#3 - Cities

#3:
Artist: Anberlin
Album: Cities
Released: February 2007

I have been an Anberlin fan for awhile, but with the release of Cities the band has reached a whole new level of musical prowess. Cities offers an impressive track list from beginning to end, without a single “filler song” that you end up skipping every time you listen through. After you start listening it is difficult to stop, as each song seems only to get better and better. And indeed the album’s closer, “Fin,” a nine-minute work of brilliance, is arguably the best of them all. Anberlin is best placed in the genre of rock music, but yet they break many of the molds of typical rock bands. For one thing, and to me it is one of the defining characteristics of their music, they know how to harmonize. And by “know how to harmonize” I mean that some of their echoing choruses boast some of the most beautiful harmonies I have heard in a band, rock or not. The album flows wonderfully, and the lyrics, though at times cryptic, have a level of depth also rare for even a decent rock band. Cities is the best of many worlds; as I have listened to it over the past day or two, I have regretted not being able to place it higher even than spot number three on this countdown.