Vagabonds
by
The Classic Crime The title to The Classic Crime's latest long player implies a certain need to travel; and while the alternative rock act is no stranger to touring, the inspiration actually comes from a more missions-minded...
Eternity Invades
by
Vicky Before UK born and bred singer/songwriter, Vicky Beeching, began her pursuit of professional music she enrolled as a theology student at Britain's renowned Oxford University to ensure her spirit-led songs...
Miracle
by
Robbie Seay Band Quick disclaimer: What I don't mean to say is "if you've heard one Robbie Seay Band album, you've heard them all." At the same time, RSB's latest batch of worshipful pop/rock tunes, entitled Miracle, features...
SALVATION STATION | Posted September-29-2008
Hailing from Niagara Falls, Newworldson bring a fresh taste of New Orleans gospel/funk/blues to your speakers. Put on your dancin’ shoes and shake a leg while these Canadians bebop and scat your socks off. The album pairs catchy melodies with a potent combination of straightforward rhythmic changes and fun but relevant lyrics. Unlike many albums, Salvation Station seeps talent from all angles creating a truly unique and honest work. Currently on tour with the newsboys, NWS is honing its live performance which the band is already known for. (Word has it that they received a standing ovation during the GMA Week showcases last April, thoroughly impressing the hardest to impress.)
It truly is difficult to pick one single standout track, or even two for that matter. Five cuts in though, “Sweet Holy Spirit” sings “If Pride is My Prison/Then Grace be my King/Sweet Holy Spirit, Come rescue me,” displaying the deep lyrical content NWS inhabits. Moreover, the use of an upright bass creates a colossal subtle difference that must simply be heard to know.
Salvation Station is indeed a must-have for 2008. You will find yourself hitting “repeat” again and again. -Jonathan Isaac Harms
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
ROOTS | Posted September-29-2008
You’ll feel misled, trust me. I understand that, lyrically speaking, Roots is a reference to the spiritual theme dominant on Shawn McDonald’s latest—an exploration of the soul’s grounding in God. Still, you purchase a CD for the music, and Roots is hardly an apt description.
Instead, McDonald branches out with an expansive musical vision and brilliance unlike anything he’s previously released. “Clarity” bursts forth with a Jason Mraz-like enthusiasm, albeit slightly overproduced. Still, the track expands McDonald’s repertoire slightly into electric territory. “Captivated” follows with an orchestral opening as McDonald waxes on the surrounding world that inspires and moves him before settling into familiar acoustic ground.
“You are what I long to find to melt this cold heart of mine/ ‘Cause when you are around, I’m found,” McDonald admits on the seasonally sparse “Winter.” It’s a poetic musical turn that McDonald has proven himself so good at, time and again. “Waltz in 3” moves in a whimsical, fairy-tale sort of musical motion and showcases McDonald at the height of his sonic stretches.
Of course, such exploration leads to mistakes as well. The largely forgettable “Slow Down” makes one wonder what exactly McDonald is going for. However, Roots reaches new heights for an already impressive singer/songwriter. - Matt Conner
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
LOVE | Posted September-29-2008
On Inhabited’s 2005 debut, The Revolution (Fervent), the group provided a pleasant, though in many cases, noticeably derivative amalgamation of Evanescence, BarlowGirl and Plumb. Though splashes of those similarities resurface to a certain extent (plus bits of Paramore), Love showcases the group expanding its sonic palette, while also providing eternity-minded messages. The title cut is a stirring acoustic ballad where front woman Sara Acker speaks about love’s many angles, particularly the intertwining of the Lord’s unconditional acceptance with His grace-drenched opportunities for redemption. The sweetly sung “Song To the Fatherless” expands upon that issue, reminding listeners of Christ’s ultimate protection, despite the fractured parental relationships found in this world.
“We Will Live” and “Are You With Me” return to edgier contexts via chunky guitars and thumping drums, showcasing growth in the vocal and instrumentation department, wrapped around glistening production from Monroe Jones (Third Day, Jackson Browne). Yet, the band still leans a little too heavily on outside influences during the Gwen Stefani “Hollaback Girl” cloned “Hush” and the Superchick-styled pep rally cheer “Are You With Me.” Thankfully, it’s not to the same degrees of regularity as the first time out, suggesting that if Inhabited continues in this otherwise more original direction, its third disc could be a complete charm. - Andy Argyrakis
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
ROOTS RUN DEEP | Posted September-29-2008
After releasing two critically-acclaimed albums—Moving on Faith and Life on the Inside—and touring alongside Rebecca St. James and BarlowGirl, Jadon Lavik decided to dig into some of his favorite hymns on Roots Run Deep. His love and appreciation for the standards of the faith shine through on the self-produced album.
