The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Media Credit: Submitted photo Submitted photo Orlando rockers Anberlin supply a sonic assault of fresh tunes as yet unheard on commercial radio. These guys rock hard, and pray harder with slick sounds that should light up the charts in the future. [Click to enlarge]

Hailing from Orlando, Anberlin brings a refreshing new sound to a pop/punk/emo scene that was starting to feel recycled and whose supply is so high that even a dime a dozen would be too much.

Anberlin, a band that most audiences haven't heard of, can make a crowd move. The lead singer, Stephen Christian, has a unique, refreshing voice and the band possesses a sound reminiscent of Story of the Year, Lostprophets or Thursday.

Anberlin played last semester at the Story of the Year concert. Anberlin was an opening act of SOTY's second show at the Pageant. Anberlin's cover of the song "Love Song" (The Cure) was a lot better than the 311 version that came out earlier last year (for the movie "50 First Dates"), which was a pleasant surprise.

Please do not pigeonhole Anberlin as shallow Christian rock and dismiss them. After pouring over the lyrics, the only religious influence I found was in one song that used the words "sin," "devil" and "lust." There are probably more references to Christian themes on your average 2Pac album. The album has a positive feeling and does not have a parental advisory warning. If that is what having a Christian influence means, then I guess they are guilty of that.

"Never Take Friendship Personal" is Anberlin's sophomore release (Feb. 1) and definitely sounds a lot more polished and produced than their first album, "Blueprints for the Black Market." The album is surprisingly short, even for this genre of music, with 11 tracks running in at a total of just over 39 minutes. Its underlying theme is relationships, as is evident in the title.

I recommend that you go to their Web site and listen to some of their music before you rush out and buy the album on a whim. Though I do like "Never Take Friendship Personal," I prefer "Blueprints for the Black Market," their original album.

Anberlin's music is at the same time creative, catchy and radio-friendly. "Never Take Friendship Personal" has a variety of songs with superb guitar riffs and quality drum beats.

Though this band does have impressive guitar, I feel that Stephen Christian's vocals are by far the band's best asset. Christian's vocals are energetic, passionate and sincere.

I truly feel that Anberlin deserves lots of radio play. It is a safe prediction that they will achieve some radio success with two or three songs from this album, so keep your ears open for them.

I recommend Anberlin, especially if you are already a fan of Story of the Year.

If you cannot get over the fact that the band sounds radio-friendly and is highly produced, then this is not the band for you.

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