Coffee and cocoa drinkers alike, take heart. Not many alternative rock bands can craft an album that both energizes and soothes, but Anberlin’s New Surrender does just that. Although the hard-driving guitar playing from Joseph Milligan and Stephen Christian’s earnest vocals keep this dichotomy interesting, percussionist Nathan Young’s laid-back drumbeats and the occasional infusion of strings keep the sound of this album together.
New Surrender is the fourth studio album in six years from Anberlin, a five-member band originally from Winter Haven, Fla., and it’s also boasted as their first on a major record label. The title choice of this album is interesting, as it seems to fit the nature of the album’s content. Any new album release is bound to display a divergence or slight change in a band’s style, and the same holds true for New Surrender. Anberlin’s previous albums (Never Take a Friendship Personal, Cities) displayed a style that was softer overall. Their music was as catchy and radio-worthy as ever, but one got the sense they were trying not to step on anyone’s toes.
The powerful, defiant guitar chords of New Surrender‘s very first track, “The Resistance,” immediately blow away this self-imposed glass parameter and set the tone for the rest of the album. Although the energy wavers throughout, Anberlin manages to stay true to this new attitude, outlined by the chorus on the track, “The Feel Good Drag”: “Was this over before/ Before it ever began?/ Your kiss, your calls, your crutch/ Like the devil’s got your hand.”
New Surrender also displays a widening of Anberlin’s stylistic horizons as they look to other bands for inspiration, simply borrowing here and there. For example, Bono followers will enjoy “Retrace,” which opens with an epic string riff entirely reminiscent of U2’s “Beautiful Day.” The last half of the album strays dangerously close to the “monotone zone” where songs muddle together and become easy to tune out. In the end, though, the band is rescued by their innovative tracks “Haight St.” (bringing along fresh energy and ’80s rock undertones) and “Miserable Visu,” an entertaining serenade highlighted by New Pornographers-inspired funky electric keyboard.
But perhaps the title of the album runs a little deeper than a simple change in the band’s style. The choice is probably best explained on Anberlin’s MySpace in the words of Christian himself.
“We will all come to the point in our life where we have to admit that we feel defeated, that something has conquered us. We must change, not because we want to, but because we desperately have to. … The thorn in the side can be removed, but you have to be willing to admit and surrender. Surrender your habits, your lifestyle, your past, your present and your future. This is your new surrender. The new surrender.”
So, as you listen to Anberlin’s New Surrender, you can have the best of both worlds. The band’s words and chords remind us to take the time to relax but to never lose the energy that fuels the underlying drive to make ourselves better.
4 stars out of 5
