Anberlin

There’s a well-known phrase that says when one door closes, another one opens. It’s actually a shortening of a quote from inventor Alexander Graham Bell. The second part that’s usually left out is as follows: “But we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the ones which open for us.” Just over a century after Bell’s death, the full quote is weirdly fitting when it comes to Anberlin’s new full-length, Currency. That’s because, although it’s the ninth of their career, it’s the first that fully features Matty Mullins as lead vocalist after frontman Stephen Christian announced he was stepping back. In 2024, the band released eighth album, Vega, two songs of which had Mullins as lead vocalist. This time, he’s fully inhabiting the role. Currency does that incredibly well. Produced by the band alongside Memphis May Fire’s Kellen McGregor, it doesn’t shy from examining open wounds or the darkness within them, but it never gives into it, whether in fiery, up-tempo songs like “Neverafter” and “Highstakes” or calmer, more mellow and tender songs like “Trenches” (a song that features Switchfoot, the iconic alt-rockers who they’ll be touring with extensively towards the end of this year).