Anthem In - Anthem In - And Them, ehhhh
michael posted this review onSeptember 16th, 2008
Anthem In’s debut, Anthem In, is a competent but ultimately unremarkable CD. Anthem In do approachable party/moody rock with a dark crunch. Songs are either reminiscent of Nada Surf, the little Jimmy Eat World that I know, or Death Cab for Cutie. I can’t tell you how many times I stopped listening to this self-titled debut because it reminded me of something I liked better which I had to hear. For example, this review turned out to be a great opportunity to revisit the immensely more successful Lucky, the newest one from Nada Surf, which Bradley and Adam also had high praise for.
Anthem In do the college rock (but not college radio) thing well. Anthem In know how to get people moving and I could see them getting a lot of good looking co-eds dancing around, or at least standing in attention and bobbing their heads at live shows. And there’s something to be said for that. So there, I said it. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to be listening to it.
I’ll put it this way. When I was in high school, I really liked that Third Eye Blind CD. I took shit from my friends but I found the mix of pop, rock, and self-importance irresistible. I think the 16-year-old version of myself would like this CD. Am I disparaging this CD by hammering the point that it’s for people younger than myself? Maybe so. I’m just trying to figure out why I don’t like the CD when after my first listen I thought, “well, this seems pleasant enough.”
Anthem In is a CD for those who don’t take their music too seriously and are looking for familiar riffs with nasal whispery singing. It’s for that kid looking for a solid album to keep him company, but not push him past his comfort zone. Despite the fact that I won’t be listening to Anthem In, the band does what they, and probably a whole lot of other bands, set out to do: play arena rock for the kids.
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