Pieces of a Real Heart
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Sanctus Real The Christian music industry is a sour, messy place. Theoretically, Christian music should be the best music in the world: powerful songwriting comes from good inspiration, so the most powerful music in...
Now Is Not Forever
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Brian The main attraction of B.Reith’s The Forecast EP was the song “Go On,” a hilarious journey through a night when the singer/songwriter/rapper performs, filled with his name getting mispronounced and his...
Monster Monster
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The Almost When Christian metalcore band Underoath recorded Define the Great Line in 2006, singer/drummer Aaron Gillespie had a lot of free time. So he made up a side project, called The Almost, and recorded an...
Inspirationless, Judged Fairly | Posted March-04-2010
The Christian music industry is a sour, messy place. Theoretically, Christian music should be the best music in the world: powerful songwriting comes from good inspiration, so the most powerful music in the world would sensibly come from musicians who are playing under the direct inspiration of the creator of the universe. Talented musicians use creativity straight from The Creator in order to worship Him and also give fellow believers a way to gather together in a simple and earnest form of worship for everyone. But rarely is this the case, for these modern rock/gospel bands are often cited for bringing terrible music to the world, music that rewrites pop songs with biblical lyrics.
Honestly, a lot of religious artists are this way. They have a heart to make music that is worshipful, but they lack some mix of the real musical talent or divine inspiration needed to create the caliber of music God deserves. That’s when a listener must remember that Christian music has become an “industry.” Gospel record labels need to have a roster of artists that keep selling records. Sometimes, even talented bands who have clearly worn the stamp of God’s touch in their music sometimes end up releasing an album that simply doesn’t have inspiration.
In 2008, Sanctus Real (whose name technically means “true holiness”) released We Need Each Other, a fantastic album that mixed meaningful lyrics with flawless and oftentimes unique pop/rock songwriting. Their follow-up, 2010’s Pieces of a Real Heart, is no such masterpiece. With the release of their fifth full-length record, the band clearly knows what they’re doing. As musicians and songwriters, they know how to put 2 +2 together so to form well-crafted pop tunes. But the inspiration isn’t present at all. Not only is the music retreading past ground, but the melodies don’t have any true emotion and the lyrics rarely have much to say. It’s not hard to fall for the catchy hook and chugging guitars of “Take Over Me” or to enjoy the story of a growing child in “I’ll Show You How to Live,” but the album is just a template with no lasting effect.
The album’s brightest spot is “Dear Heart,” with its quirky indie-pop feel and its revelatory lyrics: “Dear heart, do you belong to me or do I belong to you? Just look at all the trouble you dragged me into. I’ve heard it said to follow your heart, but oh heart, you’ve let me down, chasing love where it can’t be found. All of your emotions have led me to doubt.” But even if this song were perfect, an album could never be recommended when it advertises a real heart and in fact has no heart at all.
Fair Review, Amazing Solo Revival | Posted March-02-2010
When Christian metalcore band Underoath recorded Define the Great Line in 2006, singer/drummer Aaron Gillespie had a lot of free time. So he made up a side project, called The Almost, and recorded an entire debut album single-handedly. This album, Southern Weather , showed that Gillespie could hold his own as a musician. However, his relatively unskilled guitar playing caused the album to be stylistically monotonous, the main emphasis of the album lying on Gillespie’s unique drum rhythms and trademark vocals.
Something big happened between then and now: The Almost became a band. Now backed by a group of established musicians, Aaron Gillespie returned to the studio with an onslaught on new possibilities. On this album, Monster Monster , Gillespie provides only the vocals and the drumming, both of which have improved. But the new players, Dusty Redmon, Jay Vilardi and Alex Aponte, add the true essence to this new album, bringing a high level of variety to the music’s sound. Whereas the debut was monotonous in scope and tone, the sophomore record contains large amounts of big harmonies, acoustic guitars, pop choruses, guitar solos and (most importantly) southern-country twang.
The album’s first two tracks, “Monster Monster” and “Lonely Wheel,” pull the listener in with the driving guitars of the debut. But everything gets better from here. Following are songs like the primarily acoustic “No I Don’t,” the single “Hands” with its gang vocal chorus propelled by a mass of layered guitars, and the uber-country “Hand Grenade” with its passionate lyrics Please let me find you / Please let me know just what you want / If you’re an ocean, I want to jump right in / If you’re a hand grenade, I’ll pull the pin / I’ll run right back to you. “Want To” has the best chorus of the bunch, holstered by powerful guitar riffs running beneath it. The album ends with the retrospective acoustic-and-steel guitar number “Monster” that turns into a lengthy and raging bluegrass guitar solo.
