Pieces of a Real Heart
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Sanctus Real Since releasing Say It Loud on Sparrow records Sanctus Real has been a consistent voice is CCM. Hits like "Things Like You (Everyone's Everything)," "I'm Not Alright," and "We Need Each Other" have...
Breaking The Silence EP
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The Letter Black Known as Breaking The Silence, The Letter Black or a Flyleaf/Fireflight re-make, one Tooth and Nail’s newest artists have now provided fans with their first project, Breaking The Silence EP. The band is...
Forget And Not Slow Down
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Relient K Forget And Not Slow Down sis not a Relient K album. Yes, on the side of an album is says ‘Relient K’, but comparing this release to Relient K’s career is difficult. This Relient K uses five new weapons...
“Sunrise” is a good way to describe What if We | Posted August-14-2008
What if we quit our jobs and served the poor? What if we don’t need all the things the world convinces us we do? What if we are exactly where we need to be right now? What if we aren’t? What if we trusted each other? What if we forgave a bitter enemy? These were just a few questions running through Bandon Heaths head as he contemplated his sophomore effort, What If We.
After a few radio singles – the highlight being “I’m not who I was” – off of his debut album Don’t get Comfortable, he released his first single off of his new album “give me your eyes”, which seems to be destined to be a hit. It’s not surprising the appeal of Heath’s music as he brilliantly weaves emotional pop into his adult contemporary songs which keeps a regular audience. Fans of contemporary Christian music will hear musical bits reminiscent of Jars of Clay, Matthew West, and Chris Rice. The first single “give me your eyes” has a catchy beat in the adult contemporary base though pop also has an influence. The piano driven ballad “London” has a great flow, also the story is driven half by the lyrics and half by the emotional music.
“Fight another day” is a weaker track which is basically a upbeat song that you can dance too, but “sore eyes” has a clever up beat pop tune which is a little quirky. Among the ballads like “London” and the acoustic “when I’m alone” What If We contains a lot of lights catchy fun tracks like “wait and see” and “sunrise” which has a more up tempo and southern twist on the adult contemporary song. “No not one” is slightly reminiscent of the hymn and like the CD, it’s honest but like a good portion of the album, nothing eye popping.
Mark Shultz is known for mixing spiritual messages in his story songs, and although Brandon Heath isn’t that in depth, there are some parallels as to how he tells his story. “Give me your eyes” is a plea to God for a desire for the love and the reach for people, and “wait and see” goes through the journey of a trouble maker with a ending of hope (‘There is hope, for me yet, because God won’t forget, all the plans he’s made for me’). “London” is a brilliant song and though it may not discuss God openly as other tracks such as “trust you” and “no not one” which are really not that deep lyrically. “Trust you” says: (‘I’m not gonna fight you anymore/I’m not gonna try to lock the door/You took my life and gave me yours/There’s no reason why, I shouldn’t trust you with mine’).
A pretty solid effort all around, as there is a nice mix of emotional and inspirational pop and adult contemporary. His ballads are strong but there is nothing really exceptional musically. Good lyrics abound and Brandon Heath succeeds with his questions and ahis sophomore piece What if We.
Anberlin Does as much dismantling as repairing | Posted August-03-2008
While Anberlin was one of the many Tooth and Nail’s pick ups, there is nothing ordinary about this alternative rock band. Putting out singles like “(The Symphony Of) Blasé” and "Paperthin Hymn" has helped with getting their name out but touring with some of the top mainstream bands like Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and Yellowcard certainly could not have hurt either. The recognition is helpful but the their latest album, Cities, stands on it’s own.
The very first track on Cities is “(Debut)”, an instrumental track which showcases sirens built around a cool (as in icy) electric guitar frame. The sirens tells listeners that Anberlin has something to say with a sense of urgency behind it and the calm and controlled electric guitar bit says that Aberlin is also in control. Lead singer Stephen Christian brings his emotional high vocals to mixes in with alternative rock that is just pumping with emergency. That combo is a great, because the most of the rock music is fast paced and Christian’s voice is a tremendous asset in a formula that is similar to Dogwood in some songs. “Godspeed” starts with a frantic electric guitar intro, which is followed up well by aggressive vocals and a very fast paced melodic rock tune. Emotion is bursting from "adelaide", an alternative track which packs a has a good flow. Christian sounds like he can carry a song even without many instruments as shown in the beginning of "Dismantle. Repair." before turning into a solid rock tune.
