Lamps
Posted March 17, 2008
By thirdsaint,
I'll admit it. This is a band I forced myself to like. How does that work? Well, initially upon hearing a few songs off the album before it came out I thought it was generic, nothing special. I just figured it'd be another pop band on the radio that was mediocre at best. But alas, like all great music, it took time to grow on me. I don't know why, but I kept going back to listen to those 3-4 songs and each time I liked it more and more. And then I found myself wanting to hear them in my car where it wasn't possible and I KNEW I had to take a chance and buy the CD based on those songs I'd heard. Seeing the music video for their first single, 'We All Need' made everything click too, for some reason. Beats me since the video doesn't make any sense and it's nothing special.
So I went out and bought the CD for $8 and yeah, I was very wrong. It's not mediocre or generic. The lyrics are fantastic and faith-filled; covering topics standard for popular Christian music yet somehow they are different. I really think it may just be the delivery the vocalist uses. At times he's whiny, the song 'Faster, Faster' comes to mind (though a great upbeat song worthy of it's title), but he really has a great knack for vocal hooks. His voice is high and quite unique but when he goes to the deeper part of his voice he reminds me of the lead singer of Anberlin.
This whole album is also extremely uplifting. In part because of the lyrics, but it's just the spirit of the music. I feel if a Christian CD is depressing or oppressive it's missing what one of the main things that is Christ-like. Sure, nothing is always hunky dory in our lives but something oppressive has a negative affect on our spirit. Not here. It's upbeat and catchy. The music also seems surprisingly mature for a debut album and well-crafted. The production is top notch and everyone seems to be on the same page. They may not take any risks as far as song structure goes, yet the songs stand apart very well on their own.
Overall, I must say that this album also had to grow on me in order to get a feel for each song. That doesn't mean the music is overly complex. It's quite the simple pop music and I think that's really what makes it work so well. They seem to know what they excel at and that's what their focus was. It couldn't have worked out better either.
Gems of this album are: 'Emptiness', 'Like the Rain', 'We All Need', 'This Mystery'
Overall 9.1/10 View All Music And Book Reviews By thirdsaint | View thirdsaint's Profile
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