After such a linear debut, it is absolutely astonishing how The Almost have crafted an album of such a broad array of styles. Every addition to the band’s sound helps make them stronger, more unique and a whole lot more fun to listen to. Monster Monster has so much to offer its listeners, from thoughtful lyrics to strongly-produced sounds to rock-for-country-fans and country-for-rock-fans. I highly recommend you listen to this album.
Fair Review, Strong Pop/Rap Mix | Posted March-02-2010
The main attraction of B.Reith’s The Forecast EP was the song “Go On,” a hilarious journey through a night when the singer/songwriter/rapper performs, filled with his name getting mispronounced and his person getting confused with Jason Priestly, JC Chasez, and “that dude from That 70’s Show.” B.Reith’s full length debut, titled Now Is Not Forever, kicks off with “The Comeback Kid,” a direct sequel to the aforementioned tune. Reith has returned triumphant and confident, showing off his killer rhymes and strong melodies over rock guitars and buzzing synthesizers akin to Motion City Soundtrack. “We’re at the bottom of the charts, but we’re aimin’ high,” he raps, “it’s kind of hard when they still can’t say your name right! We get knocked down but we get right back up.”
If making a perfect balance between rapping and singing throughout the album weren’t enough, Reith’s songs show an endlessly eclectic assortment of musical styles, such as the blues and soul of “Goodness Gracious,” the piano ballad of “Antidote,” or the retro sounds of “Old School,” sounding just as authentic as do songs by Amy Winehouse. Two other songs, “Wish That” and the lead single “Mess,” contain Jason Mraz-styled acoustic guitars, a bouncing bass line, jazzy guitar solos, and soothing horn sections. The lyrics of the songs are also a high point, showing that Reith can be as potent and relevant as he is hilarious. “Wish That” shows Reith learning that when you give someone your heart, chances are you won’t get it back, whereas “Mess” has Reith confessing for his stumbles and realizing that he needs to put the focus of his life into matters of importance. “Mess” in particular shows off flawlessly written rhymes and rhythms.
Reith’s boyish singing voice, in spite of being very smooth and easy to hear, isn’t nearly as convicting and strong as Reith’s rapping voice, so the album slightly falters on songs where Reith chooses to strictly sing. For example, even though “Antidote” is well orchestrated and builds to an exciting ending, the lyrics about a girl needing to find a man good for her life simply aren’t very convincing. But like any good hip hop artist, the album has a large amount of tunes with enough quality to make up for any slight mishaps.
I highly urge everyone to check out this man’s excellent music, and here’s the perfect way how: B.Reith’s sampler B.Reith EP is currently being sold for free on amazon.com, featuring the songs “The Comeback Kid,” “Mess,” “Wish That,” and “Go On.”
Superb Talent Running out of Inspiration, Judged Fairly | Posted February-25-2010
The Rocket Summer, power-pop brainchild of DFW-based multi-instrumentalist Bryce Avary, has already released three albums of his sugary summertime pop with consistently wise and inspirational lyrics. The last album, 2007’s near masterpiece Do You Feel, was released by Island Def Jam Records and gave Avary the kind of attention he deserves: he writes and plays every instrument for his extraordinary songs. His new album, Of Men and Angels, is no different. In fact, there lies the problem.
When one man makes all the decisions and writes all the parts for his own music, he will undoubtedly be repeating himself. He has no outside influences or ideas to help him change or grow his music, so this man will start repeating his own ideas and songs. The Rocket Summer’s fourth album still contains the great sing-a-long anthems (“You Gotta Believe”), beautiful harmonies (“Something to Live For”), rocking guitars (“Roses”) and breath-taking layers of instrumentation (“Let You Go” and “Hills and Valleys”) that Avary’s fans have come to expect. But for all of those great songs, there are also songs like “Walls,” a ballad with a piano line uncomfortably similar to older songs, an inevitable build-up with violin flourishes, and the clichéd anti-depression refrain “I’ll help you break the walls down.”
Trying to balance moral righteousness with the life of a famous (and married) touring musician has given Avary plenty of strong stories to sing about, but even his lyrics have flaws. The album’s title track successfully shows Avary declining the life of fame, but “Japanese Exchange Student” tries to relate his popular image to the likes of Beyonce’, Paul McCartney, and Japanese students. A slight change of pace is “Tara, I’m Terrible,” an acoustic love song devoted to Avary’s wife, but the song probably should have stayed private because it doesn’t have the songwriting quality to deserve its spot on the album.
Avary’s talent will always be commendable for the fact that he can write four albums completely singlehandedly, but he needs to get some new help or start dabbling in new styles if he wants to keep his new music fresh. Otherwise, his large amount of talent will continue down a misled path toward redundancy and irrelevance.
