The Light Meets The Dark
by
Tenth Avenue North Wow, been waiting for this one for quite a while. Especially after getting to see these guys live a couple of months ago, they were awesome by the way. But I am a little puzzled about the direction the...
The Outsiders
by
NEEDTOBREATHE Needtobreathe released "The Outsiders" last fall, and I downloaded it immediately from iTunes. They had teased us with songs like "Lay 'em Down" and "These Hard Times". But this album is full of hit...
The Light Meets the Dark, A deeper look | Posted May-13-2010
Wow, been waiting for this one for quite a while. Especially after getting to see these guys live a couple of months ago, they were awesome by the way. But I am a little puzzled about the direction the guys are going....it is going to take me a few days to really get into the lyrics and melodies before I make a final judgement, but "The Light Meets The Dark" seems to be heading in a different direction from "Over and Underneath" musically. To me "Light" is heading toward a sound very similar to Switchfoot, and lyrically even though their faith is in there everything is mainstream friendly. Not that there is anything wrong with that, look at Switchfoot and Needtobreathe, they get to share their faith with a lot more people than the average Christian artist or band ever would. After a couple more days of listening I hope to update this review with my final thoughts.
Update 5/13/2010 - I have spent the last two days listening to "The Light Meets The Dark" trying to get a better feel for the music and the lyrics. I must say this is a really good CD, and would be a great second album for anybody else, but I was expecting more for these guys. From a Christian stand point I was really looking for more of what they gave us with Over and Underneath. As a fan of Tenth Avenue North I definitely like the cd, the music is good, the lyrics are deep:
The Truth Is Who You Are
Flesh and blood, You offer us
Oh to eat the bread and drink the cup
Oh to taste, to see, to feel, to touch
Emmanuel
God with us
Emmanuel
God with us
Cuz You came to bring the chains apart
You wake the dead and sleeping of our hearts
You gave us truth
The truth is who You are
Its who You are
Its who You are
Its who You are
For some reason at the end of the CD I am still looking for more. There are some good tracks, I would recommend:
The Truth Is Who You Are
All The Pretty Things
House of Mirrors
Empty My Hands
On and On
The guys have definitely grown as musicians since their first release. This album is very well produced, lots of nice overlays and fills that definitely add to the overall feel of the album. Again if you are buying this expecting more of what you got with Over and Underneath you will be a little surprised. Musically this CD is somewhere between the first release and the mainstream. If you are looking for Christian anthems or praise and worship go get the Passion Awakening CD.
Don't get me wrong this is a good CD and I am definitely not knocking the guys for their growth as musicians. I didn't buy this CD expecting it to be full of praise songs, but I was a little surprised at the direction that they went with this CD.
On the Outside | Posted February-10-2010
Needtobreathe released "The Outsiders" last fall, and I downloaded it immediately from iTunes. They had teased us with songs like "Lay 'em Down" and "These Hard Times". But this album is full of hit songs. I just can't believe these guys haven't broken through yet. They have really progressed with each album and The Outsiders is their best yet.
They go rockin' with songs like "Through Smoke" and get soft with "Stones Under Rushing Water" and "Garden". The Garden is definitely one of my favorite tracks on the CD as it takes a personal look at Jesus and his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.
These guys have a sound all their own and "The Outsiders" is definitely worth owning. As I look back at 2009, it would definitely be my number album for the year. Nothing else comes close.
clmartin's Music and Book Reviews 
