Review of Here For You, by Passion

Passion, Here For You (sixsteps/Sparrow)
Released: March 8, 2011

I remember when I heard my first Passion record—Passion 98—in high school.  It was fresh and different.  Little did I know at the time that I was listening to a mile-marker in the short history of contemporary worship.  Passion and Delirious are the pivot-point on which “contemporary worship” swung to “modern worship.”  Thirteen years later, much has changed, and much has stayed the same.  Many of the same faces and voices that were emerging in 1998 (Tomlin, Crowder, Hall, Redman) are now household names in contemporary Christian music.  Those twenty-somethings who were more raw emotion and energy have matured into thirty-somethings who have added a bit more depth to their passion.  Here For You clearly shows that Passion still dominates the modern worship scene.

SUMMARY

Passion always produces great albums.  To my ear and heart, this is not a hallmark album, however.  Musically, it is a typical modern worship album (this is not a criticism).  Textually, there are a few small surprises, but nothing jumps out that has not been previously recorded.  Awakening (2010) had a few outstanding songs (e.g. “You Alone Can Rescue”).  This album doesn’t seem to carry the same kind of stardom.  The songs I would most likely incorporate into worship are: “All to Us” (see my review of Tomlin’s album for comments on this song) and “Spirit Fall.”

Repeats from other albums and projects include: Crowder Band’s “Shadows,” from their Church Music, Stanfill’s “Forever Reign” from Hillsong’s A Beautiful Exchange, and “All to Us,” from Tomlin’s And if Our God is For Us.

MUSICALITY

The production, as always, is great.  The album is filled, with few exceptions, with the typical instrumentation: flowy keys, electric guitars, light acoustics, big drums, and crowd noise.  “All My Fountains” is a nice sonic departure from the standard tones and sounds of modern worship.  It is more earthy and vigorously acoustic rhythm reminiscent of late 90s Dave Matthews.  Christy Nockels (“Carry Your Name”) really does have a golden voice…the finest in Passion’s arsenal.

Perhaps the most novel aspect of Here For You is the introduction of rap into Passion’s recordings.  Lecrae appears on “Shadows,” with David Crowder, and on the bonus track of “Our God,” with Chris Tomlin.  With others, I’m appreciative of the incorporation of other genres, and especially from brothers and sisters who have an equal claim to the history of American church music—the African American tradition.  Some may disagree, but I believe rap is very much rooted in a combination of blues and the sing-song/shouting style of traditional black gospel preaching.  However, as many have noted, rap is a hard medium for congregational music.  It is effective as a preaching medium, and in a responsorial format (e.g. a verse plus a congregational refrain), but it is certainly something for congregations to listen to, not participate in.  Still, it’s a welcome addition to Passion’s albums specifically and worship generally.  Perhaps it is another small sign that racial bridges can be and are being broken down in and around worship.  Praise God for that!

THEOLOGICAL CONTENT

With this album, we see yet more cross-pollination between Hillsong worship and Passion worship.  “Set Free” is co-written by Redman, Tomlin, Ingram, and Ben Fielding.  Stanfill leads Hillsong’s “Forever Reign.”  There is also a little nod toward the hymn tradition on this record.  The chorus of “Lord, I Need You” very briefly touches on the text and melodic line of the 1872 hymn by Annie Hawks, “I Need Thee Every Hour.”  I’m also excited to see the maturation of the songwriters with texts which “sound” like the expression of the biblical Psalms.  Kristian Stanfill’s “Always” is a weaving of several psalms (like 121 and 130) which give voice to lament in worship.

Some songs on the album, such as “Lord, I Need You,” “Carry Your Name,” and “Constant,” are deeply gospel-centered and Christ-saturated.  The text of  “Lord, I Need You” is doubly praiseworthy because it highlights Christ’s righteousness, not our own triumph, the latter being a nagging theme sometimes found in modern worship:

Where sin runs deep Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
And where You are, Lord, I am free
Holiness is Christ in me

Likewise, I appreciate the opening line of Crowder’s “Sometimes”:

Sometimes every one of us feels
Like we’ll never be healed
Sometimes

Modern worship needs to rest in these moments of lamentation more often, like the Psalms do.  The song carries quite a progression that one often doesn’t see in one hymn:

It begins in individual lamentation:

Sometimes every one of us aches
Like we’ll never be saved
Sometimes

It progresses to hope:

When we’ve given up
Let Your healing come
When there’s nothing left
Let Your healing come
Til we’re rising up
Let Your healing come

It moves to adoration:

It’s Your love that we adore
It’s like a sea without a shore
We’re lost in You
We’re lost in You

It moves to consecration and mission:

Where You go, we will follow
Oh, God send me

“All My Fountains” is an interesting expansion on that phrase taken from an under-appreciated psalm (Psalm 87), an eschatological song about the children of Zion and the joy of being in the protection and presence of God.  Knowing the psalm gives great context for the joy of “All My Fountains”:

He has founded his city on the holy mountain.
The LORD loves the gates of Zion
more than all the other dwellings of Jacob.

