“Slowly enter the Vega era now.”
A full decade after the release of their previous full-length album Lowborn, legendary alt rock band Anberlin are in an unusual position in their career. After a several-year breakup and successful reunion tours, the band is somewhere between a legacy act and an attempted reboot into a new era.
Complicating things further, lead singer Stephen Christian, whose distinctive soaring vocals and introspective lyrics have always been crucial to Anberlin’s sound, has decided to retire from touring for the foreseeable future. In his place, the band has enlisted Memphis May Fire’s Matty Mullins as their fill-in vocalist. While this move was initially billed as only for future touring, the release of Anberlin’s “new album” Vega has only led to more confusion.
Despite being described as a brand new studio album, Vega is really more of a compilation. That’s because 10 of its 12 tracks were previously released on the band’s two recent EPs, Silverline (2022) and Convinced (2023). Here, these 10 tracks with Christian on vocals are rearranged into a different track order, and two new songs with Mullins on lead vocals are somewhat randomly inserted into the mix.
This is frankly one of the most confusing ways Anberlin could have chosen to introduce Mullins on lead vocals on recorded material. Rather than releasing his two new songs as standalone singles, or even waiting until they had a full EP or album ready with Mullins, they’ve decided to directly invite comparisons between Mullins and Christian’s vocal contributions by literally making them part of the same listening experience.
While it’s difficult to doubt Mullins’ enthusiasm for his new gig or his passion for Anberlin, this direct comparison with Christian doesn’t do him any favors. To be clear, the two tracks focused on Mullins’ lead vocals are perfectly competent alt rock. “Walk Alone” boasts an instrumental reminiscent of Anberlin’s beloved Never Take Friendship Personal era, and “Seven” is a full-throttle rocker, among the most high-energy songs in the band’s catalog.
What’s missing from both is a sense of nuance and self-reflection that has always been essential to Anberlin’s songwriting. Christian’s best work would ask difficult questions, both of his faith and of himself as a person. His internal struggles and contradictions, combined with a unique vocal delivery that was instantly recognizable, made the band stand out amidst a sea of generic angst and aggression delivered by many of their contemporaries. Despite Mullins’ best efforts, his contributions can’t help but fall short in comparison. Anberlin have inadvertently revealed just how crucial Christian was to the winning formula of their sound, and the challenges of swapping him out are readily apparent to any longtime fan.
If any good comes from Vega, it will be shining a new spotlight on the other 10 previously released tracks included on the album. While all of these songs have been out for at least a year – many for two – the release of the two previous EPs did fly somewhat under the radar, a shame considering that much of the material on them found the band returning in fine form.
Whether it’s the hard-hitting dual vocal attack of “Lacerate”, the steadily building emotional climax of “Circles”, or the gentle melancholy of closer “Nothing More”, these tracks pointed a clear path forward with Christian as lead vocalist. However, Christian’s decision to take a step back seems to have thrown those plans into limbo.
As a collection of individual tracks, Vega frequently succeeds, with some tracks even being exceptional. As a full album experience, it unfortunately feels confused and haphazard. Many fans have felt there hasn’t been clarity around the long-term future of the band, and it seems the band themselves may still be figuring out where to go from here.
While Anberlin work out their future plans, Vega is left as a somewhat awkward transitional release, caught between distinct eras and sonic identities. There’s some enjoyment to be found here, but one hopes whatever comes next from Anberlin will have a stronger clarity of purpose.
6/10
Vega is out August 2nd on Equal Vision Records, and can be pre-ordered here.