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...
UPLIFTING, BUT TOO MANY OBVIOUS YULETIDE TUNES | Posted November-30-2009
Rumor has it that Chris Tomlin always wanted to make a Christmas record, and after spending the majority of this decade tearing up the worship charts, he's finally fulfilling that dream. Though he's obviously a top-notch singer and guitarist, backed by one of the best bands in Christian music, the track listing throughout the entirely live Glory in the Highest: Christmas Songs of Worship doesn't exactly mirror that innovation.
Sure, songs like "O, Come All Ye Faithful" and "Angels We Have Heard on High" are performed with seasonal enthusiasm and Tomlin's unmistakable vocal stamp, but the arrangements aren't anything extraordinary. That trend continues throughout "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and "O, Holy Night," two equally pleasant seasonal standards that are certainly adequate, but don't necessarily astound.
Tomlin is much better off when exploring original ideas, such as adding a new refrain to "Joy to the World (Unspeakable Joy)," the concept reminiscent of his timeless yet contemporary rendering of "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)." The performance revs up toward more interesting endeavors close to the end, including an absolutely gorgeous praise duet with Christy Nockels called "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" and the emotional "Light of the World," accompanied by Passion pal Matt Redman.
Had Tomlin gone in this less predictable direction throughout the first half, this first-ever holiday foray would be an all-around treat, worthy of the acclaim often given to his standard studio CDs. -Andy Argyrakis
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
INDIE CRED COUPLED WITH MAINSTREAM APPEAL | Posted November-09-2009
The moniker Abandon Kansas is remarkably fitting for this four-piece alternative rock outfit hailing from Wichita. While the group amassed so much attention locally that its sound earned the attention of Gotee Records, this debut EP (available exclusively on iTunes) maintains its artful, indie rock roots—yet creatively manages to have mainstream appeal in the process.
Part of that winning formula may have to do with producer Mark Townsend, who's crafted a similar equilibrium with previous collaborators like Relient K and House of Heroes. Nonetheless, Abandon Kansas scores kudos all their own for writing instantly attractive hooks, towering melodies and astute spiritual insights (in the latter category, most notable is the wondrous "We're All Going Somewhere").
But the ultra-sharp players' musicality is truly the centerpiece on songs like growling opening cut "The Harder They Fall" and its fervent follow-up "I Wonder If It's Me," both falling somewhere in between the stylings of House of Heroes or This Beautiful Republic. "Close Your Eyes" isn't as intense straight out of the gate, but it builds in grand fashion to once again highlight Abandon Kansas' gritty guitar lines and militant beats. In fact, that finale to this six-song offering leaves listeners wanting much more, building anticipation for a full-length offering that will hopefully follow in rapid order. —Andy Argyrakis
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
PREDICTABLE YOUTH-GROUP-FRIENDLY PRAISE | Posted November-09-2009
If the record label EE-Taow looks a little unfamiliar at this point, that's because it's the brand-new arm of Teen Mania Ministries geared toward giving artists a praise platform. Though its intentions are certainly noble and there's no doubt that its first signees, Unhindered, are sincere, the group's national debut disc Be falls a bit short of the build-up.
Sure, the group can play with precision, and the project has plenty of uplifting tracks split between congregational participation and personal prayer time. However, one can't help but feel like the project is pretty predictable all across the board, from pleasant but uninspiring songwriting to upbeat but unremarkable production. "We Will" has youth-group appeal written all over it and may be able to connect with that generally receptive audience, but doesn't exactly break any new sonic boundaries. "Desperate" is amongst the more musically involved tunes, playing out as a piano-bathed aggressive rocker, but lyrically it reads bland and basic.
"Light This World" is probably the cheesiest tune on the record, literally sounding like a Christian cheer stacked with every cliché in the book. The group is much better off scaling back toward an acoustic setting for the emotive and unflinchingly honest "Farewell Lullaby," about renewing one's life for the glory of God. If only Unhindered could lean in this more introspective and mature direction rather than trying to just round the youth-friendly bases, Be would be a more promising introduction. —Andy Argyrakis
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
WORSHIP/ROCK BAND IGNITES SATISFACTORY SECOND SET | Posted November-09-2009
"Worship music" hosts a myriad of different genres within its own genre. From modern rock to vocal pop to Caribbean music, recordings designed to prompt corporate singing run the gamut. Unfortunately, the level of musicianship that dictates each recording runs the gamut as well, with many worship recordings falling into the "just plain bad" category and failing to meet professional standards.
Enter: Fee. Having garnered a No. 1 radio hit, a handful of Dove nods and a recognizable name among modern rock fans and worship music aficionados from their successful first record, the energetic worship band issues its second set of all-out worship rock, countering the B- and C-level worship culture with a blast of fresh spunk.
