On Anberlin’s breakout 2008 major label debut, New Surrender, frontman Stephen Christian passionately sang that he wanted to “burn out brighter, brighter than the Northern lights.” Flash forward to 2014, and after 11 years of musical output, Anberlin has decided that it’s better to burn out bright than to fade away. To that end, the Florida quintet will be disbanding at the year’s end and has offered us its seventh and final album, entitled Lowborn, as a bittersweet parting gift. The album captures Anberlin in its purest form, beholden to neither fan nor label expectations, and the results are as polarizing as they are marvelous.
