SotW 12/17/12: O'Brother - Lay Down

Artist: O'Brother
Song: Lay Down
Album: Garden Window

It's not super often that a song hits me as insanely hard as this one did, so when these times do come I cherish them. I highly recommend that you get the entire album from Atlanta post-rock/alternative/post-hardcore/IDevenK band O'Brother, as nearly every song on here is excellent, but "Lay Down" is truly something else, and it may be one of the single greatest rock songs I've ever heard. Everything form the impassioned vocal performance to the absolutely massive guitar tone to the impeccably timed builds and releases of tension is the closest to perfect that it could ever be, and idgaf holy shitballs this song is incredible.

Anberlin - Vital (2012)

Artist: Anberlin
Album: Vital
Country: USA (Winter Haven, FL)
Release Date: October 16th, 2012
Genre: Alternative

And now for something completely different... Vital, the sixth full-length from Florida-based alternative rock stalwarts Anberlin, is one of the better things to come out of the genre this year. Combining the emotion of Cities (the Anberlin album considered by many to be their best work) with the maturity of 2010's Dark is the Way, Light is a Place, this album is probably the best thing they have put out since Cities. Opener and single "Self-Starter" is one of the catchiest alt-rock tracks of the year, while penultimate track "Modern Age" benefits from an absolutely fantastic chorus. Closer "God, Drugs, and Sex" brings to mind Cities closer "(*Fin)," and while it doesn't surpass that absolutely incredible track, it's still one of the more emotional and heartfelt things Anberlin have done in a while. Aside from minor gripes like a couple filler tracks and some very annoying production at times, especially with the vocals (see "Modern Age:" while it has one of the best choruses on the album, the vocals sound like they're underwater), I wholeheartedly recommend that you give this album a shot, even if it's not the sort of thing you normally listen to.

Track list, sample song, and download are after the jump