“Our forthcoming album is a reflection on the liberating, ethereal experience of connecting with the holy. It is an encounter that transcends boundaries, and that eclipses our frailty and our doubts. The man-made constraints of time disappear, becoming irrelevant. It is union. It is perfection. It is eternal. As 2 Peter 2:8 advises, ‘Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.’ In this moment, time stands still.” - Derek Mount of Family Force 5 (Alternative Press)
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New Moves| Posted July 26, 2014
The latest album from party rockers in Family Force 5 is the first release since the band's announcement that Solomon "Soul Glo Activatur" Olds, lead singer and oldest of the three brothers in the band, would be stepping down to focus on his studio work. Younger brother Jacob "Crouton" Olds (formerly primarily the drummer) stepped up to the plate as frontman, and new member "Hollywood" (Teddy Boldt, formerly of Wavorly) took over drums. The line-up change was the first serious shift in a chemistry the band seemed to have perfected on 2012's release III, leaving fans curious and, in some cases, nervous.
It is undeniable that the band displays a different musical direction on a few tracks, which was evident from release of AC lead single "Let It Be Love" earlier this summer (written with hitmaker Seth Mosley). The song focuses on the John 13:35 concept that followers of Christ should be most easily identified by their love, utilizing a softer sound with less of an edge than fans might expect (although it still definitely offers a solid beat). "Walk On Water" (featuring Melodie Wagner of Hillsong) is in a similar vein, emphasizing melody and a worship-oriented message. Although the band definitely shows impressive mastery of this sound, longtime listeners might struggle with a bit of a disconnect between this and past releases.
Those tracks are exceptions however, and the disconnect is bridged by other tracks on the album, notably openers "Sweep the Leg" and "BZRK." "Sweep the Leg" features vocals crackling with aggression from Joshua "Fatty" Olds and a tight guitar hook from Derek "Chapstique" Mount that will instantly incite headbanging. Lead rock format single "BZRK" employs an instantly likable frenetic energy and call to motion similar to past hit "Cray Button." Later track "Glow In the Dark" is a slick cut with an adrenaline rush inducing bass drop, thematically harkening back to "Radiator" with the words "This heart that is beating with love worth repeating / a fire to be something more / I glow in the dark, You are made of light / glow all day, glow all night."
The most notable shift in direction occurs lyrically rather than musically. Although there are definitely tracks primarily confined to positive energy and feel good vibes (a sound Family Force 5 does better perhaps than anyone else in their genre), tracks like "Time Stands Still" or the surprisingly poignant "XRAY" show a vulnerable and spiritually mature side of the band previously mostly just hinted at. A recurring theme is how vital love is, stressing that love is necessary for the human heart to both give and receive. Instrumentally, these songs lean on the smooth synthesizing skill of Nathan "Nadaddy" Currin, although new addition Hollywood's solid beats ensure that the songs are never without teeth.
Clocking in at 15 tracks long, a surprising duration in an era where most releases are confined to 10 or 12 tracks, the band does face the challenge of holding the listener's attention for the full length. There are however solid selections through the whole project, serving to re-engage the listener's attention span where it might otherwise be lost.
Closing Thoughts:
Although there are places where it seems the band is still trying to discover exactly how they will fill the space Soul Glow's voice once occupied, confident offerings towards the end like "Dance Like No One's Watching" and "This Is My Year" definitely prove that the band is ready to continue facing that challenge. The transition is overall surprisingly seamless, due in part to the fact that Soul Glow continued to contribute his writing and arranging skills to many of the songs on the album. Family Force 5's forays into new territory with gentler, more spiritually mature selections are balanced by the hard-hitting party jams longtime fans are sure to love.
One of the album's strong points is its energy. With Time Stands Still, Family Force 5 serves up songs on fire with a passion for life that is instantly infectious. These songs promise to lend themselves well to the group's memorable live shows, and the album forms a solid foundation as the band finds its footing in a new era. FF5's future definitely continues to shine bright with their particular positive radiance.
Song to Download Now:
"Sweep the Leg" (Get it on iTunes here.)
Really Enjoyed It| Posted December 31, 2015
A friend of mine leant me their copy of this album so I could see if I liked it, as I was already familiar with and a fan of this group. I have to say, I really enjoyed this album! It was very fun and there were several songs in particular that I Really liked. The number of band members has changed, but the fact that I'm a fan hasn't.
