IndieVisionMusic Review #5.
November 5, 2010 Leave a comment
October 2010 Monthly Music Guide #8
October 30, 2010 Leave a comment
Looking for something new? Here’s what I’ve been listening to lately…
Artist: Jars of Clay
Album: The Shelter (October 5, 2010)
Style: Encouraging anthemic pop rock ballads about community
The latest addition to Jars of Clay’s legacy is a more worshipful project focused on community that involves collaborations with other artists on (almost) every song. We are treated to more pleasant anthems of The Long Fall variety, with those clean guitar strums and bright piano melodies. The lyrical theme is evident from the get-go as the singers exclaim, “We will never walk alone again.” Meanwhile, the bells and crazy vocal interweaving sound like they were lifted off a Sufjan record. The collaborations are remarkably subtle (well, except for Mac Powell’s drawl), often hiding in harmonies that you don’t discover until the third or fourth listen. Even with an exciting array of vocal choirs there’s only so much you can do with clean-driving anthemic-pop-rock, and my intense excitement for at least the first three tracks tends to turn into mild ambivalence by the end. Still, it’s some of the most enjoyable stuff (for me) coming out of the strict CCM market these days.
Standout Lyric: I’ll go when You call me, I run when You tell me where to go /
We are desert walkers under shady clouds…
Let our idols fail, vanity subside
Standout Lyric II: It’s a well worn path so how on earth can we feel alone?
…Look around / Lay it down.
In Case It Interests You: The members of Jars of Clay are known as Christians.
STREAM THE WHOLE ALBUM: myspace.com/jarsofclay
Artist: Destroy Nate Allen
Album: Until My Ankle’s Better (August 2010)
Style: Sing-along folk-punk
After kicking off with an a capella gospel homage from Nate’s mother, Until My Ankle’s Better quickly delves into the duo’s trademark quirky acoustic jams full of passion, vulnerability, and joy. You’re going to be disappointed if you listen to these tracks expecting something aesthetically beautiful or mindblowingly original, but if these songs of life and love don’t make you smile, you’re probably missing the point, as the short tracks are really just trying to become the grown-up version of your favorite childhood sing-alongs. Their faith is a combination of the traditional and not-so-traditional, but it’s always seasoned with understanding and sincerity. Tessa adds tambourine and affectionate harmony to Nate’s acoustic guitar and bleating vocals. Instruments like kazoos and organs dot the landscape along with the vocal oh‘s and doot-doo‘s. By the time the album closes, you almost feel like you’ve gotten to know this simple, charming couple who travels the country playing basement shows and trusting in God’s provision.
Standout Lyric: I need to take the trash out / from the middle of the floor /
cuz when the trash is taken out / it won’t smell no more
Standout Lyric II: Put your head on my shoulder, and we’ll wake up one day older,
just you and I, you and I
In Case It Interests You: Nate and Tessa Allen are known as Christians.
STREAM THE WHOLE ALBUM: destroynateallen.bandcamp.com
August 2010 Monthly Music Guide #6
August 27, 2010 2 Comments
Looking for something new? Here’s what I’ve been listening to lately…
Artist: Newsboys
Album: Born Again (July 13, 2010)
Style: Modern power pop rock swagger
Calling the band’s current lineup “newsboys” is about as legitimate as saying Paul McCartney’s latest album was by “The Beatles,” but Michael Tait replaces iconic bald man Furler (who was the only remaining original member) for the band’s fourteenth studio album, boldly marching deeper into modern pop territory. This is not your quirky lite-pop 90′s Newsboys. These are tobyMac grooves with Red guitars, Black Eyed Peas beats, and Capital Lights melodies. These are Casting Crowns power ballad chord progressions with Lifehouse power ballad vocals and a little bit of Taylor Swift power ballad country guitar. This is everything that is pop in the new millennium, from the layered synth beats and autotune dance sessions to the softer cell-phone-waving sing-along choruses and everything between. I’m not sure if you’ll like it – hey, I’m not sure if I like it – but I am sure it’s not what you’re expecting – musically, that is; you won’t find many original rhyme schemes here. But there must be some reason the first-week album sales were the highest for the “band” in their 22-year career…
Standout Lyric: Oh the way we build our empires /
Hoping to impress our friends /
We’ve forgotten how to inspire /
Those who fall to rise again
In Case It Interests You: The members of Newsboys are known as Christians.
STREAM THE WHOLE ALBUM: myspace.com/newsboys
Artist: Lecrae
Album: Rebel (September 30, 2008)
Style: Fast-flowing hip-hop beats with solid, challenging lyrics
I indulged in the Top 40 hip-hop scene for a little while once before I got sick of the destructive lyrics and mind-numbing beats. Lecrae fils that void and then some. His lyrics aren’t just non-destructive; they’re a powerful, uncompromising, and inspiring challenge to surrender your life completely to Christ, whether in mocking the gangsta’ obsession with money (“Got Paper”), encouraging imperfect Christians to be patient with other imperfect Christians (“The Bride”), or resisting the devastation of temptation (“Indwelling Sin”). The musical production is top-notch as well; cheesy Christian rap this is not. The beats wind and flow under the music as the layers give and take in an exquisite fashion, rarely making it through any of the long verses without tinkering with something to keep the sound fresh. There’s a lot of featuring, response, and background vocals, including some females, and it’s not uncommon to have three vocal tracks running through at the same time. There’s enough variety to keep this non-hip-hop fan engaged for the hour-long experience, from the slower-rolling Li’l John crunk stuff to the Matisyahu-esque guitar riffing to the ridiculously fast double-bass-supported lyrical flow of I don’t know who. Lecrae wields the name of Jesus in a way that might be over-the-top for some, but that’s precisely his point: without Him, nothing else matters.
Standout Lyric: Money! Dough! Cash! Paper! /
If it was a woman I promise I used to date her /
Now that we broke up, she be callin’ ya boy a hater /
Cause all I do is use her for glorifying my Maker /
…You got money / You got paper /
You got money / You got paper /
… So what? Who cares?
Standout Lyric II: People living life for a job / make a lil money start living for a car
get em a house a wife kids and a dog / when they retire they living high on the hog
but guess what they didn’t ever really live at all / to live is Christ yeah that’s Paul I recall
to die is gain so for Christ we give it all / he is the treasure you’ll never find in a mall
Your money, your singleness, marriage, talent and time
they were loaned to you to show the world that Christ is Divine
that’s why it’s Christ in my rhymes / That’s why it’s Christ all the time
my whole world is built around him / He’s the life in my lines
In Case It Interests You: If you can’t tell Lecrae is known as a Christian you’re not paying attention.
STREAM THE WHOLE ALBUM: myspace.com/lecrae
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