AJ Cheek [The Art Of Letting Go] | Posted December-22-2010 The Art of Letting Go by AJ Cheek released digitally on December 7th. AJ and his friends previously formed the band Nevertheless. After a year or two of building a Chattanooga following, Nevertheless signed with Provident Label Group/Sony BMG and toured nationally. Their seven-year career resulted in two full-length albums and two independent EPs. In 2009, Nevertheless called it quits. Soon after, label mates Revive asked AJ to tour with them playing guitar and piano. Recently, while out with Revive, AJ was inspired to write and record his own project. Rich Thompson, the bassist for Revive, approached him with the idea of co-producing/engineering the project. The album’s title track “The Art of Letting Go” is about the last couple of years since the break-up of Nevertheless. “God has taught me a lot about 'letting go' and holding on to Jesus, not finding my identity in anything but Him.” The lyrics are prayerful and introspective: “So quiet my soul, and empty my hands, Put this tired heart to rest, I can feel the weight lift of my back, This burden is off my chest, This is the art of letting go.”
I’ve been listening to this excellent 6 song EP non-stop since it released and I can’t get enough of AJ’s sincere vocals and catchy, worshipful songs. Right from my first listen I was hooked by the Psalm-like reflective lyrics, especially in “Close To You” which draws from Psalm 23: “When I find myself deep in the valley, With nobody left to turn to, Still in my soul, I know I’m not alone,” and “Lift My Head,” which draws from Psalm 69: “Lord, where do we start?, Where to begin?, The water is rising to my neck, Fear has left me trembling, Where did I go wrong?” AJ co-wrote “Lift My Head” with Mike Donehey from Tenth Avenue North and if you like their ballad-style songs “By Your Side” and “Healing Begins,” then you will absolutely love this song and album. I absolutely love the song “Lift My Head” and it has become a personal worship song for me in my daily devotional time.
“Bird’s Eye View” and “Take A Chance” expand on AJ’s contemplations where he submits fully to God’s plans for his life and ministry and the intelligent song-writing is one of my favorite aspects of this album. “Take A Chance” has AJ reflecting back on his prior band’s experience again and sings his heart out with the very vulnerable lyrics: “I know that things have changed, Some lose and some gain, Events unexpected have left some deep pain, But just know that there is healing.” Closing track “The River” bookends the theme of the album, “letting go” with extremely biblical and confessional lyrics: “So take me down, down to the river, For my guilt has burdened me, Take me down, down to the river, For I need to be washed clean.” AJ wants people to know his hope for these songs is that God will continue to use them as encouragement in the lives of people through his stories and experiences. Overall, the theme of the EP is remembering that there is grace in the middle of the night. “No matter where we are, God is there to meet us."
CLOSING THOUGHTS
I really love this album, it’s very reflective and worshipful. AJ’s song-writing and singing style reminds me of Phil Wickham, who is one of my favorite artists. If you like contemplative, sincere and prayerful songs like “You’re Beautiful” by Phil Wickham and “Restless” by Audrey Assad, then you need to pick up The Art of Letting Go by AJ Cheek. You won’t regret it and you’ll be craving more from this up and coming singer-songwriter.
The City Harmonic [Introducing The City Harmonic] | Posted December-20-2010
The City Harmonic is what you get when you mix a rock band with sweeping symphonies, captivating anthem-like choruses, concert hall orchestras, Brit-rock influence, scripturally rooted lyrics, and that singing-round-the-campfire-feeling. The Canadian band’s six-song EP debut, Introducing The City Harmonic, is a Brit-rock meets campfire sing-along mix that features raucous, gang vocals along with agile, soaring anthems crafted to include the listener. The band, consisting of front man Elias Dummer, bassist Eric Fusilier, guitarist Aaron Powell and drummer Josh Vanderlaan, isn’t as interested in finding fans as they are looking for participants in the journey. If you collect Christian worship music then you’re probably aware of the most popular musical trends of Coldplay-like guitars and OneRepublic-like synth-pop.
