Disco de Anberlin: “Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place”

I first heard "Paperthin Hymn" about five or six years ago, and I was absolutely in love with it by the end of the second chorus. After that, I delved into more of Anberlin's music and I was not disappointed. "Blueprints" was fairly solid, NTFP was overall fantastic, with a few blah songs but definitely others that were just amazing ("Paperthin Hymn" and "Dance, Dance Christa Paffgen" most notably blew my mind) and Cities? I still consider that one of the best albums I own- the lyrics are breathtaking and Stephen Christian's voice is phenomenal. That being said, I'm a huge Anberlin fan- I consider them my favorite band. But I must say, I'm becoming more and more disenchanted with each new release.

It's not that New Surrender and Dark is the Way, Light is a Place are horrible albums. Actually, if they were by any other band, I'd be really impressed. But I'm starting to notice a lack of the beautiful, poetic lyrics that originally drew me to this band in the first place. But even New Surrender had some great songs for me to love (at the top of the pile is "Soft Skeletons"), while I'm feeling really nothing for this new one.

The only song I really honestly like much is "Down" (which seems to be a highlight on the album for others as well). I really just can't get into them at all. The fact that there are lyrics such as "Because of you, I'll never write a love song" blows my mind- this seems to me to be the fodder of typically pop-punk/emo bands, not Anberlin! The ending track seems rather blah to me- nothing compared to the breathtaking finales Anberlin has delivered with the last three albums.

If you don't listen to the lyrics, you'll notice though that musically, this album is an improvement over New Surrender. And of course, Stephen Christian continues to blow me away with his amazing voice- I just wish I could feel something for what he's saying.

I'm not sure what to say to tie this up. Overall, I would consider this a great CD if it wasn't Anberlin, but I know they can do better, so I just consider it okay. I can guarantee you that this CD will NOT stay in my constant rotation, and more than likely, none of the songs but "Down" will make it to my playlists.

Seems to me I became an Anberlin fan like everyone else- heard "Paperthin Hymn" on the Radio. And as much as i love Anberlin- One of my Top 3 bands with HURT- this album is not doing it for me. I don't know why. The lyrics are great, his voice is his classic voice, everything seems right. But its missing something. Its not i don't like the slow songs. I cherish "The Unwinding Cable Car" and ""(The Symphony of) Blasé" as some of my favorite songs. I just feel like those songs, despite their heavy and saddening lyrics, still made me smile. All their songs from Cities, Blueprints, and Never Take Friendship personal had a different sound. Upbeat, for want of a better word. Like, think "Glass To the Arson" "A Day Late" "The Runaways" "Time & Confusion". Powerful emotional lyrics that make you want to cry combined with music that you can't help but dance to. This album is lacking that for me. "Impossible" is good, and I'm sure a couple songs will grow on me. But it won't be the same Anberlin experience. But luckily I got all their other albums, which is enough (=

"(The Symphony Of) Blasé"

"Naive Orleans"

"Glass to The Arson"

"Paperthin Hymn"

"Time & Confusion"

"The Runaways"

"There Is No Mathematics To Love & Loss"

"Hello Alone"

"Reclusion"

"Soft Skeletons"

"Disappear"

"*Fin"

These songs ^ are classics, that I will share (And do share!) them with everyone i talk music with. And I don't think i could honestly recommend this album to anyone.

(I do recommend listening to HURT. Check out "Rapture", "House Carpenter" "Fighting Tao" "Well" "Assurance" Love them! LOL)

A few years ago a friend threw the Anberlin album "New Surrender" into his car CD player and I immediately fell in love with this band's music. The very first song of the album grabbed me immediately and I was blown away by every song on the album. I made one song my ringtone and bought two copies of my own, one digital to listen at home and the other a cd to leave in my car as the only cd I'd have in there.

Later, I needed more Anberlin, so I got my hands on the album "Cities" and though I didn't enjoy it quite as much as New Surrender, I still enjoyed it very much. Anberlin had become one of my favorite bands.

I preordered "Dark Is the Way: Light Is a Place". I've listened to the album 3 times and find it hard to even attempt to listen to again. The intelligent lyrics I'd heard on the other two albums were gone. I'm not sure if there is a single song where Anberlin doesn't repeat the same line of lyrics over and over repeatedly. The first song doesn't grab me and I'm utterly disappointed with this album's lyrics and the catchiness of the songs. There are maybe one or 2 songs I enjoy listening to again, but still have no lyrical excitement to them. It's almost as if they were hurrying the album to release and said to themselves, "I have an idea... why don't we just repeat the same line over and over for a verse or chorus in every song." Maybe they have a different writer for their music, but whatever the problem is, needs to be fixed.

I won't buy another one of their albums without first hearing the music from it again. Hopefully they can get back to what I'd consider greatness, again someday.

