| The Quiet Life | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 31, 2012 | |||
| Genre | Acoustic rock, baroque pop | |||
| Length | 41:53 | |||
| Label | Tooth & Nail | |||
| Producer | Kevin Dailey and Micah Tawlks [1] | |||
| Anchor & Braille chronology | ||||
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The Quiet Life is the second studio album by Anchor & Braille, the side project of Anberlin lead vocalist Stephen Christian. The album was released on July 31, 2012 on Tooth & Nail Records with a vinyl version expected for release on September 7, 2012. [2]
"The Quiet Life" is Christian's sophomore release under the Anchor & Braille moniker. Released on Anberlin's old record label Tooth & Nail Records, Christian explained the meaning of the title on the label's website: "In the musician lifestyle we always seem to be searching for something and we never seem to find it...I've come to the conclusion that the only stability for a musician is instability. So there is this eternal search for 'the quiet life.' But I've never found it. It’s a dream, this imaginary quiet life.” [3] The song "Find Me" explored the theme heavily.
Christian penned The Quiet Life whenever and wherever he could during the three years since the release of Felt. He recorded the album over the course of January, February and March in Peptalk Studio in his current hometown of Nashville. The studio, actually a converted basement recording space, usually houses the band Civil Twilight, whose keyboardist Kevin Dailey co-produced and engineered the album along with Anchor & Braille guitarist Micah Tawlks. A music video for "Find Me" debuted on the day of the album's release. [4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AbsolutePunk | (80%) [5] |
| Alternative Press |    [6] |
| Jesus Freak Hideout | [7] |
| Indie Vision Music | [8] |
The Quiet Life was well received by critics, with most of the praise directed at Christian's songwriting. Of "Goes Without Saying", Artist Direct called it "One of the most brilliant and beautiful entries into Christian's catalog, and it's the perfect prelude to the sonic majesty contained in The Quiet Life." [9] AbsolutePunk called The Quiet Life "a chaotic beauty of an album as well as his (Christian's) most personal and eloquent effort to date." [10]
Brittany Moseley of Alternative Press said "The Quiet Life is an unassuming album that doesn't stray far from the formula introduced on Felt. Fortunately for Anchor & Braille, it's a formula that continues to work". [6] Angela Mastrogiacomo of Infectious Magazine praised the album as "a true labor of love and that kind of fervor is ever more difficult to come by these days", calling the album "Beautiful. Uplifting. Inspiring. There's nothing like it...this album is truly one for the record books." She then went on to praise the diversity of the record: "Throughout The Quiet Life we are continually transported between the calming sensations of acoustic finesse and 80s influenced splendor similar to the likes of New Order and current day electronic bands like M83, to create one beautifully tied together album, which is, very simply, overflowing with zest." [11]
Hawk Nelson is a Canadian rock band from Peterborough, Ontario. Formed in 2000, the band has released eight studio albums to date.
Anberlin is an American alternative rock band formed in Winter Haven, Florida in 2002. Since the beginning of 2007, the band consists of lead vocalist Stephen Christian, guitarists Joseph Milligan and Christian McAlhaney, bassist Deon Rexroat, and drummer Nathan Young.
Never Take Friendship Personal is the second studio album by alternative rock band Anberlin, released on February 1, 2005 on Tooth & Nail Records. Its singles were "A Day Late" and "Paperthin Hymn" and music videos have been made of each. "(The Symphony of) Blasé" is sometimes referred to as "Amsterdam". The album's name is inspired by when the band chose to remove guitarist Joey Bruce.
Copeland is an American rock band formed in 2001 by the singer, pianist Aaron Marsh with his friend, the bass guitarist and backing vocalist James Likeness, in Lakeland, Florida.
Acceptance is an American pop punk band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1998. They released their first EP, Lost for Words, in 2000, followed by Black Lines to Battlefields in 2003. Their debut album, Phantoms, was released in 2005.
Number One Gun was a Christian rock band from Chico, California, that was most recently signed to Tooth & Nail Records. They self-released their debut EP Forever in 2002, before releasing their follow-up albums Celebrate Mistakes (2003) on Floodgate Records and Promises for the Imperfect (2005) on Tooth & Nail Records.
