With Never Been, Lincoln’s FOR AGAINST – now edging up to their quarter-century mark – continues down its chosen path, eschewing commercial rewards for more consistent and fruitful artistic ones. With original guitarist HARRY DINGMAN III still on board and new drummer NICHOLAS BULLER in tow, bassist/singer JEFFREY RUNNINGS keeps to the band’s core values – shimmering guitar washes, melancholy (but not despairing) songs – while expanding its horizons. The band’s ninth album downplays the group’s propulsive rhythms for dreamier, more sedate arrangements, with keyboards taking a more prominent role. The trio emphasizes lush textures as never before, resulting in gorgeous tracks like “Of a Time,” “Black Willows” and the piano piece “Per Se.” The band mixes these ethereal atmospherics with its signature guitar pop on the anthemic “Antidote” and the epic ballad “You Fade,” resulting in classic tracks that will live on in the band’s catalog for years to come. As will Never Been itself – it’s an album that reflects not so much a shift in artistic philosophy as a new permutation of what’s the band mission has been all along.
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