"The Unwinding Cable Cars" music is centered around a guitar in one of the albums few ballads, and that’s too bad because the soft moments in Cities shine. While parts of "There Is No Mathematics to Love and Loss" are impressive (like the electric start and the techno bridge), the song is repetitive and not as impressive as other tracks. “Hello alone” is classic Anberlin and “a Whisper and A Clamor" is a sparkling alternative rock track that deserves many spins. The ending to this musical accomplishment is aptly named “(*Fin)” a nearly nine minute song which starts softly (never lacking emotion) until the song kicks into gear to become a emotional rock song instead of an emotional ballad. The end does drag on but the chorus of voices in the background helps the overall artistry of the song and album.
Desiring to be more than a simple rock and roll band dealing in temporal things Christian says “When I look back on my life, I want it to have meaning”, he also goes on to say he wants to invest in people’s lives. An admirable effort and his lyrics do offer hope in tracks like "The Unwinding Cable Car” where the singer offers help to a friend (This is the correlation of salvation and love…I'll guard your heart/ with quiet words I'll lead you in"). “Dismantle. Repair.” hopes knows for better times and says ‘Save me from myself’ (it’s unclear if it’s God or a friend he is talking to).
(*Fin)” is a very convicting song about sacrificing wives and children on wasted efforts for Christ (‘We're not questioning God./Just those he chose to carry on His cross.’) but the song is not without faults with the ill meant line ("Wish your drinking would hurry and kill you"). While still majoring on the subject of hope "Hello Alones’" path to get there is murky (‘Depression is the unholy ghost ... I've got the gun/ All I need is 10 cents for the bullet’). "Reclusion" gets a little dark while talking about the battle with inner demons with weird metaphors like killing people and strangling lovers. And the line on “Godspeed” is edgy ‘When needles and lovers collapse on guilty beds’.
Anberlin has gotten much better. Not that they were bad to begin with but the hard line vocals and the cutting edge alternative rock is among the best this writer has heard. But switching from Tooth and Nail to a lager mainstream label and performing with Fall out Boy and My Chemical Romance may have rubbed off on Cities the wrong way. Lyrically murky but musically powerful. What has the greater pull? (that’s a rhetorical question by the way).
Expect the Predictable | Posted August-01-2008
It took a week plus, one to, record Stellar Karts sophomore album (which is conveniently named We can’t Stand Sitting Down) and it was barely a year after their debut. But now Stellar Kart has taken their time to make an album that was of better quality. As a result of that more than a few songs were cut because of Stellar Karts knack for making a few tracks that are a wee to repetitive. What left is a ten track album called Expect the Impossible.
Frontman Adam Agee cut down the amount of punk in their latest to allow for a more ‘80s pop rock style to attract more fans while keeping their old fans as well. It sounds like Stellar Kart has been taking lessons from Hawk Nelson on a couple songs, most prominently on the first and last tracks. The first single, “Jesus loves you” sounds like a cheesy remake of their previous hit “me and Jesus” in an attempt to recreated the success. And while the song did make it into the top five songs it didn’t have the same musical spark or lasting effect that “me and Jesus” had. The album overall, with a few exceptions, struggles with keeping the tune smooth as former albums, the result from making the pop rock a main piece of their music as opposed to the punk. “Innocent” is a fun up beat pop rock beat but it doesn’t sound cutting edge.
Unfortunately most of the songs follow a similar pattern of music which allows a individual song to stand on its own but “sunshine” and “automatic” sound very similar and neither are very compelling. The single “shine like the stars” starts like softly as if preparing for an explosion (funny that “I give up” starts that same way) and it does into the hardest song, but still edgy, on the album, and really the only one that can be called rock. the intro to “eyes” in snappy, and it’s just a prelude to a catchy song that flows very nicely. While the final song “letters” might have been preformed y someone more professional at doing ballads, the song is nice and Stellar Kart showed a lot of passion on it.
