Review Summary: More than just the Vital expansion pack.
Chapter VI – Subsection 2: How’s This For True Devotion?
With the release of their sixth studio album
Vital in 2012, Anberlin proved that they could bounce back from the mediocre, lifeless misstep that was
Dark is the Way, Light is a Place and come back relatively unhinged. It was an album that saw the band explore more of an electronic sound, adding warbling synths here and there to create an atmospheric, emotional record filled with energy and poignant passion. Standing up against other albums that were just as excellent,
Vital inevitably became Anberlin’s second best record, offering too many highlights while rarely ever slipping.
That’s why
Devotion succeeds in its concept – while many are quick to dismiss it as nothing more than
Vital and seven B-sides, it’s so much more than that. Each track adds so much more to the album, transitioning moods and creating ethereal atmospheres, plus most of them are just kick-ass in general. Case in point – “Dead American” is a hard-hitting beast sandwiched between the emotional “Innocent” and riff-laden “Desires”, which flows pretty well as the heaviness increases from song to song, but alone, its anthemic cries of “We got it right, we got it right now!” is filled with the upbeat energy that Anberlin pull off so well. While Christian’s vocals start out slow and brooding on “Safe Here”, they soon build into an explosion of synth, riffage and chaotic energy similar to “Reclusion” from
Cities.
Everyone’s favorites from
Vital return, whether it be the heavy-as-bricks opener “Self-Starter”, the somber “Other Side” or the tearjerking epic “Modern Age”. Everything about them is just as great as they were on the original record, nevertheless the integration of the new songs into the tracklist only benefits the emotional resonance. The sentiments of “Type Three” are better reverberated when “IJSW” builds up into it rather than “Desires”, as the former’s atmosphere transitions more fully into the sadness that “Type Three” embodies. Similarly, the jump from the moody “Other Side” to the aggressive “Someone Anyone” works so much better when “City Electric” is in the middle, increasing heaviness oh-so-slowly until
Vital’s lead single lets it rip. It’s the little things like this that make
Devotion more than a re-release with some added B-sides, but rather a whole new experience altogether. Instead of dumping the new tracks at the end and disregarding any sense of flow or transitioning, Anberlin decided to make the best of the previously unreleased songs and position them in places where they would have the most impact.
Not all of the new songs are excellent, however, and while
Vital benefitted by not having any bad songs,
Devotion isn’t so lucky. “No Love to Speak” is unmemorable and never picks up, going on this lengthy build that results in no climax, not to mention Stephen Christian’s vocals are still top notch, but the backing instrumentation is dull and drab. Of all the seven new songs, it’s definitely the least impressive because all of the others hit hard and leave a lasting impression. “IJSW” is a little bit too minimalistic for Anberlin, with its repetitive dull beat and limp vocals – perhaps the most interesting thing about it are the Vocoder effects inserted throughout the song. Clocking in at nearly five and a half minutes, it’s one of the band’s longest songs that isn’t a gargantuan closer, and boy does it drag. It’s one of those songs that deserves its status as a B-side.
While on the surface
Devotion seems like nothing more than a re-release of
Vital with a few extra new B-sides thrown into the mix, the end result is so much more than it appears to be. Almost every new track brings something interesting to the table, and the whole experience is greatly benefitted with the addition of these previously unreleased songs. Listening to the whole record in one playthrough, everything flows together so nicely, and it’s all because of the new tracks. Would “Modern Age” be as moving feeding on the remaining emotional residue left behind by fellow downer “Type Three” instead of basing itself off listeners with the hard-hitting “Safe Here” on their mind? Even out of
Devotion’s flow, most of them still sound great as a standalone piece – the anthemic chants of “Dead American” and the emotions that Christian sells while talking someone out of suicide that consumes “Unstable” hit just as hard when listened to alone. Although the compilation is used to its full potential while realizing the effect that every new song has on the mood and transition of
Devotion, let’s not act like it isn’t enjoyable when treated as nothing but
Vital plus seven new tracks. For those lucky enough to buy the deluxe edition with live performances and the remix album for free, that’s just more hours of entertainment that Anberlin will provide with this project. It would be one of the last things they would construct together as a band, anyways…