Well Balanced| Posted January 04, 2015
FF5 has outdone themselves on this album. One of my favorites of theirs! Many of the songs have an undeniable Christian feel to the lyrics, such as "Glow In The Dark". I've never doubted the faith of the guys of FF5, but I have, in the past, struggled to find evidence of Christ in an album or two of theirs. The rest of the songs on Time Stands Still are the fun, often goofy (Jet Pack Kicks and BZRK) anthems that Family Force 5 has come to be famous for! The physical CD in the package, looks like a clock! Now that's the FF5 I know and love. They have transitioned band members very well with this album. Some bands don't survive a lead-singer swap. As much as I miss Soul Glow being in the band, creds to these guys for being as awesome as always! If you don't have this album yet, grab it today!
First time listening to the album, the thought that coming into my mind was that this album is different with most of the songs in Christian industry. Especially when I first listen the first two tracks of the album, Sweep the Leg and BZRK. The sound of the distortion combined with electronic dance sound really pump me a lot. It feels like the band ask me to jump around.
Overall, the first impression that i got after listening the whole album is "Wow this album is fun!". With a total of 15 songs, Family Force 5 has put their best effort to offer something entirely new in Christian music industry.
A combination between K-Pop music in BZRK or XRAY, and One Direction style in Walk On Water has shown their musicality. A musical taste that kept ask us not to just sit but dance together with them.
Behind the Lyrics
Time Stands Still is separated into two different type of songs. The first type coming with fun, weird, party kind of lyrics. While the other one coming with more meaningful, inspiring, worship tracks.
Worship Moment
The second part of the album that coming with more meaningful lyrics can actually be included in any worship songs if only Family Force 5 put it in a slower tempo (most of the songs are in fast tempo). Let It Be Love is one of the few songs that can be counted as a worship song. Speaking about dark way that can be lighten with love. It's heavily talk about love and can be used as a worship song (but still in Family Force 5 style).
The other songs are Never Say Never. The song is all about motivation, about how you can't never give up since the impossible is possible because His love is unstoppable and God always holds us forever.
Notion About Music
I simply love the music. I think their creativity is in another level. To be able to produce this kind of music while actually being a rock band has shown enough evidence of their creativity.
Sweep The Leg opens the album with their true identity as a rock band. In this song however, the band slips some clue about how the entire album will sounds like. Next track, BZRK shows an entire different feeling, from a rock distortion to a electronic music and from a scream to a rap music. It continues to change into a more pop song in Show Love, then change again in Time Stands Still with back to electronic pop and continued afterwards with my favorite songs in this album Walk On Water.
The distortion are back with Glow in the Dark and combined with dance feeling, it will easily be a favorite song to every young people that still have tons of energy within. Raised by Wolves is an Alter Bridge kind of song, with a heavy distortion and lead drum beats, this is a truly heavy rock song.
The beats were turning down a bit with Jet Pack Kicks and XRAY until finally it finished with This is My Year as the closing song. This time, they used Bee Gees style with falsetto singers and rather oldies dance song. Overall, this album really satisfies me both as a listener and Christian music's lover.
Favorite Tracks
Raised by Wolves and Walk On Water are two most my favorite tracks in this album.
Conclusion
I simply don't have enough compliment words to say how much I love Family Force 5's work. Through this album I sincerely hope that they will be advancing even more with their creativity and keep creating a great music.
Beautiful Fun| Posted August 29, 2014
Love It! Whether its the quirky dance songs like Sweep the Leg and Dance Like Nobody's Watching, or the tracks so beautiful you just get caught up in them like Walk on Water and Glow in the Dark, this CD rocks! The music and vocals are upbeat and awesome, and the lyrics are so creative. This CD is beautiful and lots of fun!
Surprised | Posted August 18, 2014
While I was listening "Time Stand Still" I had to double check that I was listening FF5. While the minutes were passing by it was easier find their trademark.
I must confess I was a little worried about this new album after knowing Soul Glow was leaving the band. Honestly, I thought that I would never be so interested in FF5. But I must say I was gladly surprised, somehow, they are still the same and improved.
After Reanimated I wanted more electronic in this album, also I always wanted a deeper meaning on the lyrics (Don't get me wrong, I love their past songs) but definitely I wasn't expected everything I wanted.
Time Stand Still have songs like "Jet Pack Kicks", "BZRK", "Sweep the leg" where you can find the crazy lyrics that we are used to. Also have the partying with "Dance Like Nobody’s Watching", "Everybody lose your mind", "Glow In the Dark" but the new and unexpected could be found in "X-Ray", "Let It Be Love", "Walk on Water", "Show love", "Time Stand Still", "When Everything's changing", among others songs that have a great meaning and are just awesome.
My conclusion, the band is still FF5 even without the older Olds brother. For me, this is their second best album and are here to stay.
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