Album Review: Anberlin - Vital

Florida rockers Anberlin have returned to friend Aaron Sprinkle to produce their new album Vital and have unfortunately lost some of the spark that was turning them into a great crossover band. Though their beginnings were in spiky emo-rock, the band over the course of their last two albums – the Neal Avron-produced New Surrender and the Brendan O'Brien-produced Dark Is The Way, Light Is The Place – had turned into a slick, tight and melodic rock outfit that seemed destined for stadiums.

The first couple of songs on this album, Self-Starter and Little Tyrants, have that same spark of energy that really do make Anberlin sound fresh and vital, like it says on this album's packaging. Unfortunately the same can't be said of the rest of the album. Anberlin haven't turned in a bad album per se; the five-piece is far too professional an outfit to do that, but the introduction of an electronic element, at times ambient, at others a bit too frenetic, and a return to the sound of their earlier albums, such as on Someone Anyone undoes some of the great work of the last two albums.

Producer Sprinkle was behind the desk for the band's first three albums, so perhaps it's no surprise that the band's taken a step back rather than forward. But it would be a shame if we had to wait through another two albums before we get another cracker like New Surrender. But wherever things go, make no mistake – this glitch in the band's matrix is hardly going to stop them being one of the most thrilling live acts of all the Soundwave-ready emo-rockers.