When I read that The City Harmonic was a Brit-rock sounding worship band, I didn’t rush to listen to the album as I’ve heard many artists attempt that style. Then I listened to opening track “I Wonder” and the guitar riff actually does sound like “Yellow” by Coldplay and I was immediately hooked. The song is not only musically captivating, but also lyrically, especially the second verse ”I see it in the pain of the widowed wife, In death defeated where he found true life, I see the love of God and I feel alive, I Wonder.” I knew I was in for a treat when I started digging into the brilliant songwriting and emotional vocals of this “can’t miss” band. “Manifesto” is the current single and is the type of song I wish I was singing at my church right now. The song boldly declares a statement of faith: “We believe in the one true God, We believe in Father Spirit Son, We believe that good has won, And all of the people of God sing along, Amen.” This worship anthem is just the type of infusion that the church needs with its honesty and bold lyrics. The song ends with “The Lord’s Prayer.” What’s most impressive is how these catchy songs will have you singing along at the top of your lungs after just a couple of listens. “My God” keeps the biblical focus and is based on Psalm 121. The song is like listening to David crying out to God with a worshipful chorus: “O, my God. I lift my heart up, whether it’s whole or broken, good God I know You’re gonna work it out, So on my heart beats to a beat that I put my hope in the love of my God pouring out.”
“Coming My Way” has a slower tempo ballad-feel and reflects the cry of my heart as well to live for God everyday. Too often as Christians, we get caught up thinking about living for heaven and God wants us to live for Him while we are waiting for heaven. “I Am” is the most personal and confessional song on the album and I can’t get enough of the vulnerable lyrics and rocking musical style. Elias sings his heart out in a love song celebrating God’s grace. “I Am” reminds me of “Bliss” by Delirious? Closing track “What I Want” lyrically opens with a great thesis statement for the whole album: “May my life speak louder than words, and what I’m saying is “Jesus, I’m sure You’re what I want.”
CLOSING THOUGHTS
This is the best new worship band I’ve heard since Delirious? which is absolutely incredible. Just like Delirious? I think The City Harmonic has a great opportunity to reach the lost for the Kingdom of God with their transparent lyrics and incredible musical talent. This album completely rocks and is loaded with songs you can proudly share with your friends and family. The themes of this album are trusting God, loving Him and loving others as He loved us. All six songs are catchy, exciting and worshipful. This is a nearly perfect worship album and is great for fans of Coldplay, U2, Delirious? and Future of Forestry.
Josh White [Achor] | Posted December-15-2010
In the spring of 2009, Josh White decided to take a huge step of faith. Previously the lead singer of the band Telecast, White quickly became a church planter and worship leader in Portland, Oregon. His church is located in the Hawthorne District of Southeast Portland, a bohemian part of town, known more for its hippies and hipsters than churches. “I met my wife Darcy in this neighborhood 14 years ago,” recounts White. “We know the culture and the people. Which in turn fuels the heart and vision of the church: to preach the gospel to the some of the most un-churched people in the country.” His church Door of Hope offers the inspiration for White’s solo debut Achor, a folk/bluegrass project with BEC Recordings. The meaning behind both the church name and the album title come from Hosea 2:15. The valley of Achor is the valley of trouble; so named after Achan’s sin was discovered and judged in the days of Joshua. The prophet Hosea proclaimed that the God’s restoration would transform the valley of trouble into a door of hope. It is this restoration that White and Door of Hope aim to see in their neighborhood.
From my first listen, I was totally hooked by this album. The opening track “He Who Feeds The Ravens” has a folk music feel like Bob Dylan and is such a fresh worship song, I can’t get enough of Josh’s emotional vocals and the deep and Biblical lyrics “He who feeds the ravens will give His children bread.” The next song “Holy Ghost Revival” has a blues rock musical style and I could imagine singing it at a Southern Gospel revival gathering. The musical diversity is just one of the many attractions to savor about this phenomenal worship album. “I Love My God” switches to more of an acoustic folk ballad style and I feel like I’m eavesdropping on Josh’s prayer time. The stand-out song “You Amaze Me” is next and I can’t get enough of this song. The musical style switches to more of what I’ve come to expect from Josh with strings, guitar picking and Josh’s tender vocals rising to an emotional crescendo that gives me goose bumps every time I hear this incredible song of worship. The chorus is completely worshipful, “I’ve been swallowed up by You, there is nothing I can do, You amaze me.”
