Artist Of The Week - Anchor & Braille

It's been about three years since we've gotten an album from Anchor & Braille, the indie side project of Anberlin's Stephen Christian, but this week, on July 31st, the band's sophomore album will be released. The Quiet Life is a collection of haunting melodies and catchy percussion, certainly a maturation of sound since 2009's Felt. The Quiet Life is available now in stores and online through Tooth & Nail Records.

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Artist: Hundredth
Album: Let Go
Release Date: September 27th, 2011
Label: Mediaskare Records

"Give up yourself and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it." – C.S. Lewis

Hundredth is a band that has shown over and over what it looks like to be a band that focuses on the foundation of what it truly means to live a life of purpose. Let Go is the band’s sophomore release through Mediaskare Records. Hundredth holds nothing back and has no problem with getting in your face with issues that they strongly believe in. Let Go is an album full of catchy songwriting, honest and passionate vocals, and tons of aggression.

Let Go starts off with a very short instrumental track that serves as a great opener for the next track “Weathered Town”, which has some great gang vocals on it, and really sets the tone of the album. “Live Today” is the first song Hundredth released and though I loved the track at the time, it has since became one of my least favorites on the album. The next track “We Can Take Them All” is one of the more political songs on the album, it talks about the “American Dream” and to really question and challenge everything about it. You soon find out that Hundredth is a band that stands against violence, hate, and injustice in all forms and focuses on loving others above all else. In songs like “Humane” it talks about putting an end to redemptive violence and spreading love over our enemies and reminds us that justice lies in God our King.

Though some of the album is about social justice issues, I feel that the true theme is about changing our lives to live for a purpose and giving up the things that hold us back. “Monumental Part I” is a partial instrumental track that features a recorded audio clip of C.S. Lewis doing a live radio broadcast. I personally think that this track alone sums up what Hundredth is trying to get a across to the listeners.

The final tracks of the album I personally believe are the strongest of the album, and some of the most well written songs Hundredth has put out. The “last” track on the album “Soul” has a part in it that actually made my jaw drop and say out loud “What just happened”, and is for sure the heaviest part of the album. The album closes out with a hidden track, a cover of Johnny Cash’s rendition of Nine Inch Nails “Hurt”, and it is one of the best covers I have heard in a long time.

Overall: Hundredth is a band that in my eyes can do no wrong. Though they have abandoned their metallic hardcore style, the new melodic style is sure a thing of beauty. The lyrics of the album are uplifting and they challenge a way of life that some of us have been accustomed. The musicianship is top notch, with soaring guitars, huge hits, and catchy riffs that will make any hardcore fan happy. Hundredth really hits the head of the nail on Let Go, and believe me when I say that this is an album that you should not miss.

Rating: 9.5/10

Reviewed by Tabor Brown

Tracklisting:
  1.  Let Go
  2. Weathered Town
  3. Live Today
  4. We Can Take Them All
  5. Carry On
  6. Humane
  7. Remain & Sustain
  8. Monumental Part I
  9. Monumental Part II
  10. I Hold the Key
  11. Restless
  12. Soul
  13. Hurt [Hidden Track]

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