Musically, the songs on Hope Rising will hold up just as easily in a high-energy, strictly entertainment gig as they do from the stage at Passion or a local youth gathering. Couple "Rise and Sing" and "Promised Land" for a night of synth-searing, bass-busting arena rock; the latter achieves a near-dance-club remix with Madonna-like voice effects and techno beats. Or tie together "We Crown You" (featuring background vocals by the always-affective Christy Nockels) and "Arms that Hold the Universe" (derived from this year's Maryville, Ill., church shooting) for a poignant night of worship.
Lyrically, Fee is a bit standard. But considering their intentions remain corporate vs. performance, it's nice to hear a worship-oriented band that can wow a panel of critical music industry execs, as well as sensitively usher a congregation into the presence of God. —Andrew Greer
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
ROCK ACT RETURNS TO ITS ROOTS | Posted November-09-2009
It's interesting to note that for all their rock releases and the longevity of the Kutless name, it's a worship album from four years ago that still remains the BEC act's best-selling album. Usually these discs are a one-off project of sorts - think Christmas album - but for Kutless, it's actually return to their roots.
Considering the Portland quintet started out as a worship band, it's fitting that they finally follow 2005's Strong Tower with this fall's It Is Well. The famous hymn finds itself as the title track and central theme on the 12 songs present here. The song itself, "It Is Well," stays true to all facets of the tune ‘cept for the amped up guitars on each verse and final chorus.
Other familiar tracks break up the originals and almost every one of them follow the original songwriter's inclinations. It's frustrating, then, to find a well-worn song like "God of Wonders" receiving the exact same vocal progressions and sequence as every other take on planet Earth. A slight change is given to the beginning of "Hungry" and that helps give the track some new life.
The best of the originals is "Amazed," a slow-to-mid-tempo anthem that holds a melody so good, you wonder if it's an established worship song that you just happened to miss. "You Save Me" ups the rock quotient with a Hillsong-like chorus and it's here that the Kutless from To Know That You're Alive makes their presence most felt.
When breathing new life into already-familiar tracks, it'd serve an artist (or band) well to try to, um… do just that. So it's disheartening to see the conventional path so easily taken. Still the original tracks here are worth your time and money and Kutless has given the church (and their concertgoers) some new vertical songs to chew on. —Matt Conner
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
MORE TO MEMORIZE FROM SCRIPTURAL DUO | Posted November-09-2009
When Mac Powell made a wish list of songwriters to contribute to this year's Glory Revealed II scripture song project, it's no surprise Shane Barnard and Shane Everett were at the very top. Having chalked up a successful career with a catalog of discs comprised of songs largely based on Bible text, Shane & Shane remains committed to uplifting believers with musical memory verses on their seventh studio project, Everything Is Different.
Even though Pete Kipley (Kutless) and Jason Hoard (Fee) contribute production, the record maintains mostly acoustic motifs from top to bottom (except for a few bonus radio edits), letting the easy-to-remember melodies and the duo's trademark harmonies lead the way.
Directed by the fellas' position as song leaders at their home church in Texas, the tracks maintain a consistent worship feel. Interpolating verse quotes and their own translation of some of scripture's most beloved lines, the Shanes' direct approach in naming the Lord as the object of their musical affection is refreshing, especially in a booming worship music culture, where songs sung out of context could be used for an entirely different purpose than praise.
The only downside to their lyrical inclinations is that many seem overused, sounding cliché, not inspiring. But even amidst the repetition, when Shane & Shane sing, "All Yours is the kingdom/the power, the glory/Forever," in "The Lord's Prayer," I'm not convinced it could be said any differently. Or any better.
Mostly recorded "live" in the studio, with few post-production touch-ups, Everything Is Different provides yet another glimpse into the heart of Shane & Shane. —Andrew Greer
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
BELOVED SONGWRITER PENS PERSONAL PSALMS | Posted November-09-2009
"Heaven is a sweet, maple syrup kiss / And a thousand other little things I miss with her gone" ("Heaven Is the Face").
Though Steven Curtis Chapman has always related to his fans, he's never gotten as personal with his extended family of listeners as he does on Beauty Will Rise, his first recording since his daughter, Maria Sue, died in a tragic accident last spring. Battling out his doubts, grievances and despair with a pen and a guitar, the 20-year veteran singer/songwriter records his wrestling with God, holding nothing back and making this release his most-anticipated to date—though surely not for reasons he would have intended.
Chapman tracked more than half the album in makeshift rooms across the country while on the United Tour with Michael W. Smith last year, and the tracks are raw, exposing every nuance of the songwriter's intimate retelling of his family's 2008 nightmare. Mimicking a family stripped by grief, Beauty Will Rise is easily Chapman's most acoustic offering yet. And quite likely his greatest.
The bare-bones structure incorporates musical gestures of hope, using a colorful glockenspiel, bellowing chimes and triumphal timpanis to convince listeners Chapman's spiritual testing is not countering his steadfast faith. Even dissonant strings haunt the famous father's melancholic intimations, but without deterring the album's blunt beauty.
