Saying goodbye is never easy when it's to something or someone close to your heart. When you've followed a band for over a decade and their music has been a soundtrack for a significant part of your life, it's especially bittersweet when a band releases a final album and announces one last tour for a long final bow. "Bittersweet" is the best way to sum up Lowborn, the band's last batch of 10 new songs. With it also being the band's shortest album, there's a definite sense of finality to it, with the earnestness of their previous album, Vital, notably missing here. It's a mostly calm and pensive finale, with highlights like the rocker "We Are Destroyer" and the restrained "Armageddon," "Hearing Voices" and "Birds of Prey." The album is largely influenced with New Wave, 80's synth-based stylings, but it works for the somber tone of the album. The only blight, and arguably so, is the fast and furious "Dissenter" which sounds like it wandered onto the wrong album from the B-sides bin. On a different album, it might be seen as exploration and something different for Anberlin, but on an album that's mostly subdued and melodic, it feels obnoxious. Still, by the time the closer "Harbinger" sounds, it's a farewell kiss that lingers. This may not be the mighty bow-out that all fans were hoping for, but it's easily some of the best alt rock of the year, regardless. - 7/20/14, John DiBiase of Jesusfreakhideout.com


    It's hard to process when a band you've fallen in love with decides to end their run. It's even harder when that run has been one of the strongest and most consistent, and happened to take place during, and be a soundtrack for, pivotal moments in life (getting a girlfriend, moving out for the first time, getting a different girlfriend, etc). This is Anberlin. I've been a fan since the opening riffs of "Readyfuels" in 2003. Now here we are with their final album, Lowborn. It's bittersweet, to say the least. But the quintet returns to Tooth & Nail giving it all they've got. Lowborn features all the idiosyncrasies you look for in an Anberlin album, plus more. The powerful rock anthems, the Depeche Mode-esque synthy tracks, and all the Stephen Christian musing you can handle. They've also added a miniscule amount of dubstep ("Armageddon") and one track that falls somewhere between Anberlin rock and emocore. Hearing Christian scream through the majority of a whole song is a little hard to process at first, but it turns out to be a good listen ("Dissenter"). I even hear a little Dead Poetic influence in "Hearing Voices." Anberlin is a class act, and Lowborn is an excellent way to go out. Of course, there's nothing that says that we'll never have another Anberlin album in our hands (remember, we all thought we'd never hear from Five Iron Frenzy again), it's still a sad thing to have to give them a farewell. They've left quite a legacy. Thank you, Anberlin, for the music you've given us and for playing a part of the last eleven years of my life. - 7/25/14, Scott Fryberger of Jesusfreakhideout.com


    Lowborn is a lot more mellow than what anyone might have expected for the final album of a beloved band. While "We Are Destroyer," "Velvet Covered Brick," and "Losing It All" carry the sound that Anberlin fans have grown to know and love, the two best songs ("Armageddon" and "Birds Of Prey") hit our ears out of left field, the former with its slow-building new wave synths, guitars and percussive beats, and the latter for its synthy hook and reflective lyrics ("Memories circle like birds of prey / Waiting for the right mind to drive insane / Don't look back, there's nothing to see /The grave is nothing more than a re-occurring disease"). "Hearing Voices" is another highlight, sounding like it could fit well onto Dark Is The Way Light Is a Place, and containing possibly the band's most overt spiritual themes ever. Unfortunately, Lowborn's biggest flaw is one that had been growing more and more evident on their recent albums, which is that the music often overpowers Stephen Christian's vocals to the point of intelligibility. But overall, while Lowborn may not be the "final album" most fans hoped it would be, that does not detract from its excellence. - 8/2/14, Mark Rice of Jesusfreakhideout.com


    Anberlin's Lowborn is perhaps the most distinct transformation that has ever taken place in band's history. While Vital did some minor experimenting with late 80s/early 90s era of electronic rock music in tunes like "Other Side" and "Innocent," Lowborn takes on a more prominent approach with a dark and edgy synthpop tone. It makes for a very interesting style as it exhibits qualities from past albums like Violator by Depeche Mode ("Stranger Ways," "Armageddon"), Technique by New Order, The Police, Code of Ethics (1993), and Technokraci. "Dissenter" is one of the most unique songs by Anberlin as Stephen Christian's vocals are very static and it feels out of place on this release, although towards the end of the song, we are provided with a very beautiful and peaceful segment. The album truly shines with the appropriate opener, "We Are Destroyer," as well as the lively, yet dark track, "Stranger Ways." At the end of the album, "Hearing Voices" provides some of the most incredible drum work yet by Nathan Young. "Harbinger" ends the album with a sad feeling which captures an emotion of just how we will truly miss this band. Even though this will be the last official release; Lowborn, along with their impressive catalog of other albums, have outlined moments throughout my existence ("Inevitable," "Time & Confusion" and now "Birds of Prey" are among some of the tunes that recall life events). Although this album is certainly a departure from past releases, it still provides a fresh sound that becomes more rewarding after each listen. - 8/5/14, Wayne Myatt of Jesusfreakhideout.com