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Lyrics:		7.0
Vocals:		9.0
Technique:		8.0
Replay:		7.0
Originality:		6.0
Score:		7.0

Orlando’s Anberlin have created quite a niche for themselves over the past few years. Without doing anything too daring or original, the band has released a couple of solid albums by giving the stale alternative rock genre a fresh blend of terrifically penned rock tunes. While some may write the band off as just another tired post-rock band playing power chords over pop melodies, if you dig a little deeper you’ll find an underrated guitarist/songwriter in Joey Milligan and a powerful and charismatic vocalist in Stephen Christian. Last year the band released Cities, their most complete and fulfilling album to date. Since then, the group have risen in popularity, signed to a major label and put out New Surrender, Anberlin’s fourth full length disc.

New Surrender is much more of a light hearted affair compared to the darker Cities. Consequently the subject matter here tends to stray farther away from the serious subject matter the band’s previous album delved in, and steers more towards the love songs that the group originated with. Similarities between these 12 new songs and Anberlin’s previous music are obvious, but so is an attempt to try something new. This is a practice that must be commended, but not always enjoyed.

The album starts off with a blistering opening track, the hard hitting “The Resistance,” that starts New Surrender off in terrific fashion. The momentum continues to gain with the slowed down, but well written “Breaking” which is carried by Christian’s ranging vocals. It’s actually worth mentioning that it’s Christian’s voice that definitely helps set Anberlin apart from countless counterparts. It’s instantly recognizable and, more than not, perfectly suited to Milligan’s superb guitar work.

The album moves along smoothly until we run into a familiar friend. The ill-fated decision to include a song that first appeared on the band’s 2005 album Never Take Friendship Personal, an album that is still considered Anberlin’s best by many fans, still doesn’t particularly set well with me. “Feel Good Drag” is a solid song no doubt, but it just seems out of place on this album. In an interview with the band, Christian attests to the fact that during the New Surrender sessions the group wrote 28 songs before deciding on the 12 that made the album. Could they not have used one of these discarded tracks rather than rerecorded a song that was dear to the band’s fans in its original form and context?

The problem with New Surrender isn’t reusing old songs though, it’s the fact that the album just loses steam before it ends, a dilemma that the band’s last two albums didn’t have. The disc loses its edge after the revved up, synthesizer filled “Disappear.” “Burn Out” and “Haight Street” are unimaginative and far too poppy; and the out of place “Younglife” is like a throw back to ‘90s pop. The song’s ridiculous chorus, sophomoric lyrics and group vocals is actually a tad bit embarrassing to have to sit through. The last two songs on the album do make an attempt to save face though. “Soft Skeletons” is a moving account of a girl trying to fight off addiction; it shows more than anything that Christian’s powerful vocal is even more effective when he’s singing about something significant. When he cries out “How do you expect to win the war/if you’re to afraid to fight,” you can feel the pleading tone of his voice.

The last song on New Surrender is a bid at another epic album closer in the vein of past songs “(Fin)” and “Dance, Dance Christa Paffgen.” While this time around the song, titled “Miserabile Visu (Ex Malo Bonum),” doesn’t quite live up to past efforts (much like the album as a whole) it’s still an interesting distraction. The lyrics are cryptic, possibly talking about the end of the world, but it’s the mysterious words and driving music that help make the song one of the highlights on the album.

New Surrender finds Anberlin trying their hand at a few new sounds and a slightly different direction. The band sounds best when they stick to the original formula though, a good melody, solid guitar work and some outstanding vocals. We do see plenty of that here, especially in the first half of the album. In the end New Surrender is a good rock album that doesn’t quite live up to some of the band’s previous work. Still I’m as interested as ever to see where this band is heading. Hopefully their experimentation will lead the group towards creating an entirely new, and just as enjoyable, niche for themselves.