Melodically, these tunes are basic Chapman. But lyrically, each song is in stark contrast to his typical "up" fare. The realities of a sin-stricken world hit hard last year for the grieving father, and Beauty will Rise is a journal born from surviving dark nights of the soul. And though the last track is hopeful for a season of rebirth, it is apparent for Chapman, spring has not yet sprung. —Andrew Greer
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
BACK TO THE BEAUTIFUL LETDOWN BRILLIANCE | Posted November-09-2009
Very rarely does a band obtain the perfect combination of major label distribution and complete creative independence, but Switchfoot's multi-million album sales and countless crossover hits certainly warrant such an arrangement. Following a several-album stint on Columbia, the band made the timely decision to reclaim ownership of their music, allowing Hello Hurricane to bow on the band's own lowercase people records in partnership with Atlantic.
No matter what the circumstances behind the switch, Switchfoot comes out of the gate swinging on its first CD in three years, recalling the now-classic The Beautiful Letdown in everything from the anthems to the songwriting and even the artwork font. "Needle and Haystack Life" is destined to return the California natives to the top of the charts, coming across like U2 during its Unforgettable Fire days. "Mess of Me" marks a militant follow-up that's amongst the group's grittiest to date, thanks to Led Zeppelin-tipped riffs. "This Is the Sound" lends an experimental vibe with frontman Jon Foreman's growling vocals and the band's rumbling arrangements. And for every super-charged rocker, there's a tasteful power ballad to match, like the inspiring "Always Yours" and the stadium-filling "Sing It Out."
All the while, the group takes an increasingly hopeful lyrical approach, inspired by the guys' work with Habitat For Humanity and perhaps even their artistic liberation, which, after the mildly darker nature of Oh! Gravity, is a welcome return to form. Along the way, Switchfoot maintains its spiritual mindset, but never comes across as preachy in a secular environment, making Hello Hurricane the ultimate benchmark for any like-minded act, and amongst this band's very best.—Andy Argyrakis
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
VOCAL FOURSOME FILLS A VOID WITH MATURE POP OUTPUT | Posted August-18-2009
Some semblance of boy bands has been around for decades. Even pre-Top 40 radio, gaggles of women (and men) flocked to Big Band halls, joining the mainly male entourage as they lit up the stage with choreographed sways, dazzling horn hits and wide smiles. And gospel music has seen its share of all-male outfits hit sweet spots across the nation as well. But ever since Plus One led a straight-up pop explosion almost 10 years ago, the Christian music scene has yet to see any all-out vocal teams take up the torch. Until now.
More pop, less rock, Yellow Cavalier is filling the void. With a dazzling debut EP, the tidy quartet is marketing themselves as not just an answer to the boy band drought, but rather an active response to a rich legacy of “ccm” pop/rock.
Citing One Republic, Daniel Bedingfield and dcTalk as major influences (you could add Maroon 5, The Killers and Family Force 5), the fab four draw from an array of mature musical tastes to venture beyond bubblegum pop. Sure, one or two of the fellas whine when crooning and the production is unashamedly slick, but skin-tight vocals, spectacular synthesizers, thumping bass and dance floor-pumping beats round out a highly accessible mix, grooming the Lynchburg, Va., natives for mass-market appeal. Most notably, “So Beautiful,” an ode to a woman’s enduring beauty, aligns striking acoustic elements to reminisce early Bebo Norman tracks.
On tour backed by a live band, the boys are spreading a message of surrender to God with upfront performances designed to breed face-to-face fan loyalty. Though hints of “boy band” abound, I suggest dropping the moniker and considering Yellow Cavalier a band. And a good one at that. —Andrew Greer
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
REMIXED AND READY TO GROOVE | Posted August-18-2009
Dance rockers Family Force 5 continue to break out of their futuristic space bubbles with the release of first-ever remix project Dance or Die With a Vengeance. The collection comes hot on the heels of last summer’s run on the “Vans Warped Tour,” followed by a headlining slot on this spring’s “AP Tour,” and features several friends the Atlanta-based troupe met along the way.
As the title implies, FF5’s 2008 dance-floor thrasher Dance or Die gets a complete facelift courtesy of its celebrity guests. And for those who found the first installment incited a series of percolating grooves, this latest round takes an even more explosive turn toward the club circuit. The title track transforms into a soulful synth-popper courtesy of The Secret Handshake, while “Rip It Up” merges alternative rock with electronica as re-imagined by The Pragmatic.
Relient K leader Matt Thiessen takes “The First Time” to a programmed ballad of epic proportions, as “Radiator” later recalls something straight out of Depeche Mode’s catalogue via the turntable twists of Red’s Jasen Rauch. Add in tour mates 3OH!3 taking a sci-fi stab at “Get Your Back Off the Wall” and the David Crowder Band dinging its way through the equally spacey “How In the World,” and FF5 truly creates a pulsating listening experience of supernatural proportions. —Andy Argyrakis
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
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