When I turned 26 years old I had what I called a “quarter life crisis”. Essentially I was confronted with the reality that I was no longer a “youth group kid” and instead an adult with real responsibilities. Beyond that as I became more and more aware of the life happening around me it was so easy to see injustice and conflict lurking around every corner, rather it be on a political front, or the people in my life that were behaving so unexpectedly. Even with all that I desperately wanted to remain optimistic and cling to some sort of childlike notion of faith and joy.
This in a nutshell is what rapper John Reuben decided to confront on his album “The Boy Vs The Cynic”. The songs can be roughly split into two categories with the “Boy” songs focusing on trusting in God and enjoying life despite setbacks, while the “Cynic” songs see’s John super frustrated with politicians, western Christianity, and even himself. With the ultimate question becoming which should rule your life? The “Boy” or the “Cynic”? The album opens with two of the more upbeat songs, the made for youth group parties “Out Of Control” (who’s punky alternate rock sound immediately hooked me) and the made for radio “Nuisance” featuring a stupid catchy chorus courtesy of Matt Thiessen of Relient K. Both sets of lyrics have that kind of mid-2000’s vagueness about them that still manage to be positive and leave you feeling good. However it’s the next three songs and in particular the first of the set “Chapter 1” that sets the stage for some of the more interesting aspects of the album. More stripped down production mostly looping in the background serve as a nice backdrop which John seems to prefer for his ranting. The song wrestles with some hard questions like how do you try to be a positive influence in a world that just doesn’t seem to care? And while reaching one person is nice you have 10 others that just turn to the mainstream and prescription drugs because as John puts it (and I absolutely love this line) “’Cause 21st century America likes its witchcraft civilized.” The rest of the album alternates between similar rants such “Follow Your Leader” and “What About Them?” which both involve calling people out for their hypocrisy and the more upbeat driving with the windows down songs like “Sunshine” and “All I have” which includes a lyric that deeply resonates with me “who knew that simply being content was the dream come true?”. The near perfect closing track that also happens to be the title track finally tackles the question of which point of view is the “correct” one? The music for this one finds a nice middle ground between the catchy choruses of the fun songs and the intense thought provoking verses of the serious songs. The ultimate conclusion seems to be that there is enough room in life for both youthful optimism and eyes wide open cynicism and in fact both may be necessary depending on the circumstances. Or as the closing line puts it so succinctly “Time to create a new atmosphere where the boy and the cynic can both play fair”. Suggested tracks: Nuisance Chapter 1 All I Have The Boy vs the Cynic
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There is an internet aesthetic that I find interesting known as “Liminal Space” which is defined as “…the time between the 'what was' and the 'next.' It is a place of transition, waiting, and not knowing. Liminal space is where all transformation takes place, if we learn to wait and let it form us." This to me perfectly describes this short but fulfilling ep from Port Blue, a side project of keyboard wizard and Owl City mastermind Adam Young.
The opening track “In The Dolphin Tank” gets everything started off right with the only spoken words in the entire project “Hello”. But it’s really the beautiful music that pulls me in, reminding me of someone just waking from/to a dream. The soothing but beautiful synths with touches of acoustic guitar and electronic percussion carry me through a moment in time without wearing out its welcome. The song is just over two minutes long and quite honestly this is exactly what you should expect from the project as a whole, super short songs that freeze you in your steps and just ask you to enjoy this brief moment. Some of the tracks do inevitably remind me of Owl City, rather it be the beautiful Piano in “Of Japan” and “Into the Sea” or the bubbly synth line in “City of Safe Harbor” but with that said the music still manages to be its own thing enough that you would never confuse the two projects. One of the more interesting musical moments comes in “Butterflies” with a slightly more driving electronic beat and some really great bass work the song is the closest this ep ever gets to “intense” (without actually being intense at all). Like I said back at the beginning the idea of Liminal Space is really what best describes this project. It’s music that doesn’t so much take you on a journey as sits with you and asks you to slow down as you take in the things around you. I can’t help but feel this is definitely something I need more of in my life. Suggest Tracks: In The Dolphin Tank Butterflies City Of Safe Harbors Into The Sea Christmas can be a magical time, which is funny if you think too hard about it. Christmas has its roots in drunken pagan celebrations that were usurped by religious/governmental leaders into a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus (which by all historical accounts took place nowhere near December 25th). However, the holiday still didn’t garner a whole lot of widespread respect until the publishing of the Charles Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol” which you have almost certainly scene an adaptation/parody of, even if you have never read the actual book.
