IF MANY bands’ third records are their “defining” releases, then Cities places Anberlin outside the mainstream “growing” experience. It is their best album to date, but it’s hardly defining—Anberlin hit the ground with a common-but-distinct sound, which was fully developed by their second release, 2005’s Never Take Friendship Personal. Blinding, fast-but-not-quite-punk electric guitars, Stephen Christian’s smooth, lofty vocals, and pretentiously obscure lyrics defined Anberlin from day one.

Anberlin
Cities
Rating: 8.5/10
Tooth & Nail, 2007

Cities cleans up on nearly every point where Friendship was lacking, and shows us a band that is indeed a lot better. There are no major stylistic departures here, but perhaps an increased awareness that Anberlin work a lot better as polished rockers than they do as indie artistes. The band has embraces their fondness for structure and, even while mixing it up a bit, focused their efforts on making great rocks songs that show off their strengths.

They’re also growing up: they’ve slowed everything down and given us a diverse, “real” record that entangles itself in relatable human emotion. Even the moments of bombast—and there are plenty—feel more developed and less tiresome when fleshed out with the broader musical landscape of Cities. And Christian’s lyrics are finally getting over their tendency to sacrifice coherence for originality. Well, most of the time.

After the suspense-building “Debut,” the record launches—and I don’t employ that term as flippantly as most reviewers—with the blood-rushing, fist-pumping, first single, “Godspeed.” The track showcases every member of Anberlin at his best, from the frenetic drum lines to the jumping riffs and Christian’s layered vocals (one of the good new ideas put to effective use on Cities). Christian’s lyrics sound more mature if no more specific, until one makes the connection to the story from Friendship’s closer, “Dance, Dance, Christa Paffgen.”

The opening half of the record introduces the more melodic rock band, where the hooks hit us in every track. “Adelaide,” despite eye-roll lyrics about “lines you wanna hear” and “hiding behind your half-smile,” is deliciously singable. Christian deals with the tension between his stage persona and his true inner self in on “A Whisper and A Clamor,” one of his better and most mature lyrics yet.

Excluding at most two skip-worthy tracks, the remainder of the album has Anberlin putting the shine on their usual song format. Their typical intricate intros and big choruses are polished with layered harmonies and melodic turns that put their previous records to shame. In “Hello Alone,” grinding, darkly minor verses effectively shift gears into to soaring pleas (“Is anybody out there?”), while a slowed pace and mature work by drummer Nate Young and bassist Deon Rexroat make “Alexithymia” a standout. Christian outsings the dueling, electronica-influenced guitars on the syllabic chorus of “Dismantle.Repair,” shouting key lines about the healthy break-down-and-heal-stronger effect of relationships over well-timed halts by the band. Despite the distinctly produced sound of the record, tracks like this simply burst with the passion that the Anberlin’s rougher records lacked.

The band’s biggest instrumental development comes in the form of acoustic guitars, which make their first appearance in “The Unwinding Cable Car,” a pretty ballad that shows off Christian’s emotive vocals but suffers from largely nonsensical lyrics and needless repetition. The stripped-down approach works much better late on the album, with the hushed “Inevitable” and the grand finale, “(*Fin).” That final track is the greatest moment on Cities, if not in Anberlin history, with Christian delivering his lyrical and melodic best and the band jumping confidently into new musical territory. Christian’s power-ballad vocals, backed by arena-appropriate guitar riffs and a boy’s choir, make the track a beautiful closer to the album and to the band’s live shows.

Anberlin has taken another step toward mainstream rock but, for once, that’s more of a blessing than a curse. In this case, a band who likes “spit and polish” is simply embracing what they do best—structure, melody, and pretty much just great sing-along rock. Add Anberlin’s indie leanings and their above-average musical intelligence, and you have a record that lets us watch them place the finishing touches on a distinct, big-time-ready sound.