Anberlin, 'New Surrender'

Backstory: After making a name for themselves over the last five years in the Christian rock and Warped Tour worlds, this Florida emo-pop group has jumped to the big time. “New Surrender,” the band’s fourth record, is its first on a major label.
 
Why you should care: Even during the screamo craze of mid-decade, Anberlin differentiated itself amongst that set with a multiple-vocal sound that stripped out the yelps, barks and shrieks—sort of like a friendlier, more melodic Hawthorne Heights, with a bit of Fall Out Boy pop. Speaking of which…
 
Verdict: You can hear why the band toured with FOB—tracks like the hand-clapping, “whoa whoa”–chanting “Haight St.” would sound right at home on an old Fall Out record. That said, the band lacks Wentz and company’s groove, and vocalist Stephen Christian has seemingly one comfortable range—and sticks with it. But Anberlin makes consistently propulsive pop, and outside of the occasional, purposely vague “I want to die for something higher than myself” lyric (see “Burn Out Brighter”), they keep the Jesus themes low-key enough to appeal to both Christian and non-Christian listeners.
 
X-Factor: Anberlin’s latest was the “second most anticipated album of the year” on JesusFreakHideout.com (they lost out to Family Force Five and beat out Switchfoot, if you need to know).

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