Finally, Christmas was once again altered in the 1950’s by capitalism and the introduction of widespread consumerism. Soon people were celebrating the holiday by buying presents, buying food, buying music (fun fact, “White Christmas” by Binge Crosby, is generally considered the best selling single of all time), and I guess spending time with people you love. Yet despite its storied history, Christmas still inspires general feelings of goodwill and charity (in no small part due to the aforementioned book by Charles Dickens). It’s still a special part of childhood for millions of people, and if I’m honest with myself, something I look forward to every year. All this brings us to the 1996 album “Christmas Eve And Other Stories” by Trans-Siberian Orchestra, a spinoff of sorts from the 80’s metal band Savatage. It’s an album that gives me all the warm fuzzies I associate with Christmas. But beyond that if you really dig into the album, it has a lot to offer on both a thematic and musical level. The album offers us a story of God’s youngest angel, sent out on Christmas Eve to “bring back…the one thing that best represents everything good that has been done in the name of this day”. So the angel takes flight and is first drawn by all the music that is created around the holiday of Christmas. This serves the first half of the album as we hear many classic tunes from “Silent Night” to “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy”. Some songs are played fairly straightforwardly with classic instrumentation such as a classical guitar, while others are given an 80’s glam metal update. It’s the updated tracks like the timeless “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo (12/24)” that showcase what this band does best and is probably the reason most people even know this album exists. However a little background on the song (The song was originally released by TSO previous band Savatage as the story of a cellist during the Bosnian War) shows it to be a statement on the horrors of war and the peace that things like music and Christmas can bring us even in the midst of such atrocities. And lest you think this band is just a one trick pony covering classic Christmas songs I would bid you to discover the track “A Star to Follow”, a wonderful song contrasts with the epic sounding adult choir paired against the angelic sounding children’s choir that eventually combine into a truly beautiful song. For me however, it’s the second half of the album that really grabs at my heart strings. As the angel continues to fly he notices a prayer from a father for his missing daughter that he apparently had a falling out with at some point in the past. Over the next several tracks we are told the story of intervention on the part of the angel, an act of kindness from a grizzled old bar keeper, and forgiveness. All this finally draw the father and daughter back together culminating in my personal favorite track “This Christmas Day”. In true music theater fashion the album winds down with the track “An Angel Returned” and the lines “Kyrie among nations, Hear as they ring through the night” which roughly translates to “God have mercy among nations”. A truly great and warm ending to a wonderful and sweet album. The band, and this album in particular, is able to somehow cut through all the clutter and commercialism of Christmas and reminds me that often times the greatest gift we can give is forgiveness and love, a truly timeless Christmas message. Suggested Tracks: A Star to Follow Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24 This Christmas Day An Angel Returned The Almost is the side project of Underoath’s drummer and clean vocalist Aaron Gillespie, who formed the group as an outlet for songs he’d written that didn’t quite fit the Underoath mold. But rather than just be “Underoath minus the screaming” the group plays a brand of alternative rock that is heavily influenced by the gritty raw south (with a little dash of U2 for spice) with lyrics that seem to be much more personal.
