Yeah in time I might call this their magnum opus. B,S has the edge for the foreseeable future, but this is a powerfully good album. Everything I wanted from them.
I’ll say this. I recently said that Pale Horses had inched its way closer to Brother, Sister than I could have ever imagined, and [Untitled] has already managed to insert itself into that narrow gap between those two albums for me.
had a little sitdown chat with brother,sister and it definitely changed my mind that i dont think they will ever top it. the needles wore the grooves too deep
His lyrics are like a code and if you're into the challenge of code breaking this is the band for you. This is certainly one of their main draws for me.
Thanks for sharing this annotation. I'm plugging through it and it's fascinating. I can really geek out on this type of stuff. Current random focus is the linkage that popped up between "a stranger's face appeared" in Bethlehem, WV and the mention of strangers in the second stanza of Michael: Ring them bells, Peter ring them bells Wonder who’ll my children be? Strangers like their mom and me? Cork spots on the apple tree?
Speaking of which, the "on a West Virginia road"/"where your voice changed the design of a West Virginia countryside" is fascinating
So, this is pointless, but I just realized the discographies of my two favorite bands (mewithoutYou and Anberlin) progress the exact same way for me: Album #1: [A > B] Life / Blueprints for the Black Market - Very solid debuts, but easily the band's weakest. Album #2: Catch For Us the Foxes / Never Take Friendship Personal - Band's first truly great record. Completely solidifies the band's identity and sound. Album #3: Brother, Sister / Cities - The band's magnum opus. Perfects the already solidified sound of the previous record. Album #4: it's all crazy! / New Surrender - The band's weirdest album. Not everything works. Still solid, but definitely lower tier. Album #5: Ten Stories / Dark is the Way - Return to form. The least of the band's truly great records. Album #6: Pale Horses / Vital - COMPLETE return to form. Capitalizes on every single one of the band's strengths. Near masterpieces. Album #7: [Untitled] / Lowborn - A complete reinvention that works on every level. Dare I say, second magnum opus? I know some people in here probably don't even like Anberlin much, but I just found this fascinating for myself. Haha.
finalllly listened to this. really didnt think theyd top pale horses with the follow up but uhhh they did
I wasn’t too into early mwY so the recency bias is strong for me but I still think PH is easily tops. This gets better with each listen though.