The Classic Crime is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 2004. The band's current lineup consists of Matt MacDonald, Alan Clark (bass), Robert "Cheeze" Negrin (guitar), and Paul "Skip" Erickson. They have released three albums and an EP on Tooth & Nail Records, two of which, The Silver Cord (2008) and Vagabonds (2010), charted in the Billboard 200. In July 2011, the band left Tooth & Nail to produce a fourth album with the help of fan donations via Kickstarter, called Phoenix (2012). After the success they found in the crowdfunding approach with Phoenix, the band continued using Kickstarter as a means to fund their albums, subsequently releasing What Was Done: Vol. 1 in 2014, How to Be Human in 2017, Patterns in the Static in 2020, and Grim Age in 2023.
Stephen Christian is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band Anberlin, as well as the vocalist of his acoustic side-project Anchor & Braille. He and his bandmates started Anberlin in 2002, after the demise of their previous group, known as SaGoh 24/7. He is one of the main songwriters for Anberlin alongside Joseph Milligan, and with the band had released seven albums before their initial disbandment in 2014 and began working on an eighth album in 2020. Many of the albums in the Anberlin discography have peaked in the top ten on various Billboard charts.
Jonezetta was an American rock band from Clinton, Mississippi, which released two full-length albums on Tooth and Nail Records in the 2000s.
Cities is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Anberlin, released on February 20, 2007. The songs "Godspeed" and "The Unwinding Cable Car" were released as singles with accompanying music videos. The album debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard 200.
Anchor & Braille is the recording alias for American singer-songwriter Stephen Christian, known for fronting the alternative rock band Anberlin. Originally conceived as a side project for Christian, Anchor & Braille became his primary vehicle for releasing music after Anberlin's initial dissolution in 2014. Christian has described Anchor & Braille as a collaborative effort, having recorded with musicians such as Aaron Marsh of Copeland, Micah Tawlks, and Kevin Dailey of Civil Twilight. Since its beginning, Christian has released four studio albums under this name, Felt in 2009, The Quiet Life in 2012, Songs for the Late Night Drive Home in 2016 and Tension in 2020.
Aaron Marsh is an American musician and record producer from Lakeland, Florida. He first gained prominence as the lead singer, guitarist and pianist for the Florida-based indie rock band Copeland, which formed in 2001. Marsh has since gone on to numerous production projects, co-producing his own band's studio albums usually along with either Matt Goldman or Aaron Sprinkle. Marsh also has worked as a film composer both in narrative film and in advertising. His credits include the 2013 film Worm, the 2014 film A Bottle's Odyssey, and the 2018 film Shed.
New Surrender is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band Anberlin, released on September 30, 2008. It is the band's first album on a major label, after signing with Universal Republic Records on August 16, 2007. The album peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 200 and 5 on the Billboard Top Modern Rock / Alternative Albums chart.
Felt is the debut studio album by Anchor & Braille, the side-project of Anberlin lead vocalist, Stephen Christian. The album was released through Christian's own label Wood Water Records and Federal Distribution on August 4, 2009 and was produced, engineered and mixed by Aaron Marsh from fellow Florida-based band Copeland.
Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock band Anberlin, their second album released through major label Universal Republic, on September 7, 2010. The band recorded the album in Nashville, at Blackbird Studios with Grammy Award-winning producer Brendan O'Brien.
I Am Empire is an American rock band from San Jose, California. Formed in 2008, the band currently consists of Austin Lyons and Joshua Case. The band's first label release, Kings, was released by Tooth & Nail Records on January 25, 2011 and has since made Billboard's Top Christian Albums and Top Heatseekers charts.
Vital is the sixth studio album by American alternative rock band Anberlin which was released on October 16, 2012. In interviews, vocalist Stephen Christian has stated the album has a youthful, energetic energy and features new influences for the band. Upon release, the album was met with favorable reviews from critics and fans alike. The album was re-released in 2013 as Devotion, adding the deluxe tracks from various retailers, new remixes, and a full live album.
Lowborn is the seventh studio album by the American alternative rock band Anberlin. The album was scheduled for release on June 24, 2014, but was pushed back to July 22, 2014. This album was produced by the band. The album has been described by Stephen Christian as "eclectic and chaotic, just like a good Anberlin record should be."
Songs for the Late Night Drive Home is the third studio album from American singer-songwriter Anchor & Braille. Tooth & Nail Records released the album on February 5, 2016, as their second release with the label.
Kevin Dailey is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and mixer based in Nashville, Tennessee. As a producer, engineer, musician, composer or mixer, he has worked with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Mikky Ekko, Rome Fortune, Myzica, Skyway Man, SHEL, and Abigail Washburn. He is a member of the band Civil Twilight. He recently composed original score for Travis Rice's recent film, Depth Perception and season one of Queen America starring Catherine Zeta-Jones.