The lyrics have never been a source or real complexity for Stellar Kart, as their basic messages more often than not are too cliché. And while Agee says the lyrics are still ‘simple’ and ‘direct’ they do seem to have a little more on their stuff than ‘life is good/ eternal life is better’. While “Innocent” brings up an interesting point (‘I know why the good old days are gone/Cause everyone just tolerates what's wrong’), “Jesus Loves you” isn’t nearly as weak or repetitive as the title suggests. One of the few songs in Christian music that considers prayer, “pray” encourages prayer, plus “i give up” is all about sacrifice for God. Stellar Kart may not be Relient K when it comes to witty writing but there are a few amusing lines like ‘I surrender/ I’m raising my white flag’ (“I give up”) and ‘sure as a Phoenix sun rise/ and the Yanks in the playoffs every year’ (“automatic). Not so many clichés this time around but still there are some weak points like “the right one” and “sunshine” (‘hey you are my sunshine/on a rainy day it will be okay’). “letters” is also a nice addition.
Agee wanted something for everyone including sounds from Linkin Park and Simple Plan. But that really didn’t bleed through as their quality wasn’t even close to them or their Christian peers like Hawk Nelson, Eleventyseven, or Everyday Sunday. After three albums Stellar Kart should be passed the stage that they have been in for a while now, and while the lyrics are more advanced the music and themes are a little subpar on Expect the Impossible.
A good start but look for the “time in between” albums | Posted July-30-2008
New artist Francesca Battistelli already is starting off nicely. Her First single “letting go” already broke into the top five songs in Christian music and her debut, My Paper Heart, is already turning some heads to this talented songwriter.
Francesca Battistelli is already being accepted by Christian music audiences with her upbeat pop and her piano driven light rock songs. Her uncommon voice will probably distance some people would normally enjoy her style of music as her voice sounds rough in places and at times they are reminiscent of Sarah Kelly. The piano plays a prominent role in the pop rock single “letting go” which has an upbeat tune and some great hooks, but overall it’s nothing spectacular. Her music songs more sophisticated which drifts past regular pop rock to avoid being put into the same genre as Krystal Meyers, and Barlow Girl.
Songs like “free to be me” are not complex but it has a nice beat, and the chorus flows nicely. “Blue sky” has a very retro, very dated sound, which is evocative to ‘80s Christian pop, where the quality was about as good as the Expos. Songs like that and the overly repetitive “forever love” really are not very impressive, but kudos to Francesca Battistelli for making a average song like “someday soon” into more enjoyable tunes with the simple addition of the background piano. Hints of twang are around in the ballad “behind the scenes” among a simple track.
While not fitting in with her peers in music department her lyrics follow a trend of feel-good emotional simple lyrics. Athough Francesca Battistelli celebrates originality of one’s self in Christ (‘But on Your shoulders I can see/I'm free to be me’), discuses depending on God (“letting Go”), and praising God (With everything inside I’ll run to You/‘Cause all that I’ve become I owe to You’ “forever love”) her lyrics are more milk than meat. And while her meaning in “unpredictable” is easily taken (‘Can't put You in a box/Can't keep You safely contained/You're gonna move the way’) but her key phrase ‘unpredictable’ doesn’t line up with Hebrews 13:8.
Think Addison Road when it comes to the lyrics and the music—but without the energy. But to replace that, Francesca Battistelli has passion. With “I’m letting go” being her most ambitious song, it doesn’t make My Paper Heart one of the top albums of the year.
Road to Revelation | Posted July-25-2008
Some years back, when Third Day was just creeping over the ten year mark as a band, an interviewer asked lead singer Mac Powell if he thought Third Day would make it as far as twenty years like the Band Avalon. Powell simply said he didn’t think so. Since the band’s debut in 1993 all Third Day has done is dominate the charts and flood the Christian air waves with singles, and with now eleven albums and more than a handful of awards is it possible that the bands fifteen year career is at an end? The CD is called Revelation after all, and the final book in the Bible was named that also.
