In this weeks edition of my Throwback Thursday series we’ve got Anberlin’s album New Surrender which will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this Sunday. Brandon included New Surrender in his list of the best albums of 2008 feature last month, here’s what he had to say about it:
There was a time years ago where I ripped the direction Anberlin took with this album and I now regret those words. This was a polished, commercial sounding record but the songs resonated with me and listeners across the globe. “Breaking”, “Disappear”, “Burn Out Brighter”, “Haight St”, and yes even the single “The Feel Good Drag” (which originally appeared on the band’s 2005 album “Never Take Friendship Personal”) are all solid hits and the sounds put this band in a league all their own. I enjoy most Anberlin albums and each one has so many memorable moments. I wasn’t a huge fan of “Lowborn” but by no means is it a terrible record. This band came out at the perfect time and their music transcends all style changes, generation gaps, and the roller coaster ride of the music industry. This is timeless music and this is Anberlin.
And here’s how the IVM review summarized the album back in 2008:
Here’s a review in a nutshell: New Surrender isn’t as good as Cities, but it’s very much better than Never Take Friendship Personal, which is encouraging, because that record is the closest in style to this.
Rating: 7.5/10
What do you think, were we being too hard on New Surrender when it released? Has it gotten better with age? Was Never Take Friendship Personal actually the better album in retrospect? Let us know what you think in the comments!
Definitely not as good as NTFP in retrospect. I’d say it’s their weakest outside of Blueprints. But I also think everything this band has ever done is great so there’s that too.
That’s exactly how I feel too. New Surrender and Blueprints are two least favorite Anberlin’s albums. They both have some great songs, they just aren’t as strong on the whole as Anberlin’s other albums. But lke you said, Anberlin’s has to amazing albums so they’ve some got stiff competition.
Some good songs but on the whole, this doesn’t compare to the two albums that came before and the ones that followed. That’s ok, they’re a great band.