The Afters: Wish We All Could Win

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The Afters bring a sweet-sounding rock and roll to faith-inspired lyrics in their album Wish We All Could Win and has earned them a slot on Best Buy’s “Up and Coming Artist� rack. The Afters are made up of Josh Havens (guitar/vocals), Matt Fuqua (guitar/vocals), Brad Wigg (bass/vocals), and Marc Dodd (drums), but they are joined by violins, viola, cello and keyboard at times, bringing a blend of sound that really works. In addition, the lyrics are insightful and bear a variety of interpretations, but most importantly, all are written by the band.

“Beautiful Love� and “Until the World� both double as male-to-female or human-and-God communication. In the first, the singer searches the night skies for signs while acknowledging that the love he feels in return is carried within his own heart. Even as the worlds collide (personalities, ideas, heavenly bodies themselves), “heaven pulls us through,� they sing. The focus that turns the tide toward a spiritual relationship is that the fire of the love burns within the singer (singularly), with the hopes that it will catch on with others, similar to an evangelical understanding of sharing faith. In the second song, the verses express an inability to share the love shown by the other, both in saying so but also in showing that love to someone else. I would argue that the chorus is God speaking back: “Until the sun dies I’ll be there/Until the heavens come/’Til this life is done/Until the world dies I’ll be there.� The singer responds with a list of things it is hard for him to do, including say he’s sorry, ask for forgiveness, look to the future, aor let go of this life. Yes, the two songs could illustrate human love but I’m looking for more.

The Afters’ perspective changes in “Someday,� as they seem to shift to the side of understanding and knowledge, looking at the person they address as on the outside. Wishing that everyone could win implies that presently someone is not winning or does not understand the same thing that The Afters do. “Love Lead Me On� leaves little room for the center of the Afters’ perspective as they sing “Only God can know where I will call my home…Faith keep me strong/Love lead me on.� “All That I Am� plainly expresses love to God, specifically Jesus, and a fundamental understanding that He is coming again.

One of the more insightful songs on Wish We All Could Win, “The Way You Are� remembers back to the time when the Afters were “just the same/As everybody else/Whoever saw the light and turned away.� The clarity of the love that existed even before the singer could recognize the love himself shows the maturity of the lyrics and understanding of faith. A person’s fragility turns into strength when the other is present; The Afters sing that “You’ve rectified my frailty by your strength.� Once again, radio play might make this a love song but the real implications are spiritual.

“Thank God I’m Not The One� closes out the album with a newfound understanding of the sacrifice made and the effort put forth by Jesus. No one else could have done it but He did. The Afters want that sacrifice to matter for everyone. With some catchy beats and hooks that stay with you after listening, the insights provided by The Afters are obviously Christian but the extraordinary moments are found in their music. Music like this will get the attention of music-lovers, and The Afters certainly have a message to share.

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Bright Eyes: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

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Connor Oberst’s singular sound rises above everything else in the messages that Bright Eyes bring to I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. While the supporting cast changes from song to song, Oberst’s direction and poetic approach is present throughout.

There are sad threads running through “At the Bottom of Everything,� an unsettling presentation of dichotomies and allusions to events past and present. While the end result is Oberst’s waking from a dream, we are still left with the understanding that the subconscious has awakened within him, and he knows that there must be something more to what he thinks about during the day. This restless, dreaming state lives on in “We Are Nowhere And It’s Now.� One might be tempted to stay down in the depression that Bright Eyes illustrates here, but the depression seems to be the reality that the song challenges and penetrates. Oberst sings “If you swear that there’s no truth and who cares, who do you say you’re right. Why are you scared to dream of God, when it’s salvation that you want.� How many people have stated with surety that there are no absolutes (truth and God included) or admitted that they needed help but would never admit to a divine authority? Bright Eyes is calling all the skeptics and cynics out, and his waitress seems to bring him hope for the future.

The complications are evident in “Old Soul Song,� as Oberst longs for photographic evidence that would be truthful like a Bible should be, but lacks the convicting power that is expected there. Other things (drug addiction, sex) get in the way of his relationship in “Lua,� but he is a realist enough to know that escapes are addictive too. “Train Under Water� continues with a set of tricky rules for relationships, dodging infidelity and commitment at the same time. Having already incorporated sleeping/waking, Bright Eyes now draws on the images of water/raindrops and new birth. Oberst certainly sees his relationships looking back and in the “First Day of My Life,� he documents the discovery of a new kind of love, that opened his eyes.