It took about as much time for Third Day’s first single “call my name” to reach the top of the charts as it does to change the oil. The first thing that’s apparent from the song is that there is some spark to the song, an inspirational flow that is almost perfect, a jump back from the regular worship tunes to the southern rock act that fans were accustomed to. Surrounding that is “this is who I am”, a southern rock tune which puts a big role on the electric guitar and “slow down”, a fast moving, and almost certainly a future hit, and solid rock beat featuring Daughtry. The first half of the album is split into, with the heavier, grittier songs leading off, letting the softer materiel pad the back like the ballad “take is all”, a simple light piece which thrives on emotion. Allowing Flyleaf’s Lacey Mosley vocals take a part in “run to you” is an interesting ingredient which I don’t recall Third Day deploying before in that much of a dose, as the rock song is rough on the chorus but it maintains stability.
The title track isn’t as impressive as previous tracks but it does a decent job, but whoever was taking care of the electric guitar during ”other side” did a poor job because the he guitar gets out of control in a very loud song. Simplicity plays an unwelcome role in as Revelation progresses, simplicity and generic music. The up beat tune of “give love” is a little snappy and the banjo is a nice diversifying tactic, but the song at its heart is almost painfully basic. Lacey Mosley doesn’t seem to go away, because she enters again in “born again”, which would have been straight worship song had it not been for her vocals. “Caught up in yourself” is one of the southern rock tunes that lack fire, and it sounds too much like former tracks. It seems like Third Day ran out of energy when it came to the second half of the CD musically.
Third Day’s writing, more accurately Mac Powell, has always been recognized as impressive, despite their generally shallow singles which “call my name” is no exception. The song’s lyrics seemed to resemble “come on back to me” too much, and say what you will the song really isn’t that deep or original, it simply sounds terrifically emotional and inspirational. Nothing to unheard of is mentioned in the lyrics, “this is who I am” has very little to do with anything and “let me love you” sounds like a regular love song (‘Come on let me love you now/Come on let me love you /And hold you through the storm/I will keep you safe and warm’). “Take it All” has solid lyrics but it says ‘I can’t make it on my own’ which sounds like ‘I’ve got nothing without You’ in “revelation”. And speaking of “revelation” the song is about a man who has left God but is back and wanting a revelation from heaven that will say what he should do, despite that God has already told him what men should do in his book called the, um Bible. Missed that one Mac. The lyrics painfully fallow suit with songs like “other side” and “let me love you” where their best weapons are sounding emotional and meaningful.
Making the front Billboard is hard enough to do without being a band that has played in front of Christian audience for years. But Third Day made it, and along with some mainstream airplay there are other reasons to begin to doubt Third Day’s authenticity as a firm Christian band. Like the reason that three of the four bands they invited for the recording of Revelation (Daughtry, Hoobastank, P.O.D. and Flyleaf) are made up of Christians who mainly run the mainstream side of the fence when it comes to their music. Also, when discussing the new album (‘Our goal for the album is for these songs to hold out hope for people. Our desire is that people do relate to a lot of struggles that are in some of these songs, but at the same time on this album find strength and find hope and encouragement.’) Third Day guitarist Mark Lee fails to mentions God or eternal things. Mix in the fact that none of the lyrics on Revelation mention God by name and you might have a case and say Third Day has let their lyrics suffer for the new attention. However past albums and quotes make it doubtful that is the case and the ‘you’ in the songs cannot really be taken to mean someone other than God.
Back to the question that started off the review: of course not! Despite some idle speculation of this writer every indication says that we will be “enjoying” Third Days music for years to come. The vocals are more aggressive and the melodies have gotten harder, some of it is simple and generic but most of it is fresh southern rock music that fans have been enjoying for years. The lyrics are the same, the music isn’t much different, and the signs that Third Day might be leaning toward the mainstream side of things is a little premature… but not impossible.
It's about time Natalie Grant got Relentless | Posted July-22-2008
It’s been a while since Natalie Grant fans had something to cheer about. It had been almost three years since her last album Awaken in 2005. Recently the two time female vocalist of the year gave her fans the hit single “in better hands” which sounded like a former hit “held” and that set the stage for her latest Relentless.
It’s hard to tie down Natalie Grant’s music to one or two simple genres and Relentless is not exception as she throws out pop, medium rock, adult contemporary, and even a hint of hip hop on one track. Surprisingly there are no real worship songs, save the hymn “in Christ alone”. One thing that sticks out about Grant (that probably made her popular in the first place) is her emotional and sometimes over dramatic songs. There is plenty of evidence for that on “in better hands” which is a emotional, simple piano driven song, and “make a way” which is a ballad that stays very light from start to finish. Grant also tried her hand at rock a few times, most notably the single “I will not be moved” where in the middle of her medium rock chorus is the main piece from the hymn “my hope is built on nothing less” (which has a lot of twang to it).
