a no-brainer, and some new discoveries
THE NO BRAINER:
The sound:come on... it's Matt Redman!!!
I have loved Matt's material since "The Friendship & the Fear". Lyrical depth, theological depth, poetic. Some critics said that Matt's last album was a return after the somewhat panned "Facedown." "Facedown" was and still is a fantastic album. It didn't have your standard formulaic church-friendly, same 4 chord tunes and I think that was it's strength. "Beautiful News" is a great album and if it was considered a 'return to form' then this project may delight you too. This album likewise (and thankfully) weaves in some wonderful atypical chord changes. Matt touches on themes of the stability of faith and God's faithfulness in light of a world that seems to be 'shaking'; falling apart. To be honest I was hoping to like this more. Tracks that stood out immediately were: "We Shall Not Be Shaken", "The Glory of our King" & "For Your Glory" and the powerful "Gloria" which our church will likely be singing at some point in the near future. The closing song "My Hope" is a beautifully haunting song which borrows a few verses from the old hymn "The Solid Rock" (most commonly called 'On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand'). All in all a worthwhile disc - especially if you are a fan of Matt's work.
THE SURPRISES:
The sound: Chris Tomlin, some Crowder-esque moments, Desperation Band
I stumbled across this disc by accident. I saw Glenn's message "Secondhand Jesus" and learned he had written a book of the same title (which at some point I'll review that on this blog) That find led me to his tie in project "Rumors & Revelations". Good stuff. I have come to learn that some of these songs have been released previous by Gateway / Desperation Band and Phillips, Craig & Dean, but they are given a new freshness here and still are strong songs. good lyrics here. If you're looking for 'modern worship' music, you should click through to his page and give the samples a listen.
The sound: worshipful acoust-electro-folk & pop (Rembrandts, Steven Curtis Chapman, Andrew Peterson)
This album is characterized by confession, brokeness, hope, humor, and the Gospel's power to transform lives just as sure as the spring can heal the worst ravages of the winter. So here's my confession: I had heard "Blessed Be", but had not bought Jason's previous album. When a local radio station asked if we'd host him in concert we agreed... and then I heard the song "For the First Time Again" - I cannot express to you the impact of this song on my life. Actually I can, but I'm not going to. Hearing Jason's heart during the concert and being extremely impressed with his Lyrics I knew I needed to get the disc... and not just to support the artist I had just seen in a free concert. This music has intellectual & spiritual depth of lyric; the lyrics are poignant, timely, healing, encouraging, worshipful and challenging. If you're wondering if the Special Edition is worth the extra $$ - without a doubt yes it is!
This album will fit very perfectly in the annals of songwriters like Andrew Peterson, Rich Mullins, Michael Card, Fernando Ortega. Yup - it's that good. "For the First Time Again", "I am New" and "Jesus, Use Me I'm Yours" are all quickly vying for a spot on my top 10 all time favorite song list.
I saw this online for $6 (!) and thought from the samples I heard, "well it's worth it to take a chance". Suffice it to say that this will be very heavily listened to by me for a very long time.
The sound: Everything that is right with modern worship music. A few names to make the connect more immediate: The Choir, The Violet Burning, The Cure, Phil Wickham, Something Like Silas.
File this under "gut-level worship in an atmospheric modern rock setting." The disc beautifully walks the lines of lament and praise, desperation and hope. Modern psalms. The inclusion of worship choir on the latter half of the album serves like sunshine piercing the dark clouds of a storm just passed. Tough questions are raised and addressed to God, but remind me of the cries of the psalmists and likewise of the souls of the martyrs under the Throne asking, "How long?" It was cool to see that "How He Loves" was covered, and while I think Crowder made a very judicious and artful lyric change, the live recording by Kim Walker of Jesus Culture remains my favorite recording of John Mark McMillan's simple, yet poetically profound heartsong.
The sound: Music that is art and steps out of the box, while artfully maintaining theological integrity. Those looking for something more than the cookie cutter 'praise industry' album should check out this disc. It's not as boundary pushing as a Sufjan Stevens or even the aforementioned Glorious Unseen.. but more along the lines of Leeland.
Are there 'standard format' songs? sure. But Papa is a refreshing new voice and sound. I guess I'd say this is a kind of like a more singable Crowder. I love Crowder but sometimes his songs are so artsy/experimental that singability is an issue.
The opening track "Hallelujah, Our God Reigns" is worth the price of admission by itself. Papa plays piano, guitar and bass on many of the tracks. It's cool to hear this style of music led from piano.
I also got the 5 advance downloads of the new Trans-Siberian Orchestra album "Night Castle" today - but I'll wait until the full album drops to review it. Oh and I got 12th row floor tickets to their Christmas show. Can't. wait.
..and my friend Andy is trying to get me hooked on Lettuce. I think it's working.
