Things have been going well for Orlando based rock band Anberlin recently. The band has been touring the country on the main stage of this summer's Warped Tour, they've signed to major record label Universal Republic, they were featured on the front cover of Alternative Press magazine and all the while they've been building up a solid fan base. So needless to say, expectations for the band's fourth studio album are relatively high.
Last year Anberlin released the stellar album Cities on Tooth and Nail Records. The album, much like their sophomore disc Never Take Friendship Personal, were highly acclaimed and often sited as examples of just what could be accomplished in the sometimes stale alternative rock genre that they've placed themselves in. Check out our review of 2007's Cities here.
With New Surrender, which will be Anberlin's second album in as many years, the group has begun to free themselves from past ties. This will not only be the band's first album away from Tooth and Nail, it will also be their first project without the support of long time producer Aaron Sprinkle. To replace Sprinkle the band has brought in Neal Avron, who is most famous for producing a rash of rather forgettable discs from bands like A New Found Glory and Yellowcard.
The decision to write and release an album just a little over a year after their last LP, is quite an odd one in this day and age. While bands now days have taken to the trend of waiting two, three sometimes even four years between albums, Anberlin is throwing back to the days of old when bands were expected to release new material yearly, if not sooner. The decision sounds as if it may have led to a somewhat difficult time for frontman Stephen Christian though, "When you try to write 29 songs lyrically you find yourself topically working in circles; I only go through so much in one year, but needlessly I have dedicated myself to begin searching books, art, and friends for new directions."
Apparently not nearly enough satisfactory material was coming to Christian while recording the new album. The first single off of New Surrender will be a rerecorded version of "The Feel Good Drag," a song off of Never Take Friendship Personal. The song title will be cut to simply "Feel Good Drag" and will be given "minor changes (to) the introduction, lyrics, singing, bridge and overall production."
The choice to include a song already released on a previous album in not a new method for artists, but it's still a confusing one in my mind. The Beach Boys scored a huge hit when they added an 'h' to Rhonda's name in "Help Me Rhonda," which was a song they had released the previous year. California's Switchfoot broke into the mainstream by rerecording "I Dare You to Move," which first appeared three years before it was placed on the band's major label debut. Still, the changes to "The Feel Good Drag" are scarcely noticeable, and the decision to add this song seems as if it wastes a spot for a new, more deserving track. To check out the changes made to the song; "Feel Good Drag" is available for free download by clicking here.
New Surrender is currently set for a September 30th release date. As of this moment I'm a little sceptical as to whether the band can capture the same magic they were able to bottle on their last two albums. A lot of times switching to a major label can do more harm than good to a band's sound. The final verdict on the new album has yet to be ruled though, so be sure to check back with us next month when the full review for Anberlin's New Surrender is posted.