Her success may not be rooted by the fact that she is attractive, as much as her voice is very solid, even among her moments of twang. An example of that lies with “safe” where her voice shines among the piano and violin in one of the albums abundance of ballads. The wild cards on Relentless may surprise fans musically like the up beat rock tune “make it better” and, especially “so long” where her music has a hip-hop flair and a style similar to that of Mary Mary and “shackles”. Natalie doesn’t seem to act her age, or at least what music style she should be doing on “let go” when her music gets up beat and almost catchy.
The key phrase and the reason for the title can be summed by Grant: ‘God is relentless because his love for us is limitless, unconditional and undying’. That theme definitely plays a part in her album on tracks like “make a way” (a song about a girl who left home in pursuit of fame but found hard years, but eventually Christ) and “our hope endures” which deals with the hope we can have when the darkest time hits. “I will not be moved” is taken from Psalm 62:2 and “so long” reflects on the redemption and her past self (‘Apathy, hunting me/Like some contagious disease/Hypocrisy hiding in the shadows… Those stains of my history are gone, gone, gone’).
For the hit single the fun of the song lasted about twenty seconds until the line ‘You cant love if you don’t love yourself’ (God’s word says something’s that contradict that statement) and while that line may have had you thinking this was somewhat about the matter of “self esteem” think again. According to Grant it’s about a person who suffered burns over 85% of his body. Okay nice but that story is not at all reflected in the song. And a few songs are not quite that impressive, especially “wonderful life” where the deepest line is ‘Is the perfect day to be alive/So no more waiting now’. While “make it matter has is a decent song at heart it gets a little cliché (‘Take my life and lift me up to the sky/Take my dreams and help me to fly’).
Except for the over stocked ballads and over dramatized tunes, her album is surprisingly musically sound… and diverse to, making Relentless a solid listen from beginning to end with few pot holes. However the album as a whole is not without faults because in the midst of her sweet sounding songs there is some lyrical depth lacked. That aside the time taken from Natalie Grant to make paid off enough to please fans and maybe make some new ones.
Rather than "fall apart" TFK has gotten tougher | Posted July-16-2008
“The music industry is a crazy place; you have people working at musical labels who don’t know if they will have a job tomorrow” states lead singer and songwriter Trevor McNevan about how the future of artists these days are uncertain. Somehow it’s hard to picture that about Thousand Foot Krutch. After three rock albums, two of which have been very popular, TFK has certainly climbed to a place above most Christian rock artists. But if they were in a state of emergency and each album they put out had to be good enough to keep them above water, they can stop worrying about their latest The Flame in all of Us.
Previous albums have seen Thousand Foot Krutch bang on their drums and guitars almost the entire CD, but The Flame in all of Us does some of that but they add more ballads to allow their music to become more melodic. No better example is there than the title track where the opening absolutely rock, but towards the second half the song turns into inspirational and emotionally charged rock in a way we have never seen before by this band. Also a change is the amount of ballads, usually there is one per CD, but The Flame in all of Us contains a few. The light “wish you well” is made up of an acoustic guitar, a violin, and McNevan’s voice; the result is a great ballad which is bursting with emotion. Of course no Thousand Foot Krutch album is complete without the strong rock tracks. The fan favorite “falls apart” which starts heavy with a good intro and continues to be a solid rock song with a good beat. “New drug” is a hard tune with an annoying verse and a solid refrain, and “the safest place” is a hard rock tune with a bridge which includes an overload of unnecessary yelling.
