I know what you’re thinking, because until recently I was thinking the same thing myself. You’re thinking, “rock and roll is dead,” or if not, it’s at least severely injured. The turning of the millennium was a dismal time for music, where the Britney Spearses and the Backstreet Boys reigned supreme, and we even had the Nickelbacks making rock that was honest, but blazingly incompetent. It was like that for a few years, with the rock kids left to wail and gnash their teeth. But thankfully, the storm has ended, and we can all breath a little easier. Rock and roll is back.
For a prime example, one must look no further than Anberlin’s sophomore effort, Never Take Friendship Personal. This is a fresh and young approach to a form of music that has lasted 50 years, and I thought this type of optimism was dead and gone. Thank God I was wrong. Anberlin is just one of many groups taking rock and roll and making it new again by simply adhering to what makes rock and roll great. They sound like they don’t even know that Christina Aguilera exists, and the music is all the better for it. Along with
There’s a lot to praise on Never Take Friendship Personal, though it’s alarmingly simple. The straightforward approach to rock and roll that the album takes is not snazzy or complicated, nor is there any overarching message to be communicated. Anberlin is not revolutionary, ambitious, or border-pushing, but they are very good. Stephen Christian is an exceptionally good singer, and that is a little surprising for this type of music. Young rock tends to have passion in spades, but not a lot of skill; Anberlin has both. Taking Back Sunday often lets their enthusiasm get the better of them, but Anberlin keep their childlike tendencies carefully in check. They have the fervency of emo, but the polish of pop. Everything they do, they do right.
Even so, the record is not as good as it could be, even if it’s still very good. I get the feeling that it’s as good as it can be with the band in its current state, before they have had an opportunity to fall flat on their faces. In my experience, good bands usually put out their best record shortly after their worst one, and Anberlin doesn’t yet have a characteristically “worst” record. The song titles are refreshingly esoteric, with the kind of weirdness that’s not off-putting. “Paperthin Hymn” is a blazing piece of pure rock and roll, with just enough edge and sense of danger to make the stakes seem higher than they are. “Audrey, Start the Revolution!” is amazingly optimistic and sunny in its regard for love, without being sappy or charming. And “The Feel Good Drag” and “A Day Late” present the other side of the love coin, showing that it’s not all roses and bunnies. And if that’s not enough, “Dance, Dance, Christa Päffgen” presents a very down-to-earth picture of addiction, in all its forms (even if the song is a little long-winded). Can an album this wise really be from a band that’s so young?
Anberlin and bands like them make me excited for the future of music, and that’s something I haven’t been in a while. I guess the Hegelian dialectic is finally coming back around my way. Oh, and did I mention that the band is Christian, as well?
Paperthin Hymn
The Feel Good Drag
A Day Late
Audrey, Start the Revolution!
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