Bright Eyes seeks true relationships and clarity of thought and searches dreams again in “Another Travelin’ Song� to find them. Depression is evident but the way in which it is presented up front implies that Oberst is battling (even when he says that he’ll “fight like hell to hide that I’ve given up.�) His inability to successfully overcome this mindset gets brought forward again in “Landlocked Blues.� Alcohol is a possible escape but Oberst still struggles with the interaction of need and commitment in relationships. He quotes “if you love something give it away� but his interpretation requires completely leaving it behind.

“Poison Oak� documents a childhood hurt [My two cents: his brother’s sexuality forced a wedge within their family and he left Oberst behind] that is reinforced in “Road to Joy.� Drugs and women keep away the sense of isolation, but only as long as the physical thrill lasts. Oberst’s parents “have their religion, but sleep in separate houses.� Clearly the discrepancy between what they said and what they did tore away his ability to embrace organized religion as a reasonable guide. How do our actions affect how other people see our beliefs, whether social, political or theological? Obviously, Bright Eyes recognizes problematic issues in our lives, notes the potential of faith, but has personal experiences that keep the possibility from becoming a reality.

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Anberlin: Never Take Friendship Personal

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Anberlin has an alternative beat and introspective tone to their lyrics that caught me in Blueprints for the Black Market, and compelled me to hurry to purchase Never Take Friendship Personal. Stephen Christian has an ‘everyman’ sound to his voice and their depictions of relationship in the ups and downs of life come across in their angst.

The embers of Ecclesiastes burn behind the frustration of “Never Take Friendship Personal.� Anberlin sings that “The greatest tragedy is not your death/But a life without reason.� Relationships are fleeting and friends will fail you but there is a sanity that must be maintained by each person in their life, proposes the singer. His lack of compassion quickly turns to his own sadness and loneliness in “Paperthin Hymn.� Once again, the brokenness of relationships has left him feeling down, but the sharp contrast shows Sunday mornings, with opportunities for praising God. Everything, especially relationships, seems meaningless.

“Stationary Stationery� rings of regret, for a girl who got away, but the cause seems to be the singer’s own mistakes in non-committal behavior. He wants another chance at love, but Anberlin’s message seems to be that broken relationships are out of chances. “(The Symphony of) Blasé� tones down the hard rock but the pain seems to be more emphatically proclaimed. A relationship that feels right lacks substance and the cost of their actions together turns the singer from his girlfriend, ignoring her defense. He prays “God if you can hear me out alright/Please take these feelings for her inside…You’re wasting me away.� The caustic relationship seems to be eating him alive and he knows he has to make a change.

An old lover returns in “A Day Late,� desiring that their love be rekindled but Anberlin has brushed ‘wasted’ relationships aside. Each person becomes defined by who they are with and when they are together, a portion of them gets left behind. The ‘one who got away’ theme reoccurs in “Runaway Girl,� as he challenges an interested woman with his understanding of her reasons for attraction. He quickly changes focus as he admits that he only stayed to break her heart, a defense mechanism of abandonment before being abandoned. Anberlin seems to walk a fine line as the wounded party, but they have also traversed on the side of the line where the power to inflict pain exists.

“Time and Confusion� provide the first optimistic option for love on the album. Here, the singer has found a girl, the life they live together seems bright, and he longs to stay together forever. He recognizes that “it’s not about the money we make/It’s about the passions that we ache for� and urges her to tell him what she hopes for in him. The feel-good moment is short-lived as Anberlin dives back into the subject of a two-timing relationship in “The Feel-Good Drag.� In a town where “Everyone in this town/Is seeing someone else/Everybody tired of someone/Our eyes wander for help/I’m tired of who I am.� Anberlin admits to stumbling down a road of cheating and betrayal, but ultimately their response is one of seeing the problem within themselves. Before they can fix the relationships that they are in, they have to search themselves. Having admitted this, they laud for “Audrey, Start the Revolution!� Here the tale of relationship-wrecked individuals joins as one—if they can live in true love together, then they can overcome all that is their past.

Anberlin may be too sad for some but by identifying their weaknesses and calling them into the light, the opportunity for improvement is greater. With thought-provoking lyrics, and obvious experience in relationships, the band strikes a blow for love and meaning in interpersonal communication. Given their expression of faith in interviews, the love they claim comes from Christ, the master of human relationships!

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