The aforementioned southern grit on this album is anchored by lead guitarist Dusty Redmon and Aaron Gillespie’s impeccable drumming. This is especially felt in the opening title track which is just a straight up barn burner and then again on tracks like the punk leaning “Young Again. Another aspect of the bands sound is the raw sounding acoustic guitar courtesy of Gillespie on tracks like “No I Don’t”, “Hand Grenade”, and especially the epic closer “Monster” which we will circle back around to. Sprinkled in throughout the musical landscape is the occasional use of slide guitar and the always reliable production of Aaron Sprinkle which just adds to the total package on a music level. Where this album really shines though is the lyrics. I’m reminded of the Bible verse Philippians 2:12 which says “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” and that is exactly what Aaron Gillespie seems to be doing. The opening title track gives us a thesis statement of sorts with the lyrics “I’m sick of this monster monster, You’ve gotta get here…we’ve got to get out…before it gets weirder” pointing to our sinful nature and the struggle we all have to defeat it, though the lyrics openly admit to needing God for this battle (What’s the use of going it alone?). The following track “Lonely Wheel” follows up on this theme of fighting through our sin by asking why we wait one more night with the things that we know just drag us down (One last night at the lonely wheel, one last taste of the sin we feel, one hope in the fear that drives us on). Another aspect of working through his own salvation that Aaron brings up is wishing to be young again and I think specifically that feeling of innocence and closeness to God that you have at that time in your life. This is illustrated in the song “Young again” a desperate wrestling with yourself and God in a singular bedroom, trying to find that place of spiritual openness and peace (My God, my God, I’ll change my tune, if You’ll stay all night, come on, come on, let’s comb the room we’re looking for this to come around and make us young again); and then again with the worshipful “Hand Grenade” which really pulls into the southern influence with a slide guitar and simple bass rhythm giving the song an almost country feel, (Oh, to be young it sounds like so much fun, oh the long wait for things to happen…If You’re an ocean then I want to jump right in, if You’re a hand grenade then, I’ll pull the pin. I’ll wait right here all night, for You to let me in, and I’ll run run run run. Run right back to You, I’ll run.). All this culminates with the final song “Monster” which starts of as just Aaron and his acoustic along with a steel guitar before the full band comes roaring in to end the song in spectacular fashion. But more importantly the lyrics “When I am a monster, You never wince when you look at me. When I am a freak, You never stare. When I am a leper, You never say unclean, and when I am lost, You come and get me free” really nail home everything the album is thematically going for. This leads to a recurring theme for me when I was young, guilt. Not just “I got caught doing something bad and now I feel guilty”, but an ache that just won’t go away, that no matter what you do, you’ll never be good enough to please people around you, let alone God, guilt that bordered on self-hatred. Now some of this was personal conviction telling me I could be living better than I was right then, and some of it was just the way I personally interpreted the way I was raised. But songs like the title track and “Lonely Wheel” hit me square in the chest for how I was feeling at the time. I’m just thankful I eventually found the grace described in tracks like “Hand Grenade” and “Monster”, because it’s ultimately that grace that allowed me to truly feel alive. Suggest Tracks: Lonely Wheel Young Again Hand Grenade Monster One of the greatest crossroads in the avenue of storytelling and music in my opinion is the virtual band. Bands that only exist on a purely narrative level as a character of sorts for artists to try out different ideas or just create something wholly unique. Some of the most popular throughout the years have included The Chipmunks, The Archies, The Gorillaz, and Now I’m adding Neon Horse to that list.
Neon Horse is the brainchild of guitar wiz and indie rock legend (at least in some circles) Jason Martin along with vocalist Mark Salomon. I actually had the opportunity to interview Mark Salomon and he mentioned that the intention when creating this band was to be an old school Christian rock band but with the twist of everything being a little distorted and off kilter. In this the band succeeded brilliantly, particularly on their second album “Haunted Horse” which is equal parts grandiose 70’s arena rock, surreal imagery, and Sunday School. That’s right on this album you get to hear Norman Horse (the alter ego Mark Salomon created for the project, just listen for the voice that kind of sounds like he just crawled out of a whisky barrel) give his own spin on classic Sunday School lessons and the results are often weird but still insightful. The album kicks off with “When Daddy Gets Home” giving us the previously mentioned 70’s rock vibe with the drums and guitar providing a wonderful backdrop for Mark’s vocals. And those vocals are honestly the star of the show. Mark Salomon pulls off at least three distinct voices during the whole recording and it truly gives the illusion of multiple vocalists being in the band to such a degree that prior to the identity of the band members becoming more public many reviewers were convinced that there had to be more than