“Paperthin Hymn” by Anberlin, Sunday, August 14, 2022 (partial repost)

Anberlin's Blueprints for the Black Market was a strong debut for the band. The circumstances, the tours and the connections from those tours, though transcended the first record's success. First Anberlin headlined the Tooth & Nail Tour when Further Seems Forever dropped off due to lead singer Jason Gleason leaving the band; this was Anberlin’s first major tour and they were upgraded to headliner. The band toured a lot on their first record and gained a considerable fan base. But touring came with the price of not being there for the band’s families. Touring paid off,  despite the hiccup of one band member getting too involved with the drugs and partying to fulfill his duties in the band. 

WHEN YOUR ONLY FRIENDS ARE HOTEL ROOMS. Never Take Friendship Personal turned Anberlin from a ‘90s-rock leaning band to an Emo band. The title of the opening track and the record come from the band’s decision to kick out guitarist Joey Bruce. Besides the opening track, all the lyrics on Never Take Friendship Personal are much more emotional and concrete than the band’s first record. The lyrical poignancy singer Stephen Christian discovers on this record as he writes about friendships, relationships, sex, lust, spirituality, and temptation rival their fan-favorite Cities but never seem to hit as raw ever again in their career. Anberlin's sound also evolved. Leaning into their heavier tendencies on tracks like "Cold War Transmissions" and "Glass to the Arson," Never Take Friendship Personal intensifies the band's rock sound with tracks like the title track and "The Feel Good Drag," which contain screaming--the former containing uncredited unclean vocals by Demon Hunter's Ryan Clark and the latter containing a scream by lead singer Stephen Christian himself. 


AUGUST EVENINGS BRING SOLEMN WARNINGS TO REMEMBER: TO KISS THE ONES YOU LOVE GOODNIGHT. Anberlin's "Paperthin Hymn" is an excellent example of how a rock song can be melancholy and rock too. The band released other songs about loss and depression. They released many other songs in minor keys, but the elegiac lyrics, the Deon Rexroat D minor bass riff build, and Joseph Milligan's guitar riffs build this song into a simultaneously hauntingly tragic and kick-ass song. Certainly, as the song became the band's greatest hit in their early career, it must have lost some meaning when played live. According to Stephen Christian's Tumblr explaining Anberlin's songs, "Paperthin Hymn" is reportedly about the death of Stephen Christian's grandmother and the death of Joseph Milligan's sister to cancer. Lyrically, the song is a reminder to show your affection for the people you love because we cannot know how long they will be with us. The song also laments the cost of the band’s heavy touring schedule as loss of loved ones happened to the band as they were out on the road. There’s an inevitable guilt that comes from pursuing a dream that keeps you away from loved ones.




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