Continuation of Past Greatness, Judged Fairly | Posted February-22-2010
One of the biggest surprises of the previous decade was the debut album from Canadian root-rockers Newworldson. Released in February of 2008, the album seamlessly mashed 50’s soul, 70’s funk, 90’s jam rock, and plenty of jazzy gospel into a wholly original and fun sound. The album had comedic lyrics, huge amounts of jam-styled solos (from every instrument, even a kazoo), and a solid foundation for future projects. Two years later, the guys are back with their self-titled sophomore album.
Starting out the album with an immediate punch is “You Set the Rhythm,” bouncing with huge standing-bass-lines, a western-movie-styled solo and goofy harmonies. Soon thereafter is album highlight “In Your Arms,” a beautiful tune with crunchy guitars from driving force Josh Toal leading the group through their trademark sound. But much of the album has songs like these: great songs that simply aren’t too different from the debut. Although full of immensely talented musicians who play together and bounce off each other with masterful precision, the band cannot thrive if they keep rereleasing what is essentially the same record. Some of the album’s most notable moments come when the quartet is trying new things.
The first example, lead single “There is a Way,” tones back much of the southern funk in order to perform an inspiring and straightforward exercise in retro-soul. Conversely, second single “That’s Exactly (How I Like It)” takes away the gospel and soul aspects in order to present pure funk, which unfortunately results in the album’s most repetitious and grating track. But this song cannot quite outdo the awkward and out-of-place cover of “Jamaican Praise Medley.” Both songs, the latter being a mash-up of authentic Caribbean hymnals, would be exciting and fun to hear live, but they lack flavor in their recorded versions.
Even though Newworldson clearly love jamming upbeat songs together, their songwriting skills are at a high when they sing ballads. Their debut only had one ballad, but it was a standout track. Here, the main ballad on display is “Rocky Road,” where the superb vocals of Joel Parisian sing, “We’re casting stones even though we’re all sinners, pointing fingers and we’re calling out names. But on this rocky road, there ain’t no one among us without blame.” Another ballad, “O Lament” is like a mix of a Spanish film’s soundtrack, Norah Jones and Thrice’s Earth EP, and the album concludes with a peaceful mood-setting ballad “Weary.” All future releases could be stronger if the band would allow for turning down the tempo sliders more often.
Newworldson is more of a continuation of prior greatness than a praiseworthy piece of art by itself, but the potential remains and the band’s debut continues to be one of the greatest hidden gems from the past decade. A good cliché to sum up this album: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Anyone who considers themselves a son of this New World in which we live can find pleasure in something this band does. If nothing else, they always have the ability to put a smile on the listener’s face.
(I give fair reviews, masterpieces get 5) | Posted October-26-2009
3.5 out of 5 stars
The Texas acoustic gospel duo of Shane Everett and Shane Barnard produce some of the most spell-bounding music in the industry. Onlookers throughout the music industry have noticed how Shane & Shane not only play their acoustic guitar more uniquely than most mainstream rockers know how, but they sing some of the most impressive and beautiful harmonies ever put to tape. Altogether, their music is completely singular and I have personally seen this band live. It was one of the most impressive, magical performances I have ever seen musicians give. The music is simple but spectacular. The lyrics are often biblically-based, but never dull. And as said, the harmonies never fail to reach the heights of heaven. This band is not just something Christians can enjoy listening to: it in fact should be essential listening for anyone who wishes to be a guitarist or singer.
Their 2009 record Everything is Different begins with the energy-full title track that contains all of the greatness mentioned above along with guitars similar to a stripped-down John Mayer. The next track, titled “The Lord’s Prayer” effectively uses the famed verse as its lyric, which is quite ingenious because most listeners will hear this great song for the first time already knowing the lyrics.
Much of the album follows it suit, with the songs containing a backdrop of mainly acoustic guitars and the two vocalists almost always singing over one another. The lyrics can sometimes be as simple as the refrain of “I love you, Lord,” but each song offers up its share of insight and honest reflection. This simple formula, with songs written by two visionary and spiritual worship leaders, always leads to good music, but the results rarely yield surprises. On the other hand, multiple listens of each song will surely lead to the revelation of not only more insight but also brilliant little moments of music that are well-crafted and subtly performed.
The album does have some surprises though. One such surprise is “My Portion,” the bluesy tune with tinges of organ and musical interludes setting it apart from the pack. Electric instruments finally come near the end, packing a Starfield-like punch with the powerful “My Hope is Built.” But with the fact that so few songs have stand-out qualities, the numbers can easily bleed together and lead to a partially boring listening experience if taken in one big dose.
