Anchor and Braille - Felt
Rating
RIYL
AnberlinCopeland
Alive In Wild Paint
Release Date
08/04/2009
Label
WoodWater RecordsTracklist
1. Rust (The Short Story Of Mary Agnosia)2. Like Steps In A Dance
3. Blur.
4. Introspect
5. Summer Tongues
6. Calm, Calm, Calm Yourself
7. Wedding/Funeral
8. Sleep. When We Die.
9. Forget Love, I Just Want You To Make Sense To Me Tonight
10. Sing Out
11. Sheet Music/Sheet Music
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Felt provoked much fan drool over the period of time mastermind captain of the project, Stephen Christian, threatened its release. Now that it’s finally seeing daylight, it’s interesting to look back and notice that there was actually an agreeable amount of anticipation over the album even with it receiving breadcrumb promotion. Christian is writing under the moniker Anchor and Braille here, a venue where he can publish songs he deemed too personal or unfit for the 5-person alternative rock music of his main occupation, Anberlin. Still, Anberlin’s massive and devoted fan base provide much of the attention towards Anchor and Braille, as the project is a work of their adored, iconic frontman.
Conceptually and lyrically, Felt sidesteps any significant criticism. More often than not, Christian’s writing here is bathed in a mournfulness the audience can only pinpoint as relationship troubles, but it’s ultimately too personal to drop any sort of “lyrics are too cliché; needs more complexity” hammer. Basically, it’s clear that what is articulated on the album comes from the deep emotional lairs of the heart. “Baby, oh, baby, please / Baby, oh, baby, stop,” Christian simply wails on “Sheet Music / Sheet Music.” A similar, Mary Shelley-esque regret is found in “Wedding / Funeral’s” bittersweet chorus: “Why did I let you go / How could I let you leave my side? / Would have been something amazing / Would have been wild.”
Christian’s vocals are uncannily other-worldly. Listening to the album feels like musical voyeurism, as if one is intruding on some sort of faux-hallow ground. The way his voice glides and falsettos its way across melodic arrangements sets it up like a beautiful alabaster swan, stunning anything that professes to have ears. It just has this classical quality that makes the fact that it’s normally borrowed for the heaviness of Anberlin inconceivable, though it also makes the band’s avid fans convincing.
It’d be nice to end the review here and just pour heaps and heaps of credit on Anchor and Braille for its pleasant sound, but it’d also be dishonesty. Aaron Marsh of Copeland produced the album, so naturally some of the songs move to a Copeland-ish beat. This is more detrimental than beneficial; the droll and playful off-beat-ism that soured Eat, Sleep, Repeat and to some extent, You Are My Sunshine, is present in numbers like “Calm, Calm, Calm Yourself” and “Like Steps In A Dance;” the latter rolls beat-boxy drums under light keys, but the feat is too signature (and overused) of Copeland to unearth enjoyable quality.
In any case, Christian’s vocals still save the day. Whether they’re conquering the acoustic fanfare of “Sing Out,” the gentle crooning of “Summer Tongues” or the catchy gloom of “Introspect,” they seem destined for no less than fame, turning heads no matter where they travel. In this niche of the alternative scene, there has been no better vocalist and as a result of Christian’s work here, Felt is good. Let’s just hope there will be more Anchor and Braille to come.
--Matthew Tsai
Comments
Vero Beach, FL
When you come into the theater, you have to be willing to say, "We're all here to undergo a communion, to find out what the hell is going on in this world." If you're not willing to say that, what you get is entertainment instead of art, and poor entertainment at that.
DAVID MAMET, Three Uses of the Knife
Vero Beach, FL
my comments don't seem to come through correctly?
When you come into the theater, you have to be willing to say, "We're all here to undergo a communion, to find out what the hell is going on in this world." If you're not willing to say that, what you get is entertainment instead of art, and poor entertainment at that.
DAVID MAMET, Three Uses of the Knife
Minnesota
What are you trying to post when you comment? Text? Pictures? Links?
Find me EVERYWHERE:
Vero Beach, FL
It was actually just a copy from the review and a comment on the sentence from the review but it is strange that my second post about posting trouble came through.
When you come into the theater, you have to be willing to say, "We're all here to undergo a communion, to find out what the hell is going on in this world." If you're not willing to say that, what you get is entertainment instead of art, and poor entertainment at that.
DAVID MAMET, Three Uses of the Knife
Minnesota
This was pretty underwhelming. Yawn.
Find me EVERYWHERE:
Leeds, England
Yeah, this was pretty ZZZZ with only a couple of standouts. Its alright as background music to chill out to, but that's about it.