The State of Anberlin

Today is the big release day for Anberlin. Their fourth full length "New Surrender" is out today in stores nationwide. Some of you have already begun to feel the effects of their major label switch over by hearing them played on your local alternative rock station. I know that Sirius Satellite Radio has been playing "The Feel Good Drag" on "Alt Nation" on constant repeat. The song has even topped their weekend top 21 countdown for a couple weeks now. This same station has never played a single Anberlin track in the past so this is all due to their switch to a major label. I've heard the album in it's entiriety on Myspace when they were doing the album stream and I listened several times. I must say that I am overly impressed with it. It's not a huge departure from their past material and they haven't gone prog rock or experimental in any means, so this definitely wont scare off long time fans. Because of the radio play, their inclusion on Jimmy Kimmel's show last night, and placement in all the ads this past weekend, I have a feeling that this record will be their biggest selling piece of work ever. It may take a few weeks to sell but they'll definitely shoot past the 100,000 mark in no time. Will they be the next big "Radio" band? Hmmm, that's a tough one to gauge. A lot of bands have switched over to major labels in the last few years and so many of them have failed, especially at radio. So far though, it appears that Anberlin is tracking well at radio (#3 most added the past week). Radio still equals success in this day and age so does video play (If there are still even channels playing music these days). I can usually tell if an artist is going to be a success story on a major but with Anberlin it's just hard to tell. When Yellowcard switched to a major back in 2003, they were an instant hit spawning several radio singles and a few hit videos on tv. The same goes for Thrice who had a few hits off of their "Artist in the Ambulance" album. Since then though both bands were on a downward spiral at their respective labels. Thrice eventually switched back to an indie and Yellowcard went on an indefinite hiatus. For Tooth and Nail bands, the past hasn't been as kind either. Mae switched to a major only to fail a few months later. The Juliana Theory released their major label debut in 2003 and also failed a few months later. Everyone remembers Mxpx and their major label story. "I'm Okay You're Okay" was a huge hit in 1998 then the album slowly went away. The next one came out and spawned a hit and disappeared again. Finally, their major label swan song "Before and Everything After" spawned another hit single before decided to depart the major label game once and for all. They went on to Side One Dummy and eventually back to Tooth and Nail. The same goes for Project 86 who ended up back on Tooth and Nail after their short stint at a major. Other bands who've left T&N only to fail (in album sales terms) have included Craig's Brother, Slick Shoes, Stavesacre, Dogwood, etc. Time will tell if Anberlin can indeed rise above their fellow bands and become that hit radio band everyone talks about, or if they'll be another statistic?

I am definitely rooting for the band and I have high hopes for their future. I've known the guys (Three of them) since they were in Sagoh 24/7 and my old Church flew them out from Florida to play for like 50 kids. They are incredibly humble and genuinely nice people to talk to. They really care about their fans and reaching new ones with their hope based music. Sure they may take heat from "Christian" fans for not talking about Jesus enough but I would rather listen to them than fill my head with the garbage that's out there. There is hope to their music and in that hope I find solace and peace of mind. I thank Anberlin for being such a positive influence on this generation of music fans and for being the kind of role models this music scene is in dire need of.

I give this album 6 months before we'll know whether it's a success or not. I think they definitely need to choose their next few tours wisely. They need to get outside the whole indie music scene and play with some well established bands. Like do a tour with Jimmy Eat World, or Weezer, or Oasis, or heck even U2. If they can get on some major market tours, then there is hope they'll reach over the "indie" divide. Well if all else fails, they'll always be able to get back on an indie label.