"Take Me" (As You Found Me) [Live From Williamsburg] by Anberlin (reworked repost), Thursday, March 14, 2024
Anberlin had recorded their seventh studio album, Vital, with Aaron Sprinkle when they set out on an acoustic tour. The band known for their energetic live shows decided to create an intimate atmosphere, reinterpreting some of their classics, fan favorites, and deep cuts. Anberlin actually did two acoustic tours, one before Vital and one after the album’s release; however, the tour is only captured in a one-night performance in Williamsburg, later released as a bonus disc with Devotion, a massive repacking of Vital. The concert starts with an album cut, “Take Me” (As You Found Me), from Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place, the album the band was still promoting.
YOU’RE HERE WITH ME. If there is an album that Anberlin would say is their peak sound, they would probably say it was Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place. The band delves into their post-punk influences. From the album’s promotion-- the fashion chosen for the photoshoots, the talk of Dylan Thomas’ “Poem on His Birthday,” where the album’s title comes from, the quotes of Martin Luther King, Jr., working with the ‘90s legendary producer Brendon O’Brien-- it felt like Anberlin was making the album that they wanted to. But it was the first Anberlin record I struggled through. I thought the lyrics were flat compared to their previous works, the songs were short and simple, and the album left me wanting a lot more. And the album’s mixing was shameful for a major label album. I wanted the band to explore the dark landscape they were sculpting with music and lyrics. The biggest single from the album, “Impossible,” was a similar track to some of the band’s biggest hits, but with a shiny major-label production budget. The song reached number 5 on the Alternative Rock charts.
NOW THAT YOU’RE GONE. “Take Me” (As You Found Me) was supposed to be Anberlin’s breakthrough crossover hit, at least the way the band talks about it. Producer Brendon ‘O Brian loved it. Could Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place be Anberlin’s Joshua Tree? No. The storytelling in the song is too abstract, and the listener doesn’t know who the speaker is talking about. Is it God or a girl? The speaker both admires and feels betrayed by the subject. In the live stream for Dark Is the Way, As You Found Me, lead singer Stephen Christian explains that the line “Who’s going to drain my blood, now that you’re gone” refers to a divorced couple he met in Nashville. Even though they were divorced, the ex-wife took care of her ex-husband, driving him every day to receive dialysis. That context makes the song more interesting because it shows the conflict of love that seems to be implied in the song. It seems to be about a feeling of conflicted love--can’t live with that person, can’t live without them. With a little clearer songwriting, a mass audience could have gotten behind Stephen Christian’s passionate vocals--and the live version is much better. For Anberlin, “Take Me” is the song that could have been.
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