Blog Archive for June 2025

Album Of The Day: Tension by Anchor & Braille

Album Art of Anchor and Braille's Tension album - The cover is split in two halves down the diagonal from bottom-left to top-right corners. The top-left half has a gray background, and the bottom-right has a bright red background. Inside each colors is a drawing of a hand with the index finger pointing to the middle and/or the other hand. The illustration of the hand stops just at the end of the fingers, so they are just fingers floating in air.

Released 5 years ago last month, this is the fourth album from Anchor & Braille, the solo pop pseudonym of Stephen Christian. Christian has been doing music for about 25 years, most notably the lead singer of alternative rock band Anberlin for many years. But this is his 2nd-most prolific outlet for songwriting, and this time Anchor & Braille has a 10-song album of rhythmic synth-pop. Lyrically, these lyrics seem to be about love and personal relationships. Each Anchor & Braille album is a bit different in style as Stephen Christian works with different producers, but I think this might be the most catchy, poppy release of this artist so far. I might have just been dancing a bit in my chair while listening to this album. Give it a listen if you're looking for something you haven't checked out yet.

Release Year: 2020
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Album Of The Day
Music

Album Of The Day: Divine Invitation by Something Like Silas

Album Art of Something Like Silas's Divine invitation album - A photo of a clear blue sky with a green tint and clouds along eh horizon. In the foreground, on the ground are rows of wind turbines stretching high into the sky. The closest wind turbine on the front left has digitally added white ribbon-like things extending from the ends of the turbine blades and they are looking as if they are flapping in the wind. In the bottom left, near the base of that turbine, the members of the band are standing together. In the middle of the sky just above the turbines, it has the band's name printed in a thin white print, with the album name in a bolder, yellow font.

This is one of my favorite albums from a band that only that released one album (at least on a major label) and it was released 21 years ago later this month (June 15). Musically, this album is quality alternative rock, anchored by lead singer Eric Owyoung's beautiful vocals as well as great guitars and keyboards. Lyrically, this album is very much a "modern worship" style, with lyrics of praise, worship and reflection to God using very spiritual language. It's full of heartfelt, slower ballads and faster, raucous songs and it works great as a whole album to listen through. And I will say that as a rock fan, I like the cover of modern worship staple "Better Is One Day" on this album so much, though the original songs are even better. After this album, Eric and crew changed their style a bit and moved to the band name Future Of Forestry, which was less rock but still very beautiful, heartfelt vocals and lyrics. I would have loved more albums from this band, but things went a different direction and that's OK.

Release Year: 2004
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Categories: 
Album Of The Day
Music

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