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4.5/5 | Posted August-29-2011
Born Again couldn't be a more appropriate title for the latest Newsboys album. With longtime member Peter Furler leaving the band, Michael Tait steps in and delievers a fresh boost of energy to a band that, I felt, was growing stale. With many great songs like "Born Again," "Way Beyond Myself," and "Escape," the Newsboys feel as relevant as they were many years ago. I can't wait to hear more in the future.
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4/5 | Posted August-29-2011
In the Hands of God is the final album to feature longtime member Peter Furler as the lead singer of Newsboys, and this is a great album to go out on. This feels like a worthy follow-up to 2006's Go even though it retains little of what made that album so great and feels a bit slower as well. Besides that, there are many noteworthy songs to be found here including the title track, "The Way we Roll," and "Glorious." There is also some classic Newsboys wit thrown in on one song which brought me back to the good old days of the band. (A really well done Celiene Dion joke.) The only main problem I have with the album is that it all feels repetitive and old. I know that I've heard the same album now for the past couple of years and I feel tired of listening to it over and over again.
Besides that little critique, In the Hands of God is a great sendoff to Peter. It showcases his great songwriting talent and amazing voice.
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5/5 | Posted August-29-2011
Mat Kearney's new album, Young Love, marks a welcome return to his spoken word/singing roots even though musically, it sounds vastly different then Nothing Left to Lose. For fans of that album, this one might not be their cup of tea as the music takes on more of a hip hop feel this time around. But those fans should take a listen anyway and hopefully find one of the more interesting and heartfelt albums that mat has released so far.
Lyrically, this is signature Mat Kearney. There are songs about love, spirituality, and hope. The real highlight of the album is the final track, "Rochester," which only features Mat's voice and an acoustic guitar. With that Mat crafted his most emotional and heartfelt songs of his career as it touches on themes of love, loss, war, abuse, and hope all wrapped in a story about his father. It's a wonderful way to close out an album and gives Mat's music a new sense of maturity.
With solid lyrics, a fun hip-hop style, and the return of Mat's rapping, Young Love is a highlight that is a strong contender to be album of the year material this year.
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4.5/5 | Posted August-29-2011
Mat Kearney's mainstream debut Nothing Left to Lose is an amazing album full of well written lyrics and music that highlight this man's talents in extraordinary ways. He seemlessly blends his wonderful and unique singing voice with his surprisingly good rap skills and creates something quite unique and quite special to listen to. The main theme of this album is about looking into the past to prepare yourself for the future. Mat uses personal examples in most of the 13 tracks here and they do help us understand his main message even more.
With great lyrics and a unique rapping/singing combo, Mat Kearney proves that, for him, there really is nothing left to lose.
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5/5 | Posted August-28-2011
Run Kid Run's debut album This Is Who We Are is the perfect way for a band like this to make a big splash in the industry. This album manages to incorporate themes of love and spirituality into 10 amazingly catchy songs. I guarantee you that these songs will be instantly burned into your memory by the time the album ends.
Backed by a fun pop/punk vibe, Run Kid Run manages to hit every note right with their debut album. It's memoriable, catchy, and lyrically solid. This is one band that will be earning my money in the future.
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4/5 | Posted August-26-2011
It sucks that Gwen Stacy had to break up because there was potential for greatness and this album shows that the potential was there even if what was heard sounded a bit generic. Yes, this album sounds almost a bit generic musically but out of that comes some really thoughtful lyrics that is the main highlight. It's still an album that can be enjoyed, and I did enjoy it, but what hinders it is the unoriginality of the music. If they hadn't disbanded they could have had that breakthrough album that would have gained them some significant recognition. Sadly, we'll never see that now.
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4/5 | Posted August-26-2011
Andy Hunter returns with another album full of great electronica songs that take you on a musical journey. There are some slower songs on this album and some of the lyrics are kind of hokey but that doesn't stop anyone from enjoying the musical experience that is Andy Hunter.
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4/5 | Posted August-26-2011
John Reuben's unique style is really evident on this, his 6th album. Sex, Drugs, and Self Control is almost like lessons on life told from experience. John's lyrics are brilliant as always and the beats he creates sound really good. This is one of his best albums to date and I'm excited to see where he takes his music next.
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4/5 | Posted August-26-2011
John Reuben takes his music in yet another direction here in Word of Mouth, which takes a gander at many things and mostly succeeds at them. The wit is still there but it feels more fleshed out and mature now, almost like a progression from the past 4 albums that culminates here. John also hanges things up musically by offering us original beats that don't sound like the conventional hip hop beats heard today. They are more thought out and play off the song well. This album's style comes completely out of left field and leaves us thinking about what we just heard. Thinking over the album is only part of the appriciation that comes soon after.
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4.5/5 | Posted August-26-2011
The Boy vs. The Cynic shows a level of maturity and growth from John Reuben that we haven't seen before. In this album, there are virtually little to no loops or beats, everything is organic insturments. The album manages to balance out fun childish songs (the boy part of the album title,) and darker, mature, and harder songs to listen to. (The Cynic.)
It's a very daring step that John Reuben is taking his music in this album but it's a very good step to take. After 3 albums of fun hip hop beats, something more down to earth is a welcome change to me.
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