The Third Time was Probably Not the Charm for Anberlin

I used to argue that Anberlin could easily hold their own with some of the chart toppers of our day, but this third album was a big step backwards for the band I previously knew and loved. Not only are the lyrics repetitive, the lyrics are one-dimensional, and every song blends together so much one gets the feeling of listening to the same song twelve times over.

The tracks on "Cities," unfortunately, do not have the same oft-inspiring lyrical content of either of the first two albums. It seems that Anberlin's writers were able to get some good, solid, lyrics down for the first verse and got stumped as to what lyrics to use for the remainder of the song. As such, every song on the new album repeats a token phrase for its last two minutes (give or take a few seconds). An illustration of this repetition is best heard in the album's final song, appropriately titled, "(*Fin)," which repeats the phrase, "I am the patron saint of lost causes," several times in a row. However meaningful it's meant to be, after five or six times of hearing this, you're bound to get a headache. Another example: While listening to "A Whisper & A Clamor" earlier today, I got so tired of hearing, "Clap your hands, all ye children... clap your hands tonight!" what seemed like a thousand times, I lost it. I actually yelled at my car's CD player that it was giving me a headache and turned it off. I think it got the idea.

Speaking of "A Whisper & A Clamor," in addition to the songs being repetitive, the lyrics seem to be quite a bit less thought out. The lyrics in this song sound almost like a boy band trying to achieve an edgier sound. Just the notion of clapping your hands is far too hoedown and it seems to be a copout of sorts. "The Unwinding Cable Car" has a good strong beat but the lyrics sound a little too cliché: "Don't drop your arms. / I'll guard your heart. / With quiet words I'll lead you in and out of the dark." How many times have we heard lyrics like this? "You're blind, I'll help you see. You don't have wings, I'll help you fly. You don't have a voice, I'll help you speak. When it's dark, I'll lead you to the light, blah blah blah." And so it goes. What drew me to Anberlin in the first place is that it always took a little bit of digging and silent listening to understand what was being expressed. Anberlin robbed it's listeners of that this time around.

What also made me start to truly appreciate Anberlin was their unique sound. From track to track, it wasn't totally obvious that every song was, in fact, one of Anberlin's. I remember listening to "Paperthin Hymn" in the car with my husband, who asked me, "Who sings this song?" I had him listen to "Cold War Transmissions" afterwards, almost back to back, and my husband asked me again, "Who sings this song?" Either my husband doesn't have a fantastic ear for detail, or the beat and sound was different on each song. Music is the pivotal factor upon which all other things in my life revolve around, so I like to think I didn't marry someone who doesn't understand music to a pretty strong degree. So when my husband and I listened to "Cities" for the first time, it was disappointing when he mentioned that every song sounded the same, and I reluctantly had to agree.

On some level, it pains me to write this review about this band I have been so passionate about for such a long time. In hopes that one song will strike me in some way it hasn't before, I have the album playing in my car constantly and constantly listen to it on my MP3 player at work. I think I have finally abandoned all hope of enjoying it. It is everything a CD shouldn't be: repetitive, shallow lyrics, each song an unfortunate remix of the one before. If interested, however, I do recommend "Blueprints for the Black Market" and "Never Take Friendship Personal," Anberlin's first and second albums, respectively. If interested, I also have "Cities," Anberlin's below-average third album, up for grabs. On second thought, maybe I'll keep it. My lab's been needing a new Frisbee.