Throughout rock history, from “OK Computer” to “War” to “London Calling”, third albums have defined careers. With the bombastic, breathtaking Cities, Anberlin’s cohesive and adventurous new album, the group puts itself in some esteemed company with a modern classic that uplifts as much as it initiates thought and elicits emotion. The Winter Haven, Florida-reared quintet — who have watched its career rise while touring with everyone from Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance to Yellowcard and Hawthorne Heights — doesnt just build on the energy and determination of recent singles like “Paperthin Hymn”, “The Feel Good Drag”, and “A Day Late”. Instead, Anberlin expands its grasp of what a rock record can be with the Aaron Sprinkle-produced Cities. Be it the huge-sounding, memorable roar of “Reclusion” or the bright, infectious “Adelaide”, the writing team of singer Stephen Christian and guitarist Joseph Milligan drives Anberlin – which also counts bassist Deon Rexroat, guitarist Nathan Strayer and drummer Nathan Young – as it retains the airwave ready allure that earned the band a pair of radio hits last year. But, with the sprawling, epic “Fin*” and the gorgeous, lighter-ready “Unwinding Cable Car” the group vastly widens its musical boundaries on Cities. Expect Cities to light up the globe in 2007.

INTERVIEW WITH ANBERLIN Floridian punkers Anberlin tackle the big issues: religion, poverty and eating ribs with N’SYNC. Interview by Steve Tauschke | steve@staff.truepunk.com | with Anberlin’s Stephen Christian.

“This band and our faith are two separate things,” asserts singer Stephen Christian on the phone from Springfield, Missouri. “When you label yourself a Christian band you can usually only tour with Christian bands and you only get opportunities to do the most remote things.

“We’ve been on the road with Fallout Boy and My Chemical Romance and we would never have gotten those opportunities if we’d labeled ourselves a Christian band. Sure, we believe in Jesus Christ but I don’t think that comes into play on stage. We’re not preachers, we’re entertainers.”

In his teens, Christian sang in various groups including Anberlin precursor Saga, performing mainly in churches in and around central Florida due to a lack of venues in the area. Fast forward a few years and Anberlin are selling out sizeable shows in advance and earning high praise from a diverse demographic, including the odd celebrity.

“We were in our home town Orlando and we played two sold out shows and the kids were going crazy and afterwards a guy walks up to us and says ‘hey, I’m a personal assistant to someone famous but I can’t tell you who it is, but he wants you to come over to his house’,” laughs Christian. “We were all a little sceptical about this guy wanting us to come to this house.

“But it turned out he was the assistant for Chris Kirkpatrick who used to play in INSYNC and he wanted us to hang out with him. We nearly died laughing but we all went and had so much fun, partying with the guys from INSYNC. It was a million dollar house and he had ribs and a giant waterfall in his backyard and you could see Disney World right across the lake. We stayed there until 3.30 in the morning goofing off at his home theatre. He’s a huge fan of our band. I couldn’t believe it.”

After impressing fans with their 2003 debut Blueprints For The Black Market, Anberlin shifted up a gear on 2005′s follow up Never Take Friendship Personal, produced by Aaron Sprinkle (MxPx, Acceptance).

“We wanted someone to even us out,” explains Christian. “We’re not rough but we’re a very raw band and very energized and what we knew Aaron could bring to the table was a kind of pop sensibility without taking away the rugged rock sound. We’d heard an EP that he did with a band called Saosin on Militia Records and when we heard that we were sold. He kept the heavy guitars and yet made everything sound so smooth so you could hear every note that was played. We knew that’s what we wanted.”

“It was a very laid back atmosphere too. It wasn’t rushed or pressured and Aaron used his creative mind to manipulate the songs for the best. He would take out excess parts and add in a couple of melodies he thought would fit. He works around the musicians because he’s a musician himself.”

It’s no secret Anberlin’s affection for 80s sounds has rubbed off not only on their approach to songwriting but also in dealing with the industry.

“There’s something so innocent and pure about the 80s,” says Christian, “and maybe that’s why so many bands look back to then and think that’s when music had meaning and depth. It wasn’t all about the tours you got on and how big you could get or if your video was on MTV. It was about the music and about creativity.”

“One thing I don’t enjoy about American bands is that we’ve become such a marketing tool or a product placement. It seems to be more about having good looking band members and you have to dress just right and you got to look the part to sell records and I don’t understand that.

“If you look back to the 70s and 80s, these are the ugliest men alive but they had the best music. Look at Robert Smith, he was never the most attractive man in the world but his music just exemplifies sex. I think that’s one thing the Europeans have on us, is that they’re all about the music – just music, not glitz and glamour and stardom.”

And archivists can count Anberlin as another group in today’s youth brigade keeping the Smiths’ flame burning. Christian himself cites Morrissey as a huge inspiration.

“He comes across as relating to everybody that listens to him,” he says. “His stage presence, I take a lot of notice of what he does, I see what he does live and he’s not a Mick Jagger up in your face. He has a very humble way of expressing and he’s very witty, not too egocentric but very confident. And lyrically, every song could be a coming-of-age book.”

“I think that what we are trying to break a lot of stereotypes within the indie world,” says Christian. “Previous to maybe our generation, I think a lot of bands were out there for the whole sex, drugs and rock n’ roll and now I think maybe our generation is pushing that away and saying ‘I don’t want to be egocentric, it’s not just about me’.

“Coldplay’s Chris Martin is very involved in free trade and Bono, although not from our generation, is out there fighting AIDS. In Anberlin, I think we’re trying to move away from the egocentrics. We may not be here in five years, or three years, but what will be here is poverty and we want to make a difference while we still can.”