Stranger Ways by Anberlin in The Song Remembers When

Anberlin has been a favorite of mine for ten years. I remember the night I first saw them which was the night I met them. I was hanging out waiting for my friend Bobby.

Bobby worked at one of those churches that tried to appeal to young kids by turning itself into a music venue. I have seen this tactic used by religious institutions many times, the difference with this place being that it actually did seem to get some legitimately big name acts that were secular in nature. They didn’t put restrictions other than no nudity. Many of the bands were never really my cup of tea. I didn’t go that often because I didn’t really have too many friends who would enjoy such a scene.

So I went to Bobby’s office and on the way I ran into one of the bands sitting in the floor. They told me they were called Anberlin. They seemed like really cool guys so I told Bobby that I was going to check out the band. Bobby didn’t really want to because he spent all of his time there and he wasn’t really into music that he wasn’t playing. I think about that now and realize that that’s pretty descriptive of Bobby’s attitude about a lot of things.

Anberlin had just released their second album, Never Take Friendship Personal, and they played a song that totally hit me, it’s called “A Day Late.” I hadn’t yet ventured into modern rock; at the time I was firmly fixed in my short-lived R&B phase. Afterward, I went with the band out to Denny’s and we just had a great night of conversation.

I bought Never Take Friendship Personal and it became a soundtrack to my life. Not a day has gone by since in which I haven’t listened to at least one song from that album. Well, my relationship with the Anberlin-the people-ended that night, but my relationship with Anberlin-the music-has remained incredibly strong through all these years and many many albums.

At the beginning of this year, they announced that they are disbanding but they were going to put out one final album and do one last tour. The last album, Lowborn, is incredibly good. I marvel at the fact that at every step of my life, a song of theirs has connected with me so meaningfully. Stranger Ways is that new song that shoots right to the heart of me. Their sound has become more sophisticated than when I first met them, but then again, so have I.

They may have only been around a short period of time, but their body of work is impeccable.

Last updated October 29, 2014