“Running into circles to find my own.“
Anberlin have been a unit whose sound had stood the test of time, whether it be from their 00s work of Cities and Never Take Friendship Personal or their following work in the next decade, Vital and Lowborn. Delving through their discography is still a wonderful listen and rarely feels outdated, whilst work from some of their predecessors can often feel like relics of their time. The aforementioned Lowborn, released in 2014, was the last release from the quintet. Since disbanding, the group reformed in 2018/19 to tour, and confirmed in 2020 that they have been working on new material. That new material comes in the form of EP, Silverline, which will be Anberlin‘s first step into this decade.
There is a slight surrealness in hearing a new Anberlin record in 2022 as opening track “Two Graves” enters the foray with its opening crashing riffs and Stephen Christian’s distinct vocals. There is a fury akin to Vital’s “Little Tyrants“, this time turned up a notch and backed by much tighter production, with its heavy closing moments sporting a twanging riff. The track acts almost as a start gun for what will be the Anberlin revival. Following track “Nothing Lost” is a further distinctly Anberlin track, expanding on the historical structure and sound that the band has crafted over their now two decade long career. The vocal hook of its chorus is the track’s main pull: “Say nothing is ever lost, say nothing I’m right” opening the chorus with its toe-tapping beat and guitar melodies.
Following tracks “Body Language” and “Asking For” slow the pace down, the former akin to a cut from Lowborn. Electronic synths scattered around the track are blended with clean guitars, culminating in a gentle and paced love ballad that is slotted nicely at the record’s midpoint. The punchier and more grandiose “Asking For” further builds on this, with some lovely vocal sampling towards the track’s closing moments leading the EP into its final track.
“Circles” feels like a culmination of Silverline’s previous tracks, containing the hard-hitting riffs of “Two Graves“, the vocal hooks of “Nothing Lost“, and the synths/samples of “Asking For“. While at times these previous tracks felt somewhat scattered and not fitting into a singular, cohesive package, by the end of “Circles” they feel like building blocks that lead to the grandiose closer. While perhaps lacking a broad identity that previous records had, Silverline seems to act as Anberlin testing various concepts and sounds for future work. The question Silverline leaves is what comes next. Is it the last fluttering breath of Anberlin‘s distinguished musicianship or the foundation of a new era for Anberlin in the coming decade?
6.5/10
Silverline is out this Friday, July 29th via Rude Records/Equal Vision Records.