Spirituality definitely plays a role in the music, but isn't a primary focus. "We're not Coldplay or U2, but I want to touch people's lives," vocalist Stephen Christian said in the Anberlin biography. - either the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll route, which is so temporal - or I can invest in people's lives.
When I look back on my life, I want it to have meaning." With that in mind, Christian (who initially wanted to devote his life to humanitarian work before joining the group) recently traveled to India for two weeks with his bandmates and helped build a women's shelter. Formed in 2002 amid a burgeoning Florida alt-rock scene that included Further Seems Forever, Copeland and Underoath, Anberlin took its moniker from an idea Christian once had about promising names for future children.
Soon after, the band signed to influential Seattle indie label Tooth Nail. "Blueprints for the Black Market" came out in 2003. Then Anberlin toured with mainstream pop/punkers Fall Out Boy and Yellowcard.
The fan base had built up to such a level that when third and latest CD, "Cities," was streamed on MySpace prior to release in February, a half-million hits were logged in two days. A top 20 debut on the Billboard 200 chart followed. Christian has described his lyrics on "Cities" as being about "man vs.
self." The new disc is a sonic leap forward, with an emphasis on rich melodies and no more screamo. An instrumental interlude ("Debut") is followed by an adrenaline-pumping anthem ("Godspeed") and capped off by the swelling epic final track ("Fin"), which clocks in at more than eight minutes and features a boys choir.
Elsewhere, the tunes recall the urgency of Jimmy Eat World ("Hello Alone") with The Church-styled moodiness ("The Unwinding Cable Car").
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