one vocalist in the band. The music is a splendid mix of the previously mentioned guitar riffs and drums that particularly stand out on songs like “Strange Town”, “Cell-O-Phone” and “I Don’t Need anything”. In addition we also get some delightful bass work courtesy of Steven Dail that borders close to disco on “Some Folks” and synths that really shine on the electronic heavy “Comin Up Theventh” and when used as a horn line on “Chain Gang, Bang Bang”. These instruments and at times goofy voices all set the stage perfectly for the lyrics of the album. It may not be super obvious if you aren’t familiar but several songs directly reference or recap stories from the Bible. Some of the highlights in this category include “Strange Town” being an interesting spin on The Story of the Prodigal Son, really focusing on the terror he must have felt after running out of money and friends and being stranded in a strange place. “‘Haven’t Sinned In Years!” parallels Jesus’ parable about the vineyard owner who leaves his vineyard to be taken care of by hired help and features some wonderfully manic vocals that may remind you of a circus ringleader. Other lyrics on the album just reference general themes of the Bible such as “I don’t need anything” being on one of my favorite topics, gaining more wealth, more power, more for yourself and then realizing as the book of Ecclesiastes says “Vanity, vanity, it’s all vanity. The song “Chain Gang, Bang Bang” may be my favorite cut on the album where the theme of sin enslaving you is very evident, complete with the sounds of cracking whips and the hilarious but still though provoking line “Everybody come along! We're jumpin' off a cliff! It's only kinda fun – that's why we brought the whip”. Every time I hear this song I can’t help but picture that scene in the original Pinocchio where the boys start turning into donkeys and are led away to work in the mines. Sometimes artists with ideas that seem like they have no chance of working together come together and just make something great. That’s what the people involved with the Neon Horse project did and I can’t help but be impressed especially by this album of theirs that revitalizes tales as old as time and helps me at least to look at things in a new and interesting way while being wildly entertaining. Suggested Tracks: Strange Town ‘Haven’t Sinned In Years! Change Gang, Bang Bang I Don't Need Anything Heath McNease is an insanely prolific artist. Between 2012 and 2015 he had no less than 7 releases, alternating between hip-hop, folk music, and mixtapes. In the middle of this breakneck output, he decided to partner with fellow folk musician Jetty Rae for a duet project called “Pen Pals”. The resulting album “Gold” was a bright spot among both artists discography and captured a moment in time perfectly.
The album’s lyrics create a concept album about a brief summer romance and the inevitable heartache that follows. I can’t say I’ve ever heard a song so perfectly reflect the feeling of being 14 and excited about camp as well as the song “Camp”, and the follow up songs perfectly express the feelings of young love and all the emotions that entails. One of my favorite tracks is “Mary & Martha” which has our narrator processing a breakup through the lens of the Biblical story of Jesus saving the women caught in adultery. This mindset is exactly how my teenage brain functioned, processing everything through my faith as it was all I had ever known. The final track “July” brings the story to a close with 20/20 wisdom that only hindsight can bring. Like so many things in life when you are young, sometimes you have to learn the hard way this too shall pass. As stated earlier this all too brief ep is an absolute delight with McNease’s and Rae’s voice’s weaving in and out and ultimately blending so perfectly together. It’s fortunate that these two Pen Pals decided to keep intermittently making music together, but much like your first love, there is something special, innocent, and even golden about this first project they made together. Suggest Tracks: Camp Gold Mary & Martha Zilch is a band that no one seemed to know what to do with. Starting out as part of the backing band for dc talk, it’s telling that they were talented enough for Toby McKeehan to recommended they form their own band. So, vocalist/guitarist Mark Lee Townsend, vocalist/bassist Otto Price, keyboard player/vocalist Jason Halbert, and drummer Rick May started jamming together in a studio. Initially Townsend intended for them to just play songs written by other people but the chemistry they already possessed from touring together, and then playing together in a studio, made original material inevitable.
The songs they ended up recording on their first (and so far only) album “Platinum” are best described by adjectives. Quirky 90’s retro rock come to mind. As does alternative surfer geek rock à la Weezer but with hip hop influences. Whatever you want to call it, this band is 90% vibe, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The music is easily the highlight of the album with surf friendly guitar riffs blending beautifully with blippity bloopy synths and organ. The drums and the bass do a great job anchoring the songs rather they be smooth and chill or upbeat and power pop. There is also a surprising amount of vocal harmonization on this album with all three vocalists taking turns on lead but Mark Lee Townsend’s vocals usually leading on the chorus at the minimum. Mark Lee Townsend has a unique voice that easily carries laid back yet still energetic songs like “Good” and “Surfer Psalm”, the two bookends that tell you everything you honestly