my friend who follows him personally said he was always happy to come home from tour, didn't like being out on tour, etc so they weren't surprised when he announced he was leaving the band.
Yeah it’s been known touring was killing Stephen mentally. He didn’t wanna be away from his kids that long. And honestly, that’s great. I get it.
This is insane to me and making my brain hurt because Everything in Transit by Jack’s Mannequin came out in August 2025 and I could have sworn i listened to NTFP for years before Jack’s Mannequin was even a thing, not something that came out six months after NTFP.
Such a cohesive album. Not my favorite by them, but definitely gets grabbed off my shelf and thrown on my turntable pretty often.
I totally get that, there’s so many albums from 2005 that I can’t believe were released right in a row. Add The Everglow, Acceptance - Phantoms, Son I Loved You at Your Darkest… What a year
There’s a good interview with Matty Mullins on the Black Sheep Podcast. First half is about Memphis May Fire, second half is about Anberlin. Probably nothing much that we haven’t heard before. I’m not fussed about a Matty fronted band and think it’s been a completely misguided and poorly executed idea (still not heard any of the three songs and living quite contentedly in that reality!) but he seems like a nice guy overall.
I still remember such specific memories with this album - sitting in my dorm being blown away when it came out, being so excited when I snagged a copy for RSD 2011. I didn't think Aaron Sprinkle could take everything from NTFP and make it so much bigger. I know what I'm listening to next
Cities is a no skips album, top-3 album of all time for me, and likely Anberlin's best. I'm partial to Vital purely based on emotion and what I was experiencing in my life at the time, but Cities truly is their peak.
Veeps is streaming Anberlin's NTFP show tonight from Nashville. Not a purchase for me, but figured I'd throw that out here. I'm so happy they did those 3-night NTFP, Cities, and NS shows. That said, I'm very happy this band is continuing on and staying relevant and making money. I'll be there when Stephen comes back in tour or new music form.
I am glad I went to all three nights in Orlando. Especially the NS night as it was the least crowded night and they shit talked the label a lot and told some fun stories. They also refused to play Burn Out Brighter from hating it so much and played Readyfuels instead. I have zero interest in seeing them with Marty. It’s all very lame.
the booklet in the Help Yourself boxset made me garner a new appreciation for New Surrender. they seemed to be under a lot of stress to create an album that would please a label like Republic, and despite some duds, they put some genuine care into those songs and it does shine through.