Another ingredient that is added in the album is the hint of the punk music, as it appears that McNevans other band, FM Static, rubbed off a little on this release. The single “what do we know” has a small punk influence, but the result is positive with a great tune despite a repetitive chorus and an odd placed children’s choir. The final song on the album, aptly named “last song”, has some of the FM Static feel along with its clever light rock frame. The bridge on “learn to breathe” really strengthens an already good medium rock song and although “favorite disease” sounds odd the music progresses through the song. “My home” is closer to a soft rock song, but for TFK it qualifies as a ballad, and a solid one at that. The rock song “broken wing” suffers from Trevor’s high voice at the beginning and it’s ever changing tunes where sometimes it’s good and other times bad; it is possible that the erratic music of the song reflects the lyrics. The hardest song on the album is “inhuman” which in the midst of the yelling and loud music manages to find a good flow.
The band that brought you the confusing, and almost indecipherable, hits “phenomenon” and “art of breaking” are back but with this time it seems that McNevan’s lyrics are more accessible. While talking about the albums messages McNevan said: ‘I feel that what we do in it's form and fashion, is every bit as much worship as a Chris Tomlin, or a Matt Redman’. Which is, of course, why he doesn’t use a metaphor about a strong tower or a consuming fire for God but a drug (“new drug”). Thousand Foot Krutch also uses the metaphor “favorite disease” when talking about God as the song says ‘Show me, teach me, the way to heaven, 'cause no other way can’ but also’ I Love the way you kill me’. “Home” makes more sense as a worship song (‘You are my home, you are my shelter ...when all my hope is gone’) and “inhuman” contemplates God’s holiness (‘I'm alive, because You touched me, take away the things that crush me,/No one else can save me like You do, You're in human,’).
Back to back songs talk about addiction (“broken wing”, and “safest place”), the former is about a man and a woman struggling with a drug/alcohol addiction; it’s depressing but it ends in hope (‘You can heal in time, if you try,/It'll be okay, you can walk away,’). The title track talks about the thing (the flame) that keeps us alive and running but the cause is not mentioned directly. “Falls apart” is about the consequences when we go our own way instead of God’s (‘Falls apart, every thing around me/Falls apart, when I walk away from you’). Inspired by the events of tragedies (Katrina, Virginia Tech, and 9/11) “what do we know” contemplates our inability to control things and it hints toward the need for God. The “last song” isn’t anything but an extra cut ‘remember when, we first became a band/We'd set up in the bedroom, practice all night long…, this is the last song.../so everybody sing along’; and “my own enemy” isn’t lyrically spectacular.
Quick history lesson: Stet it off; a group of pop/rock/punk songs that didn’t go together and weren’t very impressive lyrically. Phenomenon: a hard rocking CD with plenty of good tracks. Art of Braking: a repetitive rock album musically and a confusing album lyrically. Now here is The Flame in all of Us, a rock CD which has more ballads than their last two combined, with some punk sprinkled in. Some Fans may not appreciate Thousand Foot Krutch’s latest because every song isn’t rock, but this album might attract new fans as well. With the Flame in all of Us being TFK’s most artistic album to date Trevor McNevan and the band won’t have to worry being out of work.
Third Day's career of reaching for the “mountain of God” | Posted July-13-2008
Third Day has been busy. What else can explain 23 dove awards, three GRAMMY Awards, and multiple ASCAP honors for their songwriting abilities? The first installment of the recounting of Third Day’s career was Chronology: Volume One, a few months later Chronology, Volume Two 2001-2006 was released. It Contains 18 songs of Third Day’s works over the last five years, and bonus material.
Third Day’s music is worship. Sure they have their moments of southern rock and lead singer Mac Powel does have twang in his voice but at heart their music is essentially praise and worship. Chronology recounts many of Third Day’s smash hits like the worship tune “Show me your glory” and “mountain of God” which is employs an emotional tune. Part of Third Day’s success has been rooted in their inspirational songs and the music that follows suit like “Cry Out To Jesus (Live in Mobile)” a ballad which was released to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Third Day lets loose occasionally with their southern rock act with songs like “rock star”, a song that is fast paced and appealing, but put up against rock hits, it sounds too edgy and unrefined. Other rock tunes are “come on back to me” and “come together”, but they are not as heavy and they are worship songs at heart.
