Lark: Yay for liking Copeland! I'm seeing them in concert in a week and a half and I can't wait! It's too bad you found them just as they're breaking up.
Glenstorm: Lark is correct in her Ohio Avenue recommendations. The first 4 or 5 songs on their album are by far the best. You can stream the whole thing on their myspace though.
And you shouldn't force yourself to like Anberlin. It's ok if you don't. Not everything is everyone's cup of tea. I tried to force myself to like Muse. I like them, but I don't love them and don't choose to listen to them. I also forced myself to like MuteMath. It worked. It can go both ways; don't apologize for it. I would, however, encourage you to come back to them in a few months since you already own some of their music. Sometimes the time that you check them out can be all important. (It happened to me with both Eisley and Copeland. I just wasn't ready for them when I first tried to listen to them.)
Kat: I agree. I love lyrics like Deas Vail's, especially since
Birds & Cages is really relevant lyrically to my life right now. I feel bad disliking cliches, because they are often true and well-meaning, but they often irk me. Maybe it's because, as an English major, I'm constantly in pursuit of finding either new ways to say old things or someone else who knows how to do that. There's this one Mainstay song that makes me want to scream. I always change the station when it comes on. But that's an extreme example.
I hope you can go to at least one of the shows. I love Paper Route, so I'd still be excited for that. And I bet producers love Wes. His voice is born record-ready. That's a great video; thanks for posting.
ThePendragon: Isn't Seabird great? Which is your favorite of the two albums? I think I like the first one better. I might get to see them in May, but I have to find someone else who wants to go; I don't want to go by myself. I'm curious, why do you think TAN is similar to OA? I wouldn't have compared them at all.
Liberty: Yes! DC Talk was my childhood. Well, them and the Beach Boys anyway. I think
Supernatural was my favorite album. It's kind of their uncharacteristic one.