Disco de Anberlin: “Blueprints For the Black Market”

I wasn't sure sure what to expect of Anberlin with their debut album. Tooth and nail has been hyping this album almost as hard as their other major mainstream act, Further Seems Forever. Like fsf, this album was worth all the hype the label gave it. I've yet to figure out how it is "emo"...since emo is usually annoying kids with stuffy noses. However, this cd is as good as the hype. If you like the song ready fuels(my personal favorite), you will love this cd. Most of the other songs are stylistically similar. This cd is a masterpiece of energetic modern alternative rock. There aren't any filler songs on this cd. The only song I hated was one formerly know as "driving" when it was a demo. They fixed most of what was wrong with it and retitled the song autobahn. The only complaint I have with the cd is the "do do do do" lyric as filler in autobahn and foreign language(listen to the clips...you'll understand). I find that lyric uninspired and actually annoying. Other than those 2 songs, this cd is a heavy, melodic, passionate, and brilliant album. If you enjoy modern alternative rock at all, this cd is for you. Next to Further Seems Forever "how to start a fire", this cd is probably the most passionate and powerful album to come out in a long time. By all means, buy this cd.

I downloaded 2 of Anberlin's songs on Purevolume and liked them so I got the CD. My dad and I were driving home from a city about 4 hours away, and we never agree on music. He likes hymns. But he let me skip through the tracks, and then he said 'They all sound the same.'

Yeah, they do in a way. The songs are all fast, with catchy hooks. The lead singers voice is different, but after getting used to him I like it a lot. And you can sing along, which is my top requirement for a good CD.

The thing that bothers me the most about Anberlin is the song content. There's nothing really deep... 'we're running hot tonight''boys speak in rhythm, girls just lie' 'we can change the world' 'this is Russian radio' 'try i i i i i i i i' 'my heart lost in New Orleans' it's all light. Not that that's a bad thing, I just would like them to sing about something and be able to feel like it was something incredibly important to them. They seem slightly bored through the entire CD.

But I think Anberlin has a lot of talent (really an unfair amount of talent for their ages), and if things go the right way they should become a big hit. I definitely recommend this CD, especially for driving.

I bought this album because of the opening track, Readyfuels. I really loved the main guitar hook and the multi-layered chorus. I was hoping the rest of Blueprints For the Black Market could live up to its beginning.

In short, it didn't, but I like it anyway. The immediately following track reminded me lyrically of "Boys & Girls" by Good Charlotte (which is a bad thing), but at least it's more enjoyable to listen to. The rest of the album goes by pretty painlessly. It's all pretty good punk with good musicianship, but nothing that will blow you away or really affect you significantly.

A couple other standout tracks are "Glass to the Arson" with its slightly different, catchy verses and smooth chorus, and a fairly nice cover of the Cure's "Love Song", which takes the main synth hook and does it with a piano.

Anberlin has a good singer and some talented musicians, so if they could settle down and write some music that actually means something, they could be a really good band. 3.5 stars rounds up to 4.

Wow! All three of these albums are absolutely incredible! Several bands are able to put out one or even two great albums, and then kind of start to disappoint, but only a handful are able to make all of their CDs better and better like Anberlin. I was stoked when I saw this awesome deal to buy these three albums for a very decent price. I definately would have bought all three seperately so this was a perfect choice!

This CD is absolutely amazing. In fact, it is by far the best collection of music I have ever heard. Cold War Transmissions all the way through the end of the CD is one of the few segments of my music library I can listen to over and over without ever getting tired of the songs.

The only songs that I think less than perfectly of are Foreign Language and Glass to the Arson. Other than that this is simply an amazing disc and one that any music lover should own.

"We Dreamt In Heist" did get stuck in my head for the longest time, so watch out for that. ;)