There are several acoustic guitar and piano-based ballads including “To Burn In You,” “Our God Is Present,” “This Better Part” and “He Is Able” which are all prayerful and gorgeous songs. “Let Me See Your Hands” includes a great banjo intro and will have you singing and clapping along with this blues-inflected gospel song. My other favorite song is next, “The Wall,” which I would love to sing with fellow believers. It is a totally vertical worship song sung directly to Jesus, “the wall has been torn down by Your blood and as our lives collide with Your love, we pray tear down those walls that keep us from You.” “Awake” is a worshipful chorus sung by a church choir and “Be Still” closes out this excellent album with another personal prayer directly to God.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Don’t miss out on this incredible album. More than just a collection of great songs, Achor is a deep meaningful worship experience unlike any other I’ve heard this year. This is one of my top 10 “gourmet” albums of the year. I truly enjoyed the Brit-Rock and worshipful songs on Josh’s three Telecast albums. Josh White is at the top of his singer-songwriter profession with this gem of an album. If you feel like most of what you hear on the radio sounds the same and want to experience a fresh, deep, introspective and completely worshipful album, then look no further than Achor. My favorite songs are “He Who Feeds The Ravens,” “I Love My God,” “The Wall,” “Be Still” and the stand-out song “You Amaze Me,” which has quickly become one of my all-time favorite worship songs. If you like The Glorious Unseen, John Mark McMillan and Robbie Seay Band, you need to check out Josh White.
Travis Cottrell [Surprised By Worship] | Posted December-06-2010
Dove Award-winning artist Travis Cottrell has been the worship leader for Beth Moore and her hugely successful Living Proof Live! Conferences for 12 years. Building on a great introduction by Beth Moore, her co-laborer and worship leader for Living Proof Live!, Travis Cottrell shows you how to fully experience God's presence at surprising times and places in his book "Surprised By Worship." The beginning of every chapter starts by Cottrell defining a term, such as "surprise," or "joy," etc. Organized around some of Cottrell's personal and family journeys responding to God, the reader is guided through different situations where believers often neglect to seek the presence of God.
I love worship music and like Travis, I am very moved by the experience of worship through music. What this book taught me most is in my favorite chapter, called “The Wide, Wide World of Worship.” I credit the biblical messages of Christian music leading me to my salvation. Similar to Travis, I’ve thought “Music must be God’s favorite art. Why else would He apparently designate it as the one through which we worship?” (from chapter 5). My paradigm of worship being music has also shifted as I’ve thought about how we can worship God with any talent or gift He has given us, such as making art, writing, dancing, acting, or our daily work. God is our ultimate Creator and He loves when we are creative in our worship. I got chills when I read this chapter and others like when Travis shared about being wounded by words and I found his suggestions of different ways to worship to be very biblically sound and profound.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
The book is only 158 pages, and I finished it in just a couple of days. This is a book that is also the outpouring of the heart of a worshiper. Travis opens his heart and shares his own story of how God led him in his journey of worship, personally and with his family. I also loved reading his story of how God brought him to Englewood Baptist Church. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for personal stories sharing how to open your hearts fully to God and be “surprised by worship.”
Various Artists [Come Now Our King] | Posted November-30-2010
There are a lot of choices when it comes to Christmas music. This year more than ever, I felt a bit overwhelmed when I started to listen to various takes of classic Christmas songs like “Joy To The World,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” and “Silent Night.” Thankfully, as much as I love those songs, they don’t appear on this excellent five song Christmas EP called Come Now Our King. Instead, five fresh new exciting artists all contributed to a very enjoyable new collection of songs. Every song is a highlight for me including the original Christmas song “Come Now Our King” by new artist Chris August and “Hope Was Born This Night” by last year’s best new artist Sidewalk Prophets. I have three young daughters and almost everyday they ask to listen to the last three songs which are truly stunning.
“He Has Come For Us” is an amazing medley with “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” by Meredith Andrews. She sings the song with such passion it is hard to not get caught up in the emotion of the song. Next is “Carol Of The Bells” by BarlowGirl. The way the three Barlow sisters harmonize together so beautifully, this is truly a perfect version of one of my all time favorite Christmas songs. I’m glad to have a great recording of the vocal version as I’ve mostly enjoyed the instrumental rock version by Trans-Siberian Orchestra for many years. The last song is a spectacular jazzy version of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” by female vocalist of the year, Francesca Battistelli. This is the only mainstream song on the album and at first I wasn’t thrilled with the song selection as the other four songs are filled with messages celebrating the birth of our King Jesus. However, after my first listen I now can safely say this is my all time favorite version of the song especially as Francesca changes the lyrics from “if the fates allow” to “if the LORD allows,” which is just so perfect and a fantastic way to witness what it means to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, which is to worship our King Jesus.