This album nearly reaches the rare feat of every song being great; unfortunately, “This is Who I Am” is simply good, filled to the brim with violins and cliches. Nevertheless, this album secures Shane & Shane’s spot as ever-growing musicians and leaders who are some of the best harmonists in the business. It’s a little unfortunate that the album ends with three pointless radio edits of songs already heard on the album, but at least listeners can rest assured that the album’s three most energetic (acoustic) songs will soon be hitting the radio: the title track, “I’m Alive,” and “Rain Down.” These songs are far from being the essential Shane and Shane compositions, so I highly suggest that if you aren’t interested in this album, go hear their songs “Burn Us Up,” “May the Few,” “I Miss You,” and their so-great-it’s-flabbergasting rendition of “O Holy Night.” And if you ever get the chance to see these guys live, take it. You won’t be disappointed.
Live Life Loud by Chase Tremaine | Posted September-21-2009
The album starts out with the cheerleading chants of the title track, entering into a fun and message-full song of punk-pop pleasure, clearly stating to all listener’s that Hawk Nelson are staying the same for their fourth album in a row. Hawk has never been the kind of band to change or even mature their sound. They just slightly refine their sound of adjust how they mix their formula of CCM, punk, pop, and alternative rock. Plenty of the songs are short-and-sweet morsels of Christian punk, but Hawk have been as well known for their ballads ever since 2006's great hit “Everything You Ever Wanted.” The band continues to write with longtime collaborator Trevor McNevan, but this time around Hawk even has a song with TobyMac. The vocals are fine (hitting a high in rambunctious “Alive” and the gorgeous “Shaken), but the band actually sounds unique when they give the music a moment in the spotlight as well, like in the stellar intro and bridge of “Meaning of Life.” The songwriting may be simple, but Hawk Nelson is great at what they do.
Beggars by Chase Tremaine | Posted September-21-2009
Thrice have always been well-known for their growing ambition and creativity, but their new album Beggars sees the band attempting something new: creating groove that will make the body move before making the head start thinking, as Thrice music will always do. The music is constantly fantastic, but some weak attributes make it clear that Thrice don’t perfectly know how to “groove” just yet.
Thrice: “Beggars” Released September 15, 2009 on Vagrant Records
4 out of 5 stars
After releasing a few albums of extremely ambitious material that was simultaneously brilliant and isolating (2005’s Vheissu and the double release of The Alchemy Index in 2007 and 2008), Thrice return with an album that plays in similar soundscapes as the previous albums but is easier to enjoy and has more groove. This record, 2009’s Beggars, was created through jamming instead of through long and tedious thought-processes and musical architecture. The result is a group of songs that is musically adventurous and cohesive while also trying to walk the fine line of being both fun and inventive. A few songs work perfectly, but usually the album falls into portions that are weak because they are simply jams: these songs were created with emphasis on the feeling more than the thought, so not every song has enough groove, and others have underdeveloped vocals that don’t carry enough melody. The album is overall a strong collection, but the album has enough weak spots, especially in the second half, that overshadow the creative efforts with boredom.
The songs “Circles” and “At the Last” are prime examples of the strengths and weaknesses of the record. “Circles” has fine musicianship (especially in the song’s shining ending) and lyrics (”We set sail with no fixed star in sight, we drive by braille and candlelight”), appearing quite beautiful and soothing, but the melodies are boring and low in craftsmanship. “At the Last” has great vocals and lyrics throughout most of the song, and it also showcases some of the album’s best guitar riffs, but the chorus melody is so monotonous and dull that the song loses all apparent worth.
On levels other than the actual musical composition, the album is spotless and glorifying. Guitarist Teppei Teranishi steps into the producer’s chair once again, proving the talent behind this band, and singer Dustin Kensrue’s lyrics are more poignant and relevant than ever. Most of the album deals with staying humble and hopeful during both life’s victories and its trials, constantly remembering that life on earth is not as important as the eternal life to come. “The Weight” is a harshly realistic but also proverbial and empowering ode to marriage. “In Exile” is a gentle tune with a heavy Pedro the Lion-influence that sings a beautiful chorus. Some of the album’s best moments are also the darkest. The driving and invigorating lead single “All the World is Mad” talks of exactly what its title suggests, and the title track “Beggars” is a build-up about how people of the world think so highly of themselves when on the grand scale they are all so small, bringing a fitting and memorable end to the album. The highlight of the record, however, is “Doublespeak,” which in general speaks about hypocrisy. The greatness of the song though lies in its completely realized sense of the aforementioned “groove,” with its bouncing piano lines, dancing drum strokes, and melodies that are both smart and memorable. The entire album hits a peak during this song, which hints that a more refined record in this style could be a masterpiece.
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