need to know about this album, a windows down ride to the beach with Sunday school friendly lyrics. That’s not to say the band never gets serious with songs like “Christiana” (which I think is a play on the word suburbia) and “Bap!” (which sounds like it could have fit nicely on dc talks Jesus Freak) hitting on the more serious topics of apathy towards the rest of the world outside of your Christian bubble and the harm of gossip and unforgiveness. With that said I appreciate that the band overall doesn’t take themselves too seriously with their cover of School House Rock’s “Hero Zero” and it’s follow up “A Brief Note To The General Public” showing off their great sense of humor, with the latter being a great monologue that tears apart in the best way possible those moral guardians (especially in the 80’s and 90’s) who dissect every lyric and guitar tone looking for something that’s corrupting their children rather than just taking things in the spirit intended. Zilch seemed to fall apart as soon as they formed with drummer Rick May only being listed in the album credits and not as a formal member of the band (presumably he didn’t want the additional touring on top of playing for dc talk), and Mark Townsend stepping down only a year after this album was released. Seven Day Jesus guitarist Dwayne Larring and drummer Aaron Blanton along with vocalist Jeff Deyo stepped in to take their place and, in the process, along with Jason Halbert, morphed into the band Sonicflood with Otto Price stepping down after playing on and helping produce their debut album. Sonicflood went on to have their own storied history full of twists and turns, but the band Zilch remained just a footnote, an enigma on the history of what could have been. Mark Townsend has gone on to release at least two songs under the Zilch moniker since (though it’s unclear if any of the other band members were involved), and rumors have a circulated about a possible new album, but for the time being we have this lone gem. Suggest Tracks: Good Christiana Bap! Surfer Psalm Owl City is the brainchild of musical prodigy Adam Young, a Minnesota native who by all accounts loves God, has an overactive imagination, and is a big introvert, all things I can deeply relate to. In 2009 he released a little song called “fireflies” that became a sensation. Suddenly the guy was on the top of the billboards and going on world tours, and somewhere in the middle of all that was expected to write a follow up album to his major label debut “Ocean Eyes” that would meet or even surpass the 500’000 copies sold. That album ended up being “All Things Bright and Beautiful” an LP that trades in it’s beach sandals and summertime fun for a fuzzy blanket and Autumn vibes.
Right off the bat there’s a sense of maturity in the lyrics and music that suggest Adam Young has done a lot of growing up in the time between his debut and this album. The lyrics are far more focused and speak of the awe and wonder of nature as well as the heartbreak of life with far more clarity than before with the opening track “The Real World” being the perfect example of this and also serving as a sudo worship song celebrating the beauty of nature and the wonder of imagination. In the next track “Deer in the Headlights” we get the heartbreak (albeit with tongue firmly planted in cheek) with the metaphor of being rejected feeling like being maced or punched in the face hitting so close to home it almost hurts (no pun intended). However just because things are more serious this time around doesn’t mean that Owl City has lost all it’s charm and whimsy. In fact the whimsical tends to amplify maturity of the music with songs like “Honey and the Bee” and “Plant Life” giving me a strong Beatrix Potter vibe that makes everything feel far more grown up than some pop music I’ve listened to. Elsewhere themes of outer space and faith in God intermingle in tracks like “Angels”, “Galaxy”, and “Alligator Sky” with once again a solid dose of the whimsical keeping everything grounded and from taking itself too seriously. The music is built on a foundation of familiar bubbly, fuzzy, synths that fans of Owl City’s previous projects will undoubtedly know and love. However this time around everything is bigger and fuller with well placed drums that give several songs (particularly in the first half of the album) an almost power pop vibe. Additionally strings make several appearances on songs like “Galaxies”, “Angels” and “Dreams Don’t Turn to Dust” giving them a cinematic (and at times late 90’s alternative pop) feel. Finally we get a solid sprinkling of the experimental on “Kamikaze” with hip hop beats and bizarre lyrics that are either about our spiritual battles or a fun imagination spot about being in an action movie (and then something about comets or something). The hip hop influences also returns when we get a guest rapper on “Alligator Sky”. This is album is best enjoyed on a quiet contemplative October Saturday with a warm cup of tea. Rather your detoxing from a busy week or contemplating the complexities of life this album is a good reminder that in all things, rather good or bad, you can find something bright and beautiful. Recommended Tracks: The Real World Galaxies Alligator Sky Plant Life This is fairly common knowledge but once upon a time fairy tales were dark tales of death, fear, and consequences to your actions. Over the years movies and modern society has softened up the tales for fear that children are too sensitive to hear such things. Enter Jessy Ribordy and his band Falling up who seems to have decided to reinvent the fairy tale for a modern audience with a sci-fi twist.