CLOSING THOUGHTS Come Now Our King is a truly fresh and catchy set of excellent Christmas songs. Vocally, these five artists, Chris August, Sidewalk Prophets, Meredith Andrews, BarlowGirl and Francesca Battistelli bring such passion and talent to these songs, I can't help but experience the true spirit of Christmas. I'll be listening to these five amazing songs consistently this holiday season. Come Now Our King prepares my heart and mind to celebrate and revere the birth of my King.
Future of Forestry [Advent Christmas Vol. 2] | Posted November-30-2010
Future of Forestry is one of the best-kept secrets of the Christian market. Lead singer Eric Owyoung has been recording albums previously as Something Like Silas and then Future of Forestry for the past six years and 2007’s full-length album Twilight was one of my top 10 albums of the year. 2008's Advent Christmas EP was refreshing and original. 2010 brings a second edition, Advent Christmas, Volume 2. The band has recently released a trilogy of six song Travel EP’s so another EP is fitting.
This EP features four classic Christmas songs, one original song, and one instrumental piece. Some stand-out tracks are amazing versions of "Joy to the World" and "Do You Hear What I Hear." Both songs start quietly but rise to incredible crescendos with ringing bells and Coldplay-like guitar riffs. Those have always been two of my favorite Christmas songs, and these are now my two favorite versions.
Volume 2 includes one original song. "The Earth Stood Still" is definitely one of the best original Christmas songs I’ve ever heard. The album also features a beautiful instrumental track followed by an gorgeous version of "Pie Jesu" which only Eric Owyoung could pull off vocally in my opinion. Charlotte Church and Sarah Brightman have also recorded the Andrew Lloyd Webber song and it is just stunning.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
I’ve loved the sound of this band for the past several years and this is by far my favorite Christmas album of all time. My recommendation is to pick up both Advent Christmas volumes and you can play these amazing Christmas songs over and over and really get into the true reflective and worshipful Christmas spirit.
Nichole Nordeman [Beautiful For Me] | Posted November-09-2010
I have 3 young daughters and I can’t help but get emotional when I listen to Nichole Nordeman’s “Beautiful For Me.” I know it speaks to girls and women of all ages, but this song has many layers, and I relate to the message that God created us to have value. I look at my wife and I hope she is secure in my love for her, that she knows that I love her and would never leave her. I look at my 3 little daughters and I hope I am communicating to each of my girls that she is beautiful, that she is valuable, and that she is a blessing to me.
God feels that way about men as well. We are valuable to God. As men, we are appointed by God to take care of and partner with the women in our lives. I believe men also need to hear this song. The song is a great reminder of the kind of heart we should have both as people valued by God and as Christians who can communicate our value to other people.
Kerrie Roberts [Kerrie Roberts] | Posted November-05-2010
At first glance, Kerrie Roberts is the unassuming girl with a huge voice. But once her voice captures you, it is clear there’s much more going on here. Dynamic yet intimate, uniquely emotive and soulful, her self-titled debut reveals the heart of an empathetic artist. These are the songs of a distinctly relational and prolific songwriter. “My father is a pastor, so my whole family has been shaped by the church,” says Kerrie. “From a young age, my parents always taught me to reach out to the broken and to those who need hope.” With her first performance at the age of 5, Kerrie grew up singing in church, playing piano and leading worship. She wrote her first songs in high school. The 10 songs on Kerrie Roberts reflect the redemptive seeds planted during those years and into her young adulthood. Thematically, the album explores a thoughtful side of faith, hope and love—the acknowledgment that an authentic life of faith isn’t void of suffering, the purpose amidst pain, the promise that a breakthrough is coming, and the motivating power of God’s love. Says Kerrie, “I want every song to leave people with a sense of purpose—a call to action, a realization of a truth, a promotion of hope and healing.”
This impressive debut album opens with hit single “No Matter What” which is one of my favorite songs of the year. The song, based on the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the book of Daniel, is totally inspiring and is a great reminder to have that type of faith and to allow God to use you…no matter what. The personal application for me is in the song “Before a heartache can ever touch my life, it has to go through Your hands.” God is saying when we face those fiery furnaces in our lives we need to rely on Him. “Take You Away” keeps the catchy musical style and Kerrie’s strong vocals going and I love the bridge sung from God’s perspective “I'm going to take you, Where the sun lights up your face, Where you can't remember yesterday, 'Till your heart has been replaced, I'm coming to take you away.” “Beautiful To Me” is another stand-out song to me and I love the passionate vocals and strong messages of the songs, especially “This Love Doesn’t Run” with the gorgeous and comforting chorus “And I'll never be alone, Cause this love doesn't run, No this love doesn't run.”
