Reclusion's a top 3-5 anberlin song for me so a 4-song cities run probably needs it in their somewhere
This is very astute. Vital isn't even my favorite Anberlin album, but boy does it start off flawlessly. I will say though, if you do four, Godspeed-Adelaide-A Whisper & A Clamor-The Unwinding Cable Car gives that a run for its money. This is probably super unpopular but the three song run of Closer-You Belong Here-Pray Tell on Dark is perfect to me.
"Adelaide" kinda kills it for me, but I think Godspeed and Whisper and Clamor are strong enough for me to agree. For Dark, I'd probably go Prey Tell - Art of War - To The Wolves.
New Surrender is my second favourite album behind Cities. Right sound, right time for me. Love me those poppy tunes. I think it also had to do with the fact that I got on board with Anberlin at the end of the Cities album cycle, I hadn't even got around to familiarizing myself with the two previous albums before I got caught up in my first Anberlin release (NS).
It's not pleasant to think about least favorite anberlin songs but whisper and clamor may be mine, at least post-blueprints.
Adelaide is perfect, both as a song and in its placement. I have never once listened to Cities and thought "this would be better without Adelaide".
A band's opinion of their own work holds no more value than yours or mine. John Lennon thought 90% of the songs the Beatles wrote sucked at one time or another.
You had me until the by far part. The Paperthin- Symphony and the one I posted in the original question are amazing too.