Top tier: NTFP Cities Middle tier: Vital Lowborn New Surrender Bottom tier: Blueprints Dark Is The Way Too soon to place Silverline/Convinced for me.
It isn't bad, I just don't ever go back to it. I really didn't get into them until NTFP. Ready Fuels is a jam though, I'll put Blueprints in the rotation today
Agreed, it’s great! The acoustic versions of Naive Orleans and Cadence are fantastic. I just don’t have the urge to go back to it nearly as much.
Among My All-Time Favorites: Vital Cities Very Good, No Complaints: NTFP Good But Every Song Doesn’t Hit For Me: DITW Blueprints NS Some Songs Hit For Me: Lowborn Could Take Or Leave: EPs
Vital/Devotion Dark is the Way, Light Is a Place Cities Convinced EP Silverline EP Never Take Friendship Personal Lowborn Blueprints for the Black Market New Surrender (I love all of their albums, but this is my current ranking.)
Cities Never Take Friendship Personal Dark is the Way, Light Is a Place Vital Blueprints for the Black Market New Surrender Lowborn I'm surprised to see Dark is the way so low on so many lists. That feels like the sonic peak of what they started in Cities (my favorite). I'm not sure where I'd put the most recent EPs though, probably in the second tier. I would love to hear these news songs in the context of a full album.
Cities Vital (Devotion specifically, can't do without Unstable) Lowborn New Surrender DITW NTFP BPFP Always had a soft spot for NS because it was my first Anberlin release as a fan, but I also love everything.
I remember being such a "loose" fan of Anberlin and when Vital was announced/released, I figured I'd give it a listen. Self Starter pretty much blew me away and then I just deep dove into everything they had ever done. I know I've told my wedding story before but that Vital album is super important in my life.
I'm surprised it's so high for so many people, I think the songwriting on that album is so bad, especially lyrically.
I love NTFP and Cities, and I liked BPFBM back in the day, but this band fell off so hard for me after that. They really lost me with NS and DITW and I never really went back to them until these new EPs pulled me in. I do remember checking out Lowborn when it was announced as their final album and thinking it was just okay, but based on everything here I think I need to at least go back and check out Vital/Devotion.
In all my music, I'm more of a full-album-listen kinda guy and the ones that really fit that for me are NTFP through Vital. BFTBM and Lowborn are the two I would put on last, but I do really enjoy them both. Cities and NS came out when I was in high school and were two I could never put down and still listen to regularly. There are a lot of good running songs on NS (BPM and all that) so I'd say that one I listen to more. The diverse musical pallet they had with that one keeps me going back to it. DITW and Vital are up there as well for different reasons. My now wife and I's first concert together was on the Dark is the Way tour and I had Vital on almost continuously through college. Would have to say, I've enjoyed everything they've put out. It's all gravy to me.
I don't revisit the Devotion tracks often either. Vital as a whole is their peak for me and one of many reasons is how well sequenced it is. I couldn't see any of the Devotion tracks as part of the main album.
As for my ranking, it'd go like this: Vital Cities Lowborn Silverline & Convinced Never Take Friendship Personal New Surrender Blueprints for the Black Market Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place
Vital Cities Convinced - nothing more is in the running for best closer in a catalogue full of great closers Dark Is The Way/NTFP/lowborn swap places depending on how I’m feeling Blueprints/silverline New surrender
Dance Dance Christa Paffgen and Fin are GOAT closers and I don't think anything else is particularly close.