Review Summary: Anberlin's comeback again proves fruitful as they deliver their second excellent EP in as many years.
One of the biggest challenges for a band as successful and with as much longevity as Anberlin (it’s been twenty years since
Blueprints for the Black Market!) is continually finding new ways to sound fresh. When you’re as established in your scene as they are, the enemy becomes stagnation. It’s a mountain they’ve already climbed in the past – for as huge as 2007’s
Cities was at the time,
New Surrender and
Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place were essentially increasingly streamlined versions of that release that saw diminishing returns, even if the end product was still fantastic.
Vital (or for those of you who know better,
Devotion), was a needed shakeup in Anberlin’s formula if they were to pivot away from becoming a legacy act, and they succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest expectations. The infusion of synths and electronics into their melodic brand of alt-rock yielded their best results since their
Cities breakout, and some may even argue it to be their strongest material, period.
Lowborn took that style, slowed it down, and used it as an emotional farewell, effectively tying a bow on their career in 2014. However, like the subtle innovators they are, Anberlin refused to allow their comeback to be an exercise in pleasant nostalgia.
Silverline saw the group lean into their more aggressive tendencies – the likes of which we had only previously witnessed in flashes – which resulted in a louder, grittier, and overall
messier side of the band that was entirely welcome on the heels of their soft-spoken swansong of nearly a decade ago.
Convinced continues in that vein, blending rock, post-hardcore, and electronics/synths into a chaotic but surprisingly dynamic concoction.
‘Lacerate’ immediately establishes the tone of the EP, with its deceptively infectious, electronically-underscored verses and one of Anberlin’s heaviest choruses to date (joining last year’s raucous ‘Two Graves’). It’s the kind of song that further entrenches Anberlin in this murkier and darker aesthetic, replete with bitter lyrics to reinforce it all: “I just want my heart to break, away from your memory...lacerate.” ‘Decoder’ buoys the EP’s early momentum with a short, punchy, and melodic piece that doesn’t sacrifice any of the intensity of the opener. In some ways, it recalls the transient energy burst of a ‘Godspeed’ or ‘Little Tyrants’, although ‘Decoder’ is decidedly less “catchy” in a traditional sense and instead pushes the synth-bound, percussively-driven discord that encompasses large swaths of the extended play. ‘Banshee’ is
Convinced’s answer to ‘Body Language’, slowing the tempo considerably while turning the focus towards creating something that’s smoothed-out, glistening, and memorable. Not to diminish the value of the track on its own, but in context it derives most of its value as a scene-setter; the calm before the storm ahead of the brilliant and monstrous experimental rocker, ‘Animals’. Brimming with sinister guitar lines, airy drumming that intensifies into something of a percussive strut, and the band's most convincing screams since the closing minutes of
Never Take Friendship Personal’s version of ‘Feel Good Drag’, ‘Animals’ feels absolutely explosive. Pinned up by angry, gnarled shouts of, “are we ruthless creatures after all?” and “I want to tear you apart, I want to eat you alive”, it’s simultaneously the most impressive and ruthless Anberlin has sounded, either in a long time or possibly ever. The closer, ‘Nothing More’, feels like sun breaking through the clouds: harmonic piano notes and airy, layered vocals give way to a saxophone solo interlaid with uplifting acoustic strums and a dreamy keyboard medley. Stephen’s refrain of “There's nothing more to say, there's nothing more to do, to make me love you” paint the picture of someone who feels completely fulfilled in love, but is trying to convey that to his partner in doubt: "I feel close to God when you lay your hands on me / I want nothing more than to just have you be near...are you convinced?" As ‘Nothing More’ gently ushers the EP to its conclusion with the sound of waves and rushing water, there’s a sense of rebirth that serves as a fitting conclusion to the way the experience began – with demands to cut away, or lacerate, ties to an unhealthy relationship. The sense of renewal, evidenced by contrasting the bitter 'Lacerate' with the adoration-filled 'Nothing More', provides
Convinced with its lyrical and thematic resolution.
To say that Anberlin are the most experimental they’ve ever been here isn’t an outrageous claim.
Convinced certainly retains fractional glimpses of the band’s existence over time; from melodic alt-rock to intense post-hardcore to electronic experimentation. However, they’ve never quite tied it all together under one umbrella the way they do on this EP, all while fusing those familiar aspects of the band with unprecedented heaviness and unanticipated instrumental accents, like the introduction of the saxophone to their artistic palette on ‘Nothing More’. Nothing here quite possess the knockout blow of a ‘Fin’, ‘Miserabile Visu’, or – more recently – ‘Two Graves’; in that sense,
Convinced is more consistently great than it is periodically jaw-dropping (although, a case for ‘Animals’ could be made). One thing is for sure, though, and it’s that Anberlin is still refusing to rest on their laurels and adapt to a particular fan-pleasing aesthetic. They’re continually searching for ways to break new ground, and somehow – two decades into their careers – becoming louder and more reckless in their approach. That in itself is admirable, and
Convinced shows every sign that the band may be on the brink of yet another evolution in sound.
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