Band of the Week, 9/3: Anberlin

Who are they?:  Anberlin is an alternative rock band from Winter Haven, Florida that has released 5 full length albums and has had two songs chart in the top 10 on the Alternative Rock charts (“Feel Good Drag” and “Impossible”.) Honestly, I’d be quite surprised if you didn’t know who Anberlin was already. 

Why are they band of the week?: They just returned from a run of East coast dates playing stripped down and acoustic renditions of their songs. The show, which I was lucky enough to catch in Lancaster, PA, was the best performance Anberlin has ever put on. Now, Anberlin has announced that not only will they be embarking on a West Coast leg for that tour in the future, but they will also be releasing a live album of one of the performances from the tour. And on top of all this incredible news, the band is gearing up to release their sixth studio full-length, Vital, which is scheduled for release on October 16. Vital may be one of the very few albums released this year that has the potential to pass The Gaslight Anthem’s Handwritten as Keep Calm and Carry On’s Album of the Year. The first track off the album, “Self-Starter” was released last week to overwhelming praise. Some, including myself, have said that drummer Nate Young has put on the best performance of his career in the song. And then just a few days ago, Anberlin put up the fourth song on the album, “Someone Anyone” on the homepage of their website. The song is aggressive and driving, and, while not as good as “Self-Starter”, is one of the best rock songs released this year. Explaining the album title to Billboard.com, vocalist Stephen Christian said, “Our favorite part of any show is when people are absolutely going mental, screaming at the top of their lungs, dancing along, having the best night. We felt like, if that’s what gets us off, why don’t we just write a whole record like that.”

What you need to listen to?: Seriously, just take a listen to “Self-Starter” and try to tell me that the drumming isn’t the single best drumming performance of the year. Nate Young goes absolutely mental for this entire song, blasting massive fills like there will be no tomorrow. If this song is indicative of how good the rest of Vital will be, then it will be a serious contender for Album of the Year.