Anberlin Drag Rag
You guys heard that song by relatively fresh-to-the-scene alternative group Anberlin, “Feel Good Drag”? I’d heard it on the radio a few times and couldn’t help but make some comparisons to one of my favorite groups, A Perfect Circle. The guitar has a similar tone and strum style. (I’m not a musician, so forgive me for my inadequate descriptions of the technique.) But more captivating is lead singer Stephen Christian’s vocal timbre, which bears a striking resemblance to Circle and Tool’s sublime frontman Maynard James Keenan. A sweet smooth singing voice, paired with a rougher shouting chorus voice, though Keenan’s has more depth and fullness. I am not convinced yet that with his Johnny Rzeznick emo mullet, Christian has the icon/maverick potential to reach Keenan heights. But with the voice, he’s got a good start.
Although Circle (Thirteenth Step is a masterpiece) and Tool (click here for my favorite Tool jam) are both so far relatively unmatched in musicality and composition, except in comparison to each other, I look forward to hearing Anberlin try to rise to their level. They will need to up the ante on drums, though. How does Nathan Young expect to rival prodigies like Josh Freese and Danny Carey with a setup like his? Maybe he just needs to make more money first…
on second thought, there may be a bit too much blink 182/linkin park in this group’s work. i’m listening to other songs now…