Third Day’s music is generic. For all the hype and chart climbing (mostly sitting down on the number one song) their music is really nothing earth shattering like “tunnel” which is repetitive, and “I believe”. Since Atlanta is the spawning point for Third Day it’s not surprising that most of their live songs comes from that place in Georgia. “You Are So Good To Me (Live in Atlanta)” doesn’t lack the spark that some live songs lose on live discs, but “I can feel it” lacks because of a long introduction from Powel. But it manages to be a high energy song. “God Of Wonders (Live in Philadelphia)” loses a little fire in Philly, but it is a new recording of the song. The band apparently doesn’t mind singing other artists songs like “Creed (Live in Portland)” (Rich Mullins) and “Blessed Assurance (Live in Atlanta)” (Fanny Crosby), unfortunately neither are very good. The heavily country influenced “movin' On Up” was used on The Second Chance film. “I see love” proves Third Day, Mac Powel in particular, are pretty popular as he is joined by Steven Curtis Chapman and Mark Hall to sing on the guitar ballad that was used for the Passion of the Christ.
Third Day’s songs are very inspirational. It isn’t the music that gets Third Day to the top of the charts song after song, it’s their inspirational (sometimes way to) songs. “Come together” is an earnest cry for union between believers, but “sing a song” lacks a lot of depth (‘I want to sing a song for You, Lord/Lord, for You I want to sing a song’). There are not really any bits that would do “cry out to Jesus” any justice as it covers an abundance of errors, and of any Third Day hit this one may have the best song writing. “I see love” goes over the certain assumptions on who Jesus was, but the song actually never really picks one except ‘I see love’ with the ending lacking some objectiveness. “Come back to me isn’t a deep song but it does take the place of God as he looks on his children (‘Well, I got all you want/and everything you need/Come on back to me). A “rock star” feels like something is missing in his life (‘People waiting all day in line to see me/Doing my pose for Rolling Stone/…But, to you I'm something/Something so much more’).
Third Day’s lyrics are not complex. Picture the focal point on “I believe” in a pagan song “Most of all, most of all/I believe in love” it’s a perfect fit; it also says nothing about God. “You are so good to me” says ‘You are beautiful my sweet, sweet song’. Now where is that in the Scripture? There isn’t too much theological growth in “tunnel”, in fact it doesn’t mention God, what it’s about is: ‘There's a light at the end of this tunnel’. Not quite cliché but really simple lyrics show up on “nothing compares” (‘Nothing compares to the greatness of knowing You, Lord’) and “I Can Feel It”. While “mountain of God” may sound really inspirational it really doesn’t hold deep truths. A good moment comes on "carry Me Home (from rare 2001 EP)” where Mac Powel sings ‘My will is broken /Your will be done /I'll follow you no matter what may come’.
Third Day will still be very popular. After being the first Christian band to land on the front of Billboard and another radio hit “call my name” (which incidentally sounds like “come back to me”) off of their upcoming album Revelation, it would seem to indicate that we can expect more of Third Day… and more chronologies.
Worth more than a Counterfeit Dollar | Posted July-11-2008
Ever wonder what Anberlin might sound if they were punk rock? Well wonder no more because now we have a close example. The debut album for the band Capital Lights is here, and it’s an outstanding blend of Relient K, and Anberlin, with some bits that sound like Eleventyseven and Run Kid Run. The result is one of the best punk/power pop/rock, with a hint of emo rock, albums in a while.
The beats are really outstanding, as Capital Lights shows impressive maturity, as they barley let up on the music at all. The techno introduction to “outrage” is outstanding and will remind listeners of Eleventyseven, as the quality of the punk/rock was shockingly good as the song has zero faults. The flow of “miracle man” is just superb, while the tune changes in the song are easy and keep the song interesting. It’s almost like Capital Lights tries a retro rock act on “remember the day” as the pop rock sounds a little dated in places, without sounding subpar; also the pop punk music is a little softer than other tracks. The chorus on “work it out” is reminiscent of Crumbächer as it has a more emotional tune to go along with its excellent bridge. The weakest song is “return” as the song never really catches fire and it stays a solid power punk song.
The punk rock music does begin to sound just a little similar toward the end of the album when it comes to “kick it off” which is an above average song and “The Night of Your Life Is When You'll Die” which has a fast paced beat. One of the highlights over the highlights is soft “mile away” which blends the pop music with the dated tune that turns into a clever beat with an exceptional refrain. Keeping things moving and fresh in a CD, even one with exceptional music, is important, and Capital Lights pulls that off with “let the little lady talk”, with it’s odd chorus and a solid beat, and “Frank Morris”. The final song clocks in at 5:15 of fun punk/emo rock that has a nice easy flow with a tremendous, emotional finish.