Roots Run Deep features familiar classics such as “Come Thou Fount,” “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,” “I Need Thee Every Hour” and “Take My Life,” all supported by his sturdy yet seemingly effortless vocals. What sets this album apart from the pack of recent hymns albums are the original arrangements and melodies, as he creates his own interpretation of each hymn using simple instrumentation for an intimate sound. Lavik is joined by industry veteran Fernando Ortega on “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus,” a highlight of the album. “What a Wondrous Love is This” is a fresh take of this hymn which showcases Lavik’s guitar style, while “Amazing Grace” takes on an acoustic, jazzy feel. The album’s melodic sounds draw listeners into a quiet place, especially on “My Father’s World” and “I Surrender All.” With an acoustic vibe comparable to Brandon Heath and Warren Barfield, Roots Run Deep is an organic “unplugged” worship experience. - Rachel Harrold
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
Unbreakable | Posted September-29-2008
”Unbreakable” is not only the title track—aptly chosen by the producers of “Bionic Woman” to air on NBC—it is the ideal word to describe the latest effort from Fireflight. The album delivers a seamless mix of hard-hitting, rock rhythms, riffs and hooks, balanced with the pure vocals of front woman Dawn Richardson. The result is a driving collection of songs that unquestionably rings true to Fireflight’s alt-rock style, but doesn’t sacrifice powerful lyrics, strong messages and memorable delivery.
Picking up where the title track ends, “You Gave Me a Promise” immediately catches listeners’ attention with a catchy percussion scheme, which leads directly into lyrics that will most likely resonate with any audience. Moving on, the album is full of musical surprises—check out the string intro on track 3—and poignant lyrics. The one thing this album lacks is enough variation to make each track stand out on its own. The same heavy production and intense orchestration song after song tends to meld the tracks together into an almost indistinguishable whole. While this is great for a cohesive album, it might cause the listener to either lose interest or zone out along the way. This band is clearly blessed with incredible vocals, strong musicianship and intense production. It might do well to rely a little less on the latter to make the former shine. - Caroline Lusk
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
OUR WORLD REDEEMED | Posted September-29-2008
Less than a year after shedding light on the world’s fall from grace with the apocalyptic Our World: Fallen, St. Louis rapper FLAME continues to spew fire with Our World: Redeemed, his fourth album on the Cross Movement label. But don’t expect the two discs to be cut from the same mold. As if doing a 180-degree turn, FLAME’s Our World: Redeemed is almost the polar opposite to its predecessor, favoring slicker, more in-your-face sound beds over the generally brooding atmosphere of the prequel.
This change is needed. FLAME is no longer rapping about humanity’s lost cause, but inspiring it to rise above its abject condition, to choose life in Christ above death in its own trespasses. For the emcee, bereavement is a cause for rejoicing (“Funeral to Birthday”), pain a precursor to abundance (“Hold On”), bloodshed the preamble to eternity (“On That Cross”).
On occasion, FLAME tends to place style in front of substance (“Go Buck”), AND the beats aren’t always conducive to the hope-filled nature of the album’s thesis. This gives the proceedings an air of self-seriousness that could curtail the celebratory character of the disc. In all, though, Our World: Redeemed ascribes all honor and glory to Jesus, so that, by album’s end, there’s no confusion as to whose name is the only one by which men and women can be saved. - Andree Farias
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
SOME OF THE BEST FROM THE WEST | Posted September-29-2008
Jesus Culture is an underground worship movement from California. We Cry Out is a compilation featuring worship leaders Chris Quilala, Kim Walker and Melissa Wise. Though many of the songs on the album are covers, it is refreshing to hear new voices tackle some of the most loved worship songs out there right now along with several originals as well.
From the first song, the title track, Kim makes a clear breakthrough due to the strength and passion heard in her voice. Listeners will most likely gravitate toward her contribution to the album—a stunning four songs. Her version of the John Mark McMillan song “How He Loves” is another track that will jump off the record and grab your heart. Chris Quilala’s version of the soon-to-be-known hit “Your Love Is Everything” is another key song on this compilation. If the song selection and vocals are any indication, We Cry Out should be a good prediction of who our future worship leaders will be.