“Keep Breathing” is a great and very personal song. Kerrie says “It came out of the overwhelming feeling that every day I was living was only to get to me to a day when there would be relief. I would write in my journal “just keep breathing, some tomorrow there will be a break through.” The words were so close to me that it didn’t occur to me to write it in a song until I was having a conversation with a friend about it and he said, “you have to write this!” My desire is that the song is an encouragement to realize that as long as there is breath, there is hope, so don’t give up, you are not done yet.” “Unstoppable” is currently a featured theme song in the first TV promos for the 10th season of “American Idol.” It is yet another great song and if Kerrie was a contestant on this upcoming season, she would be “unstoppable.” She has completely captivated me with her great debut album.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
I fully expect Kerrie to be nominated for Best New Artist. She has a strong vocal style similar to Natalie Grant. This is a nice reflective and powerful debut album. I feel like I’m eavesdropping on Kerrie’s prayer time during many of these songs and as I get caught up listening to Kerrie’s excellent vocals, I start praying along with her. My favorite albums all have that impact on me. This is one of my favorite albums of the year. The stand-out songs for me are “No Matter What,” “Take You Away,” “Beautiful To Me,” “This Love Doesn’t Run,” “Keep Breathing” and “Unstoppable.” I look forward to more from this up and coming star in Christian music. Her future is very bright indeed. If you like Natalie Grant, Francesca Battistelli and Nichole Nordeman, you need to get this album by Kerrie Roberts.
Brooke Fraser [Flags] | Posted October-19-2010
For Brooke Fraser, the Coachella 2009 music festival was the event that re-awakened her desire to make music. It was April and the New Zealand-born singer and songwriter was burnt out after completing a three-year tour supporting her second album, 2006’s Albertine, which debuted at No. 1 in New Zealand, reached five times platinum, and remained in the Top 20 for nearly a year. “I felt so exhausted, I could barely get out of bed,” Fraser says, “let alone think about writing songs for a third album.” Brooke Fraser’s new album Flags is a dreamy, alternative-pop collection that showcases Brooke's amazing singing voice, incredibly catchy pop melodies, and Brooke's knack for telling her stories through the lives of vibrant characters on songs like “Betty,” “Crows and Locusts,” “Jack Kerouac,” and “Ice on Her Lashes.” “I’ve never used as many characters or as much narrative in my songwriting as I have on this record,” Fraser says. “On my previous albums, I was singing completely as myself, which is why I think I got so burnt out from touring. Albertine was inspired by incredibly significant events and people and every time I’d sing I’d go back to that moment where my heart was ripped open. So singing such heavy songs nearly every night for three years took a toll. On Flags, it’s still me speaking, but it’s me speaking through the voices of different characters and their stories. It’s more survivable.”
“Betty” was co-written with Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman and Ben West. The song is about a cool, unapproachable girl who hides her Canadian-shaped birthmark - a thinly veiled metaphor for all the other things she is afraid to show people. “Crows and Locusts” is a story of a farming family helplessly witnessing the decimation of their crops through various forms of pestilence, told through the eyes of the young daughter. “Ice On Her Lashes” is a meditation on the cycle of grief. “There’s that moment when you get a phone call and find out that something life-shattering has happened and you look around and wonder how other people are still going about their daily lives, sitting in traffic or buying milk, when yours has just been changed forever,” Fraser says. “The song is about how most of us will at some point be somewhere in that cycle. Life goes on and the pain doesn’t go away, but becomes liveable.” Other album highlights include the rollicking pub song “Orphans, Kingdoms,” the high-energy, summery romp “Something in the Water,” “Who Are We Fooling?” a duet with Aqualung’s Matt Hales, co-written by the two, and the title track “Flags,” a meditation on injustice.
The song “Flags” was inspired by her writing trips into the more remote parts of the U.S. “One day this image of a flag popped into my mind and I thought, ‘Our lives are like flags - flying for a short while, a stake in the ground, marking our territory,’” she says. “We fly our colors - our history, belief system, culture, identity – but eventually our flag will wear out and return to the ground and someone else’s flag will replace our own. I feel like that theme weaves its way through my new songs. The characters in these songs were flags, and now we’ve come to plant our flags in the ground where they once were.”
