Music Review: Everything Is Different Now
Posted March 23, 2010
By ChristianManifesto,
By Brian Hall & Lydia Akinola
GENRE: POP/PUNK/WORSHIP
LABEL: INO RECORDS
RELEASE DATE: MARCH 9, 2010
BRIAN HALL’S RATING: 4 OUT OF 5
LYDIA AKINOLA’S RATING: 3.75 OUT OF 5
OVERALL RATING: 3.8 OUT OF 5
Brian Hall’s Review:
Stellar Kart won me over back in 2006 with “We Can’t Stand Sitting Down”. The sound was fun and infectious, the lyrics were heartfelt and meaningful, and the guys knew how to rock. Now, the boys are back in town with Everything Is Different Now, a guitar driven pop/punk worship album that is sure to please long time fans and maybe even make some new ones along the way.
The opening track “All My Heart” sets the tone for the rest of the album beautifully with its high energy level and vertical lyrics. “We Shine” is one of three cover songs on the album. The song originally put Fee on the map three years ago, and while SK is already very much “on the map”, it is still sure to attract fans of the worship genre to their music. The awesome, “Sprit In The Sky” is another cover song originally made popular by Norman Greenbaum and later covered by Elton John. Again, the guys manage to make this song theirs by kicking up the tempo and adding great harmonies that would make other harmony based bands proud. The last cover on the album is Matt Redman’s worship standard, “You Never Let Go” which is probably the weakest cover as it is such a well known song and they fail to really put their mark on it.
Other great songs like “Until My Heart Caves In”, “Like The Sun”, “Something Holy” and “Rescue” really showcase SK’s talent and abilities. Their live shows are full of energy and excitement, and I feel like this album captured similar elements. This is easily the bands best album to date, and I would really love to hear the band offer up more worship tunes in the future. Make this an addition to your Stellar Kart collection, or maybe you should start one here.
Stellar Kart has grown up. And, oh! what a difference it has made. Apprehensive about what to expect their latest LP, to say that I was pleasantly surprised would be a gross understatement. These guys have come a mighty long way since their debut “All Gas. No Brake”; the improvement is considerable.
Lydia Akinola’s Review:
One of the reasons why I was hesitant about Everything Is Different Now, was the number of covers I saw in the track listing, 4 in total. Casting back to their first album with its awkward cover of Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer”, I wasn’t sure what to prepare myself for. But, happily, things have changed- in fact, their cover of Matt Redman’s “You Never Let Go” is one of the strongest tracks I have heard from the group- ever. The other covers include a magnificent take on Fee’s “We Shine”, as well as “Spirit in the Sky” by Norman Greenbaum and Audio Adrenaline’s “Until My Heart Caves In”. All are noteworthy performance, although nothing can quite beat the original Audio A sound.
Everything Is Different Now marks a return for Stellar Kart to worship music. Rather than focusing on relational issues, the band have shifted their efforts into creating fun, upbeat, pumping praises songs that can be sung and enjoyed by anyone who is young at heart. From the opening track “All My Heart”, the change is apparent, and their hidden of skill of packing a rock tune with powerful, worshipful lyrics becomes clear. This shake up began to get me excited.
Enter “We Shine”. It is given a little Stellar Kart treatment and transformed with electronica programming: the result is an epic power-pop praise tune. From then on, I was converted. This is party-praise, fun, loud music that is easy on the ears and good for soul. The lyrics are God-centered, the music is energetic and alive- the end result is generally fantastic. “Something Holy” is another highlight, reminding listeners that we are called to a part something of something bigger than each of us. What sets Stellar Kart apart from many other pop-punk/pop-rock artists is the way they can condense nuggets of faith in a song less than 3 minutes long.
The title track “Everything Is Different Now” is classic Stellar Kart: in pace, in structure and in sound. But for this album, everything is just a little tighter, the production is just that bit sharper, the sound has something extra- in short, Adam Agee and his band has raised the bar. The memories of just ‘alright’ music seem have been put behind us as Stellar Kart grow older and become wiser and master the trade. Change is the operative verb.
With the aforementioned “You Never Let Go”, Stellar Kart has captured the essence of the song, but has also successfully added their trademark guitar riffs, drum work, and unmistakable drive to it. It will appeal to those who look for edgier, peppier versions of popular worship songs to listen. The closer, “Like The Son” will also appeal, showing off some of the best talent musically that Stellar Kart has to offer with a resounding interlude that ties of the album magnificently.
Stellar Kart has done a lot of work, but as always, there is still more to do. It would be great for them to tackle slower, unhurried songs and I would love to see them continue to write more of their own work. Nevertheless there is plenty for the fans to love and for newcomers to enjoy. All in all, I believe that Everything Is Different Now sets the standard and is the foundation from which Stellar Kart will continue to work on. As a massive improvement on their past efforts, it goes to show how bands can develop and get better with time. This LP reminds us how far a little bit of change can go in the journey of development … I’m hoping that their next release will revolutionize everything again, and let us join them on their adventure.
Review copy provided courtesy of INO Records
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from The Christian Manifesto. Click here to visit TheChristianManifesto.com today! View All Music And Book Reviews By ChristianManifesto | View ChristianManifesto's Profile
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