Anberlin - Never Take Friendship Personal
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CD Details
Artist: AnberlinEdition: Music CD
Format: Enhanced
Published: 2005-02-01
CD Release Date: 2005-02-01
Music Label: Tooth & Nail Records
Soundtracks:
- Never Take Friendship Personal
- Paper Thin Hymn
- Stationary
- Symphony Of Blasé'
- Day Late Friend
- Runaways
- Time & Confussion
- The Feel Good Drag
- Audrey, Start the Revolution
- A Heavy Hearted Work of Staggering Genius
- Dance, Dance Christa Paffgen
Music reviews of Never Take Friendship Personal
Music Review: Somewhat Disappointing
Rating: 3 Stars
"Blueprints For The Black Market" was pure ear candy. It perfectly captured the dark, wet streets shown on the cover. The guitars churned, the drums kicked, and listeners were treated to a blaze of pop-punk glory. The album seemed a step removed from reality, catapulting listeners into a world of car chases, espionage and arson, the musical equivalent of a Bond movie.
Abandoning the fantasy realm of their previous album, Anberlin seems to be set on making "Never Take Friendship Personal," ironically enough, a more personal record. The midnight escapes of "Blueprints" have been stripped away for a more straightforward emotional approach on the new album. Stylistically, it's intentionally rougher than the debut, and eschews Anberlin's earlier minor key fetish. Sonically and lyrically, the album falls comfortably into the current emo/punk revival, though it is far superior to most of the bands who owe their 15 minutes of fame to Purevolume and MySpace.
The first two songs are excellent, the title cut propelled by nimble guitar work and righteous anger, and "Paperthin Hymn" nicely meshing muted verses with a whale of a riff. These two songs are lyrical high points as well. "Never Take Friendship Personal" seems to mock the emotional exposure common to this genre, while the hymn mixes metaphors poignantly in a tribute to (presumably) the singer's late grandmother.
Unfortunately, the middle of the album does not fare as well. Though I like the title, "Stationary Stationery" has a melody that never seems to quite catch up with itself rhythmically. "The Symphony of Blasé" is an utterly forgettable ballad fulfilling the obligation for a slow song, and proving that slow tempos and string arrangements are not in any way indicative of maturity. The next three numbers are standard powerpop tunes featuring the same uninventive guitar lines and climactic choruses we've all been sick of since "The Middle." I wanted to like these songs more than I was able. I searched desperately for something that would separate Anberlin from the plethora of bands writing these songs, and simply couldn't. I initially wanted to boast of the greatness of "A Day Late," but found after a few listens that what I really wanted was for the guitar to take the melody, not the rhythm.
I also found that the band uses the same bridge in every song. After the second chorus, the singer makes each line progressively higher and louder, releasing the tension in a guitar solo or chorus. This becomes tedious.
Fortunately, the album offer two more reasonably good songs, the thrashy "The Feel Good Drag," about an attempt to resist seduction, and "Dance, Dance Krista Paffgen," an epic which puts the band on the New Wave Revival bandwagon. Each succeeds relatively well on its own terms, particularly in the dreamy solo and outro of the latter.
This is a disappointing but by no means poor effort. The band plays well, has a good ear for melody, and manages to glean some real emotion from oft-syrupy vocals. My guess is that the recording sessions were rushed and did not give the band ample time to work out some songwriting mistakes and underdeveloped ideas. Hopefully, their next release works out these kinks.
Description of Never Take Friendship Personal
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