picture of who they are. It’s crazy how uniquely Anberlin this record is. They got better, but no one else could have written this.
Totally agree. I only listen to that album when I’m doing a discography run, and every time I’m like “Damn this is better than I remembered.”
Holds up a lot better than other debut (or not debut) albums from the scene that came out around the same time period.
Blueprints maybe falls off the radar just because of how good they got afterwards...but it's a solid album. Glass to the Arson, Cadence, and Naieve Orleans are top notch Anberlin for me
I never listen to Blueprints, it's the album I know the least by them, but Naive Orleans is a top five Anberlin song for me. Would be really cool if they threw it in as a closer or encore tune down the road.
Baffles me how they don’t play Glass to the Arson live. I think it’d transition really well into the sets they’ve been playing recently.
Since I've heard the 'electronic' version I wish they incorporated it into one of the 2D games as soundtrack.
You can currently vote for an album for them to perform live. I voted Lowborn because I would love to see some of those songs in the live setting.
Cities will get it despite the existence of a live release for it...which is kind of a bummer. I voted for Vital.
All the basic bro’s that follow them will just vote for Cities. “Play Deadbolt” basically. The correct answer is Vital. (Would be cool if they played Deadbolt tho)
I think I'd actually prefer them to play Blueprints for the Black Market. I certainly don't think it's their best album by any means. It's just that they rarely play anything off that album, so I think it would be cool to see some of those tracks performed again.
I haven't heard Naive Orleans or Autobahn live in awhile, would be nice to hear them. I voted for DITW, second would be Vital.