Third time is semi-charmed for this Florida quintet.

Anberlin - Cities

[3.5/5] Since their 2002 inception, Anberlin have been a band who simply couldn't make up their mind. With the members' ages ranging from 19 (drummer Nate Young) to 29 (frontman Stephen Christian), the gentle tug-of-war between two different age groups and their preferred music has always been somewhat obvious-hell, the band covered the Cure's "Lovesong" on their first album, and Young would've been 2 when that song was on the radio. This push-and-pull is all over Cities, the band's third album; Christian's vocals successfully leap higher into the stratosphere than ever before ("Hello Alone") and at times, the band get more intricate and mature than they've ever been (the six-minute "Fin," complete with children's choir), but at the same time, much of the actual music is more aligned with nü-emo groups like Saosin (seriously, listen to "Reclusion" and tell me you don't hear "Bury Your Head"). Of course, when the band can properly fuse their influences, the result is the massive "Dismantle Repair," which is effortlessly epic. If all of Anberlin's songs were as perfect as "Dismantle Repair" or "Hello Alone," these guys would be the biggest band in the world-or at least the scene. As it stands, they've still turned in their best album to date, schizophrenia and all. (TOOTH & NAIL) Scott Heisel

ROCKS LIKE:
Spitalfield's Better Than Knowing Where You Are
Armor For Sleep's What To Do When You Are Dead
Saosin's Saosin


Official Website: http://www.toothandnail.com


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