Review Summary: Life goes on without you.
Chapter I: Bold Beginnings
Looking back at it eleven years later,
Blueprints for the Black Market was the perfect début for Anberlin. While a good album in its own right, it gave the Floridian alt-rock five-piece enough room to further develop their sound. The expansion of their talents led to their spectacular sophomore effort,
Never Take Friendship Personal, and eventually culminated with the release of their magnum opus,
Cities. As Anberlin plan out their final year as a band and prepare for the release of their seventh and last studio album, it’s time to look back at the career of Winter Haven’s finest, and what better place to begin than with their first release as a group?
Blueprints for the Black Market has Anberlin at its most youthful, and most of the album’s tracks are filled with Stephen Christian’s rejuvenating energy. From the adolescent passion of “The Undeveloped Story’ to the infectious scatting of “Foreign Language”, the spirit of juvenile passion is perfectly encapsulated in Christian’s lyrics and melodic hooks. He manages to be the focal point of most of the album’s tracks, with his emotional vocals rising above the rest of the band. Opener “Readyfuels” is the perfect exemplification of Christian’s boisterousness – his soaring vocals provide a certain sense of elation that is utilized best here. However, the youth spirit does become rather jejune after the first few songs, and the sound of tracks like “Cold War Transmissions” and the cover of The Cure’s “Love Song” become slightly repetitive after a while. While they aren’t
bad, they do come off as filler and wasted potential. The album’s main flaw is that most of manages to sound the same after a while – unlike future releases like
Cities or
Vital, there’s no “Inevitable” to slow the pace down, nor is there a “Self-Starter” to pump up the juices.
As a young group lacking experience in both music and life, it would make sense for Anberlin to focus mainly on feel-good, upbeat anthems during periods of bliss. The occasional delve into more riff-driven material results in
Blueprints for the Black Market’s main highlights. The final two tracks are among the album’s best songs – “Cadence” is powered by Christian’s snarling vocals and the crunching guitarwork of Joseph Milligan, giving off a more angst-ridden tone. Meanwhile, “Naïve Orleans” changes up the pace by ending the record on a somber and bittersweet note. The song definitely feels unique in the album’s flow; whereas the rest of the tracks were mostly pop-punk influenced with a dash of Stephen Christian’s talents, “Naïve Orleans” borrows elements from emo with its lyrical content, moody atmosphere and tearjerking vocals. By closing off a wonderful debut with a distinct song, Anberlin not only hinted at better things to come, but also left listeners waiting for the follow-up.
Blueprints For the Black Market is an album that gets overlooked far too often - ask a handful of casual Anberlin fans what their debut is, and the erroneous answer of
Never Take Friendship Personal will be tossed around quite a lot. While it may not be as breathtaking or emotional as their future releases, the band’s first release is still worth a listen. Tracks like “Cadence”, “Naïve Orleans” and “Change the World (Lost Ones)” are among the group’s best work, and even the album's weaker tracks aren't all that cringe-worthy. The first time the opening chords of "Readyfuels" grazed my ears, I was sprinting down a grassy field, iPod in hand, chasing the world. The remnants of summer memories are what I associate with
Blueprints For the Black Market, and the spirit of youthful innocence courses through my veins again every time I listen to it again.
