“No Ordinary” by Anchor & Braille, Wednesday, May 3, 2023 + Tension Track by Track

Today, we're listening to Tension by Anchor & Braille. Years ago, I wanted to hear Stephen Christian as a pop singer. I heard his vocal potential in the middle of Anberlin's hardest rock. There were glimpses even on songs like "The Feel Good Drag," showing that Christian wasn't just a baritone grunge singer. When Christian first released music under Anchor & Braille, the music was more acoustic indie on Felt, but started to gravitate to pop music. Anberlin, too, also released poppier music on albums like Vital. But 2016 saw Anchor & Braille releasing an electronic pop record in the vein of M83 and Washed Out on Songs for the Late Night Drive Home. 

1. "No Ordinary."  Anchor & Braille's fourth record, Tension, continues Stephen Christian in the pop vein. The album's opener is a beautiful '80s/'90s-styled love song about not being able to sleep so enamored by the person that you love.

2. "Black Sea" introduces listeners to more dissonance, which makes the melodies on this record pay off. The imagery of the being on the bottom of the Black Sea gives listeners a mysterious feeling. 

3. "Eventful Horizons" is one of my highlights of the albums. It's an R&B song that relies on emotion rather than logic. 

4. "Dangerous" was on of the singles released before the album was released.  The song names Stephen Christian's wife, Julia in the lyrics. The verses are a little clunky, but the chorus is pure hook. The horns after the bridge are quite satisfying.

5. "Tethered" is fun with the gang vocals and Stephen's voice coming off the chorus.  The song name drops Frank Ocean comparing his smoothness to his lover's dance. 

6. "Closer & Farther" feels like a preachy song with the line "if character falls in the dark does it ever make a sound?" Still, the song touches on the question if someone will love us if they see who we really are.

7. "Slow Motion" is where the album sounds a little monotonous. The song has a nice groove, but not much else. 

8. "Phantom Pain" is a kind of creepy song with soaring vocals. The guitar solos on this record are ornamental, but interesting nonetheless, and this song is no exception.  The lyrics on Tension aren't particularly deep, but this song touches on the supernatural and a feeling that can't be explained.

9. "Madness" deals with a fight between lovers. It's the feeling about being so in love with someone but saying the worst thing. Neither party feels right to apologize and feels vindicated in their positions. It's that uncomfortable feeling before reconciliation. 

10. "3 Beautiful Songs" ends the album in a slow way. The lyrics are pure R&B devotion to the speaker's love. Tension is a fun, easy-listening record, and that's pretty much all that it is. Anberlin's music certainly deals with "tension," but Anchor & Braille's fourth record is a break from all of that.