New Surrender by Anberlin

The band Anberlin has come a long way from their humble beginnings. Now, after four releases with label Tooth Nail, the band signed with Universal Republic Records for their first mainstream release. Fans and followers were wary, but I think Anberlin surprised us all. New Surrender keeps the band’s original sound even as they mature in their craft.

This newest release has all the things fans can expect from Anberlin. The hard hitting opening tracks “The Resistance”, “Breaking”, and “Blame Me! Blame Me!” are up beat and catchy. Slower anthems like “Retrace”, “Breathe”, and the six minute long album ender “Misearble Visu”, call to mind previous songs among the band’s career. The track “Feel Good Drag” is a cover of an early release from the band’s album Never Take Friendship Personal. Not much has changed from the original song, but more guitar heavy solos and drum beats have been mixed in.

One particular trait I recognized from this album is that it’s much more positive and Christian based. Whether Anberlin has been saving these types of spiritually driven themes until they made it more mainstream or not is beyond me, but I enjoyed it.

New Surrender is lyrically more Christian with topics, and they are more easily familiar. On tracks like “Burn Out Brighter” lead singer Stephen Christian sings “Live, I want to live inspired. Die, I want to die for something.” On the track “Breathe” he exclaims, “I finally breathe, suddenly alive, I can finally move because I finally realize.” Other tracks promote change, love, and life.

The album is full of good tunes, just not great ones like on previous releases. They may have rushed this release to debut with a new, more mainstream label. Yet, as far as the band’s discography goes New Surrender is a positive staple in mainstream waves, and it can only get better from here.

Cory Clubb is author of the novel Saved by Grace and currently working on his first thriller. He holds a degree in Graphic Design and is always seeking to advance his talent as a writer. He is an avid reader, movie buff, and music enthusiast, tools he uses to infuse his imagination. He lives in central Illinois with his wife and three sons. You can find out more about his projects at his blog.