Cities (Anberlin album)

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Cities
Cities cover
Studio album by Anberlin
Released February 19, 2007
Recorded 2006
Compound and London Bridge Studio
Seattle, WA
Genre Alternative rock
Length 45:38
Label Tooth & Nail Records
Stomp Records (Australia release)
Howling Bull (Japan Release)
Producer Aaron Sprinkle
Professional reviews
Anberlin chronology
Godspeed EP
(2006)		 Cities
(2007)		 Lost Songs
(2007)
Singles from Cities
  1. "Godspeed"
    Released: 2006
  2. "The Unwinding Cable Car"
    Released: 2007

Cities is the third album (and fourth release overall) by the alternative rock band Anberlin, released on February 20, 2007. [1] The tracks "Godspeed" and "The Unwinding Cable Car" have been released as singles and have had music videos filmed for each. The album debuted at #19 on the Billboard 200.

Contents

[edit] Production

The band spent more than 40 days in the studio recording Cities and went back on tour on September 14th after listening to the finished work on the morning of September 13th. Lead singer Stephen Christian kept fans posted on progress in the studio through the band's online forums. Anberlin asked fans to message their phone numbers to the band through their message board so that they could call the fans and ask for advice on this album. The album was produced by Aaron Sprinkle, who also produced Anberlin's first two albums Blueprints for the Black Market and Never Take Friendship Personal.

[edit] Promotion and Pre-release

In late 2006, the band started previewing content for the album in various ways. The song "Godspeed" was released as a single on December 28th, 2006. The band started playing "Hello Alone" at concerts under its working title, "The Lesser Thans." Anberlin also posted individual song previews on MySpace and PureVolume. Anberlin streamed the entire album to their MySpace home three days before the album hit stores. The move ratcheted up the band's popularity on the #1 profile site, and made it one of the top 2 most popular bands on the day. Cities was number one on Jesusfreakhideout's list of "the 25 most anticipated albums of 2007."Jesusfreakhideout named "Cities" the no. 1 album of 2007 on December 16th, 2007.

[edit] Initial Release

Cities was released in the United States on February 20th, 2007, as scheduled. It sold 34,000 units in its first week of release and debuted at #19 on the Billboard 200 chart and became well received by critics and fans. [2] It also reached up to number 7 on the iTunes Top Albums chart. Some pre-orders were shipped along with a seven-inch collector's vinyl EP.

A special-edition version of the album was also released. This version contains three additional tracks and a bonus DVD featuring a behind the scenes look of the making the album, interviews with the band members, and outtakes.

Except for digitally downloaded albums, each US copy of the album contained a "City Pass" insert. This insert states that it is the buyer's "gateway to the world" providing "free entry to over twenty cities". The inserts were tied to an online-entry contest (which closed on August 31, 2007).

[edit] Lyrical content

Stephen Christian stated in an interview that the lyrics throughout the band's discography were progressively becoming more mature. "The first CD (Blueprints for the Black Market) was childish in the manner that it was Man vs. World in the lyrics. The second (Never Take Friendship Personal) was Man Vs. Man. Cities is more adult in the manner that it's Man vs. Self."[3][4]

[edit] Track listing

  1. "(Début)" - 1:27
  2. "Godspeed" - 3:02
  3. "Adelaide" - 3:14
  4. "A Whisper & a Clamor" - 3:25 (featured in the soundtrack of EA Sports' NHL 08)
  5. "The Unwinding Cable Car" - 4:17
  6. "There Is No Mathematics to Love and Loss" - 3:11
  7. "Hello Alone" - 4:00
  8. "Alexithymia" - 3:23
  9. "Reclusion" - 3:31
  10. "Inevitable" - 3:47 (guest vocals from Aaron Marsh of Copeland.)
  11. "Dismantle.Repair." - 4:18
  12. "(*Fin)" - 8:53

[edit] Special-edition bonus tracks:

  1. "Uncanny" - 3:28
  2. "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" (The Smiths cover) - 4:17
  3. "The Promise" (When In Rome cover) - 3:17

[edit] References

  1. ^ AbsoulutePunk -- Anberlin Release Date
  2. ^ Katie Hasty, "Norah Stays Tight At No. 1 Amidst Slow Sales Week", Billboard.com, February 28, 2007.
  3. ^ LIFE: Anberlin's "Cities" best album of 2007 so far.
  4. ^ Live with Stephen Christian and Nathan Strayer.

[edit] External links


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Anberlin
Stephen Christian | Deon Rexroat | Joseph Milligan | Nathan Young | Christian McAlhaney
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Nathan Strayer | Joey Bruce
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