"Current" by Sarah MacIntosh View All Reviews

From the first moments of Sarah Macintosh’s new album Current, you know that you are hearing something that stands apart. The entire album is punctuated by chamber-pop elements and instrumentation. The standard sounds you would expect in a pop song clash with small and intimate details, giving the sonic landscape a sense of familiarity but with a lushness and texture that rings new to the ears of those of us who are so accustomed to the conventional output of the record labels these days. And while these elements draw you in, it’s the voice that keeps you listening.

Sarah’s vocal style is completely captivating. Right from the opening notes of “Current,” I was hooked. Most of all, the message of the song draws me in, especially in the bridge, “Love, say that it will be so, Love, say that you won't let go, Don't let go, Don't let me go.” I feel the same way as Sarah; that our walks with God are under attack by the world. Our attempts to have Christian marriages are being torn at from every side, and we need to pray daily to God, “Face of love, tear us away, Cause we are Yours to carry away.” There are currents metaphorically physically and emotionally all  around us. The question is which currents you allow to take you. There is only One current we should all submit to as believers, and that’s God.  The lead single “We Should Run” takes the listener on a spiritual and colorful journey. Macintosh elaborates, "I hope that the listener will grab onto them and say 'Yes! This is for me!' These are the songs of my heartbeat.” The song's lyrics share: “We should run, we should be laughing, We should look and see, He is lifted high! We should shout, we should be dancing, We should call and find a Savior who’s alive!” Amen!

Rather than address the themes of each song, let me just say this is one of the most captivating albums I’ve ever heard. Sarah has a vocal sincerity and creativity that rivals Brooke Fraser, Audrey Assad and Sara Groves, who are my top female Christian vocalists of all-time. Some of the stand-out moments of the album include “Hope,” where I get completely swept up in the bridge, “We will run, we will laugh, we will  dance, we will shout, when You’re back for us, You come back for us!!” I sing those words praying for Jesus to return at the top of my lungs.  I am a believer and my testimony is that my love for music led me to Jesus Christ due to the Gospel messages of Christian music. This is a great album for your unsaved family and friends. Another highlight is the personal confession in “The Damaged,” where Sarah confesses, “red is the color of my heart as it cries hush, hush…I don’t want to be the one who’s broken, I don’t want be the one who falls apart, I don’t want to be damaged.” In discussing the album with Macintosh, her hope is that spiritually listeners enter the album on “Current” and exit the album on the last track, “Joy Comes In,” and not realize that they’ve shifted spiritually. Hopefully the Lord has moved them from one point to another and that listeners learn things about the Lord that changes and moves them. Hopefully the album will swirl around them like a current. That’s a great description of the journey of this album, as while savoring “Calling, Calling,” many times I’ve forgotten where I am and that’s the type of unique worship experience you’ll want to replay over and over and it will draw you closer to God.

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