Not one of the my favorite albums. While I do enjoy many of the tracks on this disc, and the tracks are very well put together and show a high degree of polish, the tracks on this album does not even come close to meeting the extremely high bar Anberlin set on Never Take Friendship Personal, Cities, and the first half of New Surrender. I do like the strong effort the band put into the album, and maybe this is a new direction the band is heading in; but I do hope they can come back to some of the creativity and musicality that made the previous afore mentioned albums so great. I do find We Owe This to Ourselves and Impossible very catchy and good listens, but they lack the drive of previous blockbuster songs like "Godspeed" and "Feel Good Drag" and other softer tracks didn't register with me like previous heartfelt tracks such as "The unwinding cable car" and "Paperthin Hymn", and lastly the extended final track that has been a staple of all but the first Anberlin album just doesn't come close to ridiculously high level achieved previously, especially the last two connected tracks on Cities.

If your not a fan of Anberlin yet, or if you are judging the band based on this album, I highly recommend listening to the album Cities by this group first, to hear this band in its finest hour. If you already fan though, this is still a worthwhile album, and is a good album, but not the same level as previous efforts.

Over the past couple years, Anberlin has made a lot of headway into the realm of popularity. After their 2008 release New Surrender, some fans thought the band had "sold out" due to the poppy vibe that permeated the album, but at the same time hit singles "Breaking" and the re-recorded "Feel Good Drag" propelled the band into more mainstream popularity than ever before. In 2010, the pressure was on as Anberlin entered the studio to record

, which needed to satisfy fans who were gained by their previous release and also those who were turned off by it, and the result is a short but sweet work of art that is the band's best recording to date musically, but leans toward the weak side lyrically, finding itself somewhere between the darker vibe of 2007's Cities and the poppy, upbeat feel of New Surrender.

The album kicks off with one of its strongest tracks in the fantastic rock anthem "We Owe This To Ourselves." Lyrically the apparent self-centeredness bugs me (because we really owe nothing to ourselves and everything to our God), but musically it's simply excellent. The energy and epic drumbeats give it a powerful fist-pumping sort of feel. Lead single "Impossible" follows as a song that almost sounds like a dance track of the past, but the vibe, guitar work, and vocals are totally Anberlin, and the whole group is clearly right in their element on the catchy and fun track.

"Take Me (As You Found Me)" and "You Belong Here" are strong pop ballads despite the forgettable lyrics that turn them into fairly cliché love songs; in fact, I think both of them could have been much stronger lyrically if the song titles' concepts were applied more to the relationship between God and man. However, "You Belong Here" still makes itself memorable with its whimsical piano opening and lovely chorus. Both songs offer Stephen Christian opportunities to shine vocally in a softer light, showcasing what may be some of his finest singing yet recorded, while the track in between those two, "Closer" reveals another side to his voice that's harsher and a little more intense, but equally phenomenal. Lyrically this one is also on the weak side, resorting to a bare-bones chorus that mostly repeats the song's one word title a few times, though it's still thoroughly enjoyable and well done musically as a harder-hitting rocker.

The finishing chord of "Closer" then gives way to the pounding drumbeats that open up "Pray Tell," which is possibly the band's best song ever, musically speaking. It's strikingly unique and creative, while still feeling just enough like an Anberlin track to fit. The awesome drums never let up as they seem to take the lead throughout the song, and Christian's superb vocals and some solid guitar work push the song into even further excellence. "Art of War" follows as one of the most depressing songs on the album lyrically ("Because of you I'll never write another love song") but musically it's notably unique and atmospheric, though in a very different way than "Pray Tell."

"To the Wolves" continues the depressing lyrical content about betrayal in a relationship, but manages to succeed musically in being a dark and effective rocker, as Christian growls "To the wolves, you left me to the wolves." Acoustic ballad "Down" follows with little distinction to bring to the table musically or lyrically, especially when compared to past Anberlin masterpieces such as "The Unwinding Cable Car," though it's fair enough in its own right and still gives off the intended feel.

Finally, the album closes with "Depraved." For a long time I think I misunderstood this song's lyrics, as they seem to make excuses for depravity and say, "You're not a slave, so get off your knees," when in fact everyone is a slave to someone or something, whether it be God or some earthly thing that reigns in His rightful place. But as I took it less at face value and thought about it more, the lyrics seemed to take on a less sketchy meaning, like maybe they're just saying you're not a slave to sin, so stop worshiping it, or something like that. But unfortunately, it's very short on lyrics and resorts to repeating the same lines over and over, making it hard to fully develop the song's ideas. Musically the song is definitely epic and atmospheric, but it isn't as coherent as it should be, making it a weaker closer than the band's past two finishing songs.

When it's all said and done, Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place is quite simply a fantastic piece of musical excellence in the world of alternative rock music. The weak and often cliché lyrics definitely hold the album back from realizing its full potential, but the music is so well crafted and the performance is so rock solid that it's hard to think very lowly of this album. Once you take into account the fact that there are only 10 tracks (making this the shortest Anberlin album yet), it further deepens the partial disappointment, but then again, those 10 songs are so sweet musically that it's hard to ignore the album's high level of overall quality. For me, it's hard to love or hate Anberlin's latest work, but Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place is still a wholly worthwhile album for Anberlin fans or anyone who just wants some quality alternative rock music.

Score: 4/5

*Just as a side note, the physical CD release does not include a booklet. I thought that was really lame.