Anberlin

Only one year has passed since the release of Cities from Orlando, FL's rock powerhouse Anberlin, and their fourth full-length album, New Surrender, finds the band treading similar water. Firstly those lines that Anberlin traversed previously were filled with brilliant pop rock and New Surrender is nothing if not a pillar of this band's ability to craft catchy, yet forceful, and at times, touching arena rock-style music. After finally leaving Tooth & Nail for Universal Republic and losing rhythm guitarist Nathan Strayer, who was replaced by Chrisitan McAlhaney, these chaps haven't missed a beat. For fans of Never Take Friendship Personal, introductory track "The Resistance" offers a gritty and guitar riff-heavy feel, whereas "Blame Me! Blame Me!" is in the vein of Cities, displaying Anberlin's ability to write an addictive chorus and fill the remainder of the song with straightforward rock-styled music that complements vocalist Stephen Christian's stunning voice. There isn't anything stopping Anberlin from reaching the level of bands like Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance, just the time it takes to get there.