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
A SIGN OF GREAT THINGS TO COME | Posted September-29-2008
If any rock band featured in this magazine is set to explode this year, it’s The Myriad. The Seattle quintet found momentum opening for David Crowder Band on its recent fall tour. The largest spotlight, however, came by unexpectedly winning “MTV2’s Breakout Band of 2008”—an honor providing intense marketing year-round for the Koch Records artist.
The Prelude to Arrows is just that, the antecedent to With Arrows, With Poise, The Myriad’s full-length follow-up to its 2005 debut, You Can’t Trust a Ladder. The five-song EP finds the band largely abandoning the Euro-rock that brought them here, retaining only Jeremy Edwardson’s yearning vocal delivery and some musical atmospherics.
Think Sleeping At Last with a slightly more aggressive sound.
“A Thousand Winters Melting” is more piano pop ditty than soaring Brit-rock number and is as catchy as the band’s ever been. “Forget What You Came For” builds to perfection and is clearly the EP’s highlight. Edwardson has never sounded better. Mute Math-like sonic textures are found on “The Holiest of Thieves.”
Prelude ultimately feels like what it is—a tiny taste of goodness—but it’s still an impressive sign of things to come. - Matt Conner
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
HAWK NELSON IS MY FRIEND | Posted September-29-2008
Listening to Hawk Nelson’s third studio CD, Hawk Nelson Is My Friend, is the sonic equivalent to running a marathon or more aptly, sprinting a marathon. The Tooth & Nail band opens the disc with intense energy, thanks to front man Jason Dunn’s impassioned vocals, Jonathan Steingard’s edgy electrics and Daniel Biro and Aaron Tosti’s pulsating, erratic rhythm section. The explosion of sound from the electrifying opener (“You Have What I Need”) to the honest, unfettered closer (“I Still Miss You”) charges on for nearly 40 minutes. It’s spiked with adrenaline like a runner’s high and leaves the listener exhausted, but exilerated, at the album’s end.
Produced by David Bendeth (Elvis, Paramore, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus), HNIMF is stacked with co-writing appearances from a line-up of tunesmiths including Richard Marx (“Right Here Waiting”) and Thousand Foot Krutch’s Trevor McNevan. McNevan is credited for discovering the band and had a hand in writing or co-producing both of Hawk’s previous outings.
The new disc picks up where the Canadian-bred four-piece left off with its 2006 CHR smash, “Everything You Ever Wanted.” More pop than punk, HNIMF throws a few bones to punk purists with songs like the clangorous “Just Like Me.” But the album really excels on more accessible alternative pop anthems like first radio single, “Friend Like That,” which radiates a raucous energy. The sensitive, melodic “Arms Around Me” would be a perfect compliment to current mainstream pop radio playlists, as well as the hooky “Not The Same.” Even the slow songs (“Somebody Else”) are more mid-tempo than down-tempo, and like the rest of the album, don’t leave much space between the notes. - Lizza Connor Bowen
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
CECE’S SEMINAL QUALITIES SHINE | Posted September-29-2008
Though rumors have persisted of a BeBe & CeCe Winans reunion, the latter of the powerful pair remains in solo ranks (at least for the time being). Thy Kingdom Come marks the vocal diva’s first new collection in three years, though the time off seems to only have refined her already sterling pipes. Within seconds of the lead track. “Holy Father God,” it’s apparent why Winans is such a seminal force within the R&B and gospel communities, which not only stems from her ability to flawlessly interpret timeless messages of truth, but to also soothe with her soul radiant charisma. The lively “Forever” continues in that tradition, combing her stunning voice with several spoken word segments, all wrapped around an exuberant choir.
As the disc continues, CeCe shifts seamlessly between vibrant congregational moments (“The Coast is Clear,” “Waging War”) and personal moments of prayer (the title track, “Bless His Holy Name”). However, she’s equally capable of meeting non-believers wherever they may be, oftentimes bearing resemblance to her dear friend Whitney Houston throughout the Waiting To Exhale-worthy ballad “The Test of Time” to the joyous urban pop of “A Million Miles”—songs that reinforce her already reputable reach.
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
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