Falling up started as a fairly straight forward Christian alternative rock band (think early Linkin Park) complete with Bible verses in their linear notes. The band slowly morphed to an almost progressive rock alternative band with a penchant for concept albums that honestly can be baffling from a story perspective. In 2015 they announces this self-titled album to be their final album as a band and as such their final statement as a creative unit. The album in question can be described with two words “cinematic” and “epic”. The music is a truly great slice of indie alternative rock and varies nicely between mysterious sounding piano like “Up in Houses”, intense guitars like on “Rangers”, and huge sounding drums that serve as the backbone to a lot of songs. Other sounds like strings that sound like they belong in the credits of a film can be heard in the outro of “The Green Rider” or the music box motif heard on several songs such as “Hydro” and “Ranger” give the album a lot of musical depth. As mentioned at the beginning of this review the band seems to be aiming for a very Grimm Fairy Tale vibe with this album and though I don’t totally understand the story being told this is my humble interpretation (or more accurately my Wild Mass Guessing), based on reading the lyrics and some suggestions found on the internet. Also keep in mind that the tracks don’t necessarily follow in chronological order but instead bounce around Christopher Nolan style. Many years ago a character killed many victims (Hydro and Up in Houses) but found redemption for their sins (The Woodworker). Years later as this character and his children are staying in a house possibly designed by the killer they are suddenly being invaded (Boone Flyer, Flora, The Green Rider) probably as a consequence for the Father’s actions years earlier. The characters struggle for their lives trying to survive the attacks of some sort of unidentified beings and humans (In The Woodshop, Rangers) before finally setting the wood surrounding their house on fire and escaping (Hydro, Flares). Throughout this story you get heroic moments and heart wrenching confessions of guilt. The story could be taken as very literal but could also have a spiritual metaphor component to it as well (self-sacrifice, redemption of sins, fighting again forces of evil). However you choose to view the story doesn’t seem to be as important to the band as the emotions the album is making you feel. It is worth also noting the closing lines to the album, “Let them know that you can float, turn around and rise up” alludes to the band’s name and the name of this album “falling up”. The original meaning of that name was an allusion to falling into the grace of Jesus and I think that’s a pretty nice note to leave on. Rather we’re running from the sins of our own past or a dark force we can always fall up into that grace. Suggested Tracks: Boone Flyer The Woodworker Rangers Flares FFH (Far From Home) seemed to have a completely unspectacular and normal career in the Christian Music Industry. Over the course of six wide releases by Essential Records they managed to have a slew of number one hits (on Christian radio that is), though they never had an album go gold. They toured relentlessly and managed to maintain a respectable if average following. As was often the case with artists that saw success in a very specific but still broad market (think country or alternative radio) their fortunes slowly dwindles until they seemed to just quietly disappear after their 2005 album “Voice From Home” which was followed up by a worship album that I’m not sure anyone actually heard.
However, in 2009 the “band” returned as husband and wife duo Jeromy and Jennifer Deibler. Those quite years had been spent helping mentor a church in South Africa, welcoming a new child into the world, and dealing with multiple sclerosis on the part of Jeromy. These experiences inspired them to create what I consider their last proper album “Wide Open Spaces, (though they did release a Christmas album and another worship album after the fact). The album opens with “Undone” it’s stand out track that managed to get the last bit of radio play I think the group ever saw. It’s a powerful song about surrender and knowing that the cost of life is sometimes more than what you want to pay. The music of the song is a powerful blend of Coldplay and the singer/songwriter style Jeromy Dobler had always excelled at. The lyrics though can hit with a particular strength such as “Come undone, Surrender is stronger, I don't need to be the hero tonight, We all want love, We all want honor, But nobody wants to pay the asking price”. From there the album follows in kind with songs about essentially quitting the rat race of the music industry (Wide Open Spaces, Who I’m Gonna Be) with special mention to the lyrics of “The Time Of My Life” which doubles as a love song, “I had the time of my life with you, Under the summer moon, I was so consumed, I had the time of my life with you, Acting like a fool, But it was over too soon”. The other half of the songs seem to be about accepting the pain of knowing God’s in control (What It Feels Like, What If Your Best). These songs are especially potent knowing about Jeromy’s struggle with MS, a disease that from what I’ve heard is truly painful and miserable to live through. Lines from “Stop The Bleeding” in particular stand out “How much farther must I go, Til You say that I'm broken? How much heartache must I know, For You to say enough's enough?”. This album is powerful in a way this group only hinted at during their radio years. They had always been half a step ahead of the normal glut of happy feel good artists on Christian Radio, but this was them finally coming in their own and not only admitting their own brokenness but also realizing (and writing about) the amazing amount of grace that can only be found while in that state. Suggest Tracks: Undone Wide Open Spaces What If Your Best |
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