In the midst of the clever writing (not quite Relient K good) and the weak pointless songs about relationships (“let the little lady talk”, Miracle man”) is a lack of strong spiritual themes. Songs like “Outrage” and “Worth As Much As A Counterfeit Dollar” could have used a little more clarity about the point of the songs, but the lyrics are not cliché. The least impressive song “return” is the most theological track on This is an Outrage, as it is details events that will happen in the end times (‘On the hour that you left us unknown/We're standing firm! The trumpet sounds!’). Songs like “Frank Morris” hint at more lyrical relevance—but none are confirmed) as it goes through the story of one of the prisoners in the escape from Alcatraz. It’s a shame that the songs only hints at what exactly it’s about as the song writing is good.
While it’s not really fair to call this a debut phenomenon, but the band has experience in the guise of AfterEight. Nevertheless the music is exceptional and if This is an Outrage is put with other similar bands that have put out CD’s this year (Hawk Nelson, Run Kid Run, and Stellar Kart) it would clearly top them in musical value. Capital Lights though could give a little more access and clarity when it comes to their lyrics. The song :outrage puts it this way: ‘Take my goodbyes with love and meaningful lyrics’. We don’t want them to say goodbye but we want more of the ‘meaningful lyrics’.
The "feeling" isn't quite right about this album | Posted July-07-2008
Kutless’ latest effort, To Know that you are Alive hit the top twenty on ITunes, and the single “the feeling” is getting more airplay, their newest album certainly looks like it will be another hit for the rock group. But that doesn’t guarantee that it will be a solid album, as Kutless has been known for underachieving with their basic rock tunes.
The music To Know that you are Alive is obviously rock, and very solid, and refined rock at that. What’s the problem? Sadly not much has changed since Hearts of the Innocence and Kutless’ newest album. The opening song “The feeling” rocks loudly from start to finish, as it has an exceptional chorus, and the title track also is a heavy rock song with a good flow. Unfortunately both of those songs sound too similar, a problem that reoccurs on the album. Another frustrating thing in their album is “dying to become”; the song blends a great tune with a good music, until they get to carried way with the electric guitar making the song only so-so.
“Complete” is a rock worship song that is impressive, and “overcoming me” is another solid rock tune, but neither are nothing new to rock music, or even Kutless fans. One head scratching song is “sleeping city” which is just instrumental; the music is nice yes but the point of the track is missed. A sense of emergency is fused with “Disease and the cure” which is a heaviest song that unfortunately lacks a defining chorus. “Guiding me home” is the lightest song on the album, as the music has more emotion to than others, and “promise you” is another soft rock tune that is basic but solid.
Kutless keeps eternity in focus on To Know that you are Alive whether the singer is admitting that only in God can he be “complete” or understanding that this world is not his home on “I do not belong”(‘This world is not my home/I’m a stranger in this land’). But some of their lyrics get a little cliché and trend on already plowed roads. “Overcoming me” states ‘just need you to love me’ and “guiding me home” says ‘You say that You love me always and forever’. “Disease and the cure” contemplates the infection of sin and what overcomes it, and lead singer Jon Micah Sumrall sings about “dying to become” like Jesus Christ.
Strong song writing shows up on “Promising you” which it deals with bitterness and forgiveness over a bad friendship (‘I can’t deny these thoughts of hate/The poison adding to my shame/Forgiveness can’t take scars away/But I forgive you anyway’). “To know that you are alive” isn’t about God like perhaps the title suggests (‘I know your pain is for a reason/You need to feel just to know that you’re alive’) and “you” is a basic worship song. Overall the lyrics are not bad yet they don’ reflect much growth.
Kutless’ rock music didn’t quite get out of the shadow on their worship album Strong Tower on Hearts of the innocent. And To Know that you are Alive probably won’t either. The music isn’t that much different than on Hearts of the Innocent and if any change was made about the lyrics, it went backwards. Not a bad album for Kutless, but the lack of anything new to offer will probably not make To Know that you are Alive the album fans wanted.
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