CLOSING THOUGHTS Flags is a stunning album by my favorite female vocalist of all time, Brooke (Fraser) Ligertwood. As the writer and singer of my all-time favorite worship song, Hillsong UNITED’s “Hosanna,” Brooke is a singer-songwriter unlike any I’ve ever heard. Her remarkable singing voice and her interesting music and lyrics are truly captivating. The messages of the songs are spiritual, especially “Flags” with the chorus that “the last shall be first.” I can’t help but get excited by the excellent pop songs “Something In The Water,” “Betty,” “Orphans, Kingdoms” and “Coachella.” What Brooke does incredibly well on this album is blend upbeat and fun pop songs with aching ballads “Who Are We Fooling?” “Crows and Locusts” and “Flags.” This is a nearly perfect folk style pop album. If you like KT Tunstall, Colbie Caillat and Sara Bareilles, you need to get Flags, one of my top albums of the year.
Universal Royalty [This Side Of The Sea] | Posted October-11-2010
The mission statement of UniversalRoyalty is to be a ministry of music, labored in love, founded and rooted in the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. The band’s goal is to intimately love, diligently obey, and humbly submit to the will of our Lord. They have committed to use their gifts to edify and encourage the body of believers, as well as, esteem and evidence the person of Jesus in their character, singing, teaching, and lifestyle, all of this established through the absolute truth of the Bible. Their prayer as a ministry is to usher others closer to Jesus and bring glory to God. With that background and having heard the band lead my church congregation in worship, I settled in to listen to their new EP, This Side Of The Sea, released August 1st. Opening song “Feel It” begins with such a good guitar riff that it took me a couple of listens to fully recognize the message of the song, which is driven home with the excellent ending of the song “Oh, through Your blood, Lord, I’ve been set free, c’mon, Oh, this World has got nothing on me.” The live studio version is my favorite musically and this is my favorite overall song on the album. The album ends with an acoustic version of the song. If you like alternative rock in the style of Red Hot Chili Peppers, check out this great song. Listening to the Toro brothers harmonize reminded me of a great classic rock song like “Peace Of Mind” by Boston. “God Leads Us Along” is next. This song totally mixes it up musically and brings more of a southern gospel rock feel, complete with harmonica. The gospel message is very clear: “Some through the waters, And some through the floods, Some through the fire, But all through the Blood, God leads His children along.” The female harmony part really caught my attention on this song. Great message and the melody really sticks with you.
“Pride On Parade” is a great title and features yet another musical style. This song has a classic piano rock style and ends with a great piano part for at least a minute, which I love. The chorus reflects the truth of our human failure to fully submit to God in humility: “We have always been faithful, To plan our own way, Now we’ve got a whole human race full, Of pride on parade.” Title track “This Side Of The Sea” has another strong biblical message, “And we know, we know, and we’ve been shown, God’s Son, He shapes and makes our home.” The song is written and sung by Luis Toro, one of the 6 brothers that make up the band, along with David, Juan, Daniel, Marcos and Nick along with Chris Vasquez. Another musical highlight for me is “Swing Low” which brings back the alternative rock feel, complete with turntable mixing by Juan and a Red Hot Chili Peppers style guitar and rap vocal part. This song is a re-write of the hymn “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” but with gang vocals and such a fun musical part again I had to re-listen to the song to really absorb the message which is “Swing Low, sweet chariot, Father come down here and take me up, ‘Cause I don’t think they can handle my flow, Or the fact that you live in us, They criticize and size me up, But we only answer to the One above.” What a great anthem of faith and a perfect way to bookend the fun and extremely diverse musical mix of songs before the acoustic recording of “Feel It.” I highly recommend picking up the 2 additional bonus tracks from universal-royalty.com especially “Someday Soon.” This song has a haunting keyboard part played by Chris and emotional vocal cry: “Someday soon, when You get here, We will meet You in the air, Someday soon, when You get here, We will meet You in the air, And I will fly to You in the sky.” This is a great contemporary sounding song along with the other bonus track “142 Blues Remix” which brings back the rap vocals and alternative rock musical style. Don’t miss out on the bonus tracks as they really complete the musical experience.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
I can’t say I’ve ever heard more diverse musical styles on one album. All 7 songs are interesting, filled with faith-based lyrics and for me the highlights are “Feel It,” “Swing Low” and bonus tracks “Someday Soon” and “142 Blues Remix.” If you like alternative rock with gospel-infused lyrics, look no further than UniversalRoyalty.
KevinDavis_NRT's Music and Book Reviews 