Glorious things are said of you, city of God...
Indeed, of Zion it will be said,
“This one and that one were born in her,
 and the Most High himself will establish her.”

The LORD will write in the register of the peoples:
“This one was born in Zion.”

As they make music they will sing,
“All my fountains are in you.”   (Psalm 87 [NIV])

The first three songs are calls to worship, songs of exaltation.  “Symphony” lifts the eyes similar to the opening lines of “How Great is Our God,” with its Psalm 19-like first verse:

Shining wonders, fields of splendor
How they sing Your symphony
The deepest oceans, rising mountains
How they sing Your symphony

There is a strong emphasis throughout the album (which is typical of modern worship) of finding God’s special manifestation in the moment of musical worship.  “Waiting Here for You” sings,

And we’re desperate for Your presence
All we need is You

“All My Fountains” cries,

Come on, rain down on us,
Rain down on us, Lord

It has always been a part of the modern worship ethos to seek God’s special manifestation in the moment of singing.  Many worship songs ask for that very thing, saying something like, “as we sing, come meet us here.”  I wonder, with such a heavy emphasis on the presence of God in music, whether modern worship has steered us away from seeing how the presence of God is also (and perhaps better) manifested in other elements of worship like the Lord’s Table.  A gentle reminder to those of us who love and appreciate the vitality of modern worship is that the Scriptures testify and the history of the Church’s worship corroborates the reality that God chooses to manifest Himself most acutely in the Lord’s Supper, not in singing.  But, unfortunately, modern worship movements like Passion have been at least a small step removed from corporate worship of the local church, acting more like parachurch worship movements than core expressions of Christ’s church (interesting sidenote: Passion City Church has launched as a Passion-offshoot in Atlanta). While I’m all for encouraging generations to gather, be inspired, and rise up for ministry (Passion is a movement targeting the specific demographic of college and young adults), I wonder whether Passion’s influence on the Church has at least in a small way led evangelicalism more toward missing what uniquely happens in worship when we celebrate the sacrament together.

It is encouraging to see the theological jab in “Spirit Fall.”  Often times, simple songs of the Spirit are nebulous and do not highlight the roles that the Spirit plays.  Here, we have a very specific call for the Holy Spirit to act:

Oh, come
Magnify the Son
Savior of the world
The hope for everyone

The Spirit’s job isn’t just to give us goosebumps and overlay an emotional blanket on our hearts during worship.  The Spirit has come to bear witness to the Son, to herald the gospel, and to illumine Christ to us.  To my mind, this is what gives this simple song some uniqueness in the modern worship expression.  Personally, I am not usually drawn to more experiential songs, but this one attracts me because of its theological angle.

“Set Free” is an exciting song intended to get bodies moving:

And we’ll dance, dance
Dance in Your freedom
Oh, Your glorious freedom
Forevermore, forevermore

Perhaps because it’s more of a “dance” number than a “sing” number, the text-writing is a bit more loose.  I often encourage worship leaders to hold up as a criterion for song-selection the idea of logical cohesion (see my article “How I Choose Songs for Corporate Worship”).  Where is the point at which words and phrases move from being “impressionistic” to random?  I wonder whether “Set Free” teeters on this tipping point:

Joy, joy, unspeakable joy
Hope like never before
You came for us
You are our freedom

Love, love, unshakeable love
We shall over come, we will never give up
We lift a shout, we lift a shout
Everyone singing

Come on, come on now, we’ve got a new song
Come on, come on now, a song of liberty
Let the world hear heaven’s melody
This is the shout of the hearts You’ve set free

There is a conceptual glue which holds these statements together, certainly, but the text is awfully loose.  I’m not totally against it, but I want to continually raise the question that many do not: Should we not pause to ponder the fact that, while standing in the rich history of hundreds of years of Christian worship, we are the first to express words in this way, so loosely hung together?

I’m also interested in discussing the phrase, “dance in your freedom.”  For as popular a phrase as this is in modern worship, there aren’t many Scriptural parallels to it.  In the Bible, certainly there is dancing.  And a major theme of the gospel certainly is freedom.  And yet if you do a Bible Gateway search of the words and phrases, “dance freedom,” “dancing freedom,” and “dance free,” at least in the NIV, no matches are found.  Where did this phrase and idea get so popular for modern worship?  Does it have its roots in David’s naked, “undignified” worship?  Is it an attempt to encourage that attitude of heart?  It is not at all bad to strive for bodily freedom in worship; God deserves our all.  Dancing is an expression of worship, of course.  But where did we come up with this phrase, and what is its meaning and purpose?  I simply want to question its prevalence in our modern hymnody. 

Because of Passion's incredible influence over evangelical worship (in many ways, they are trend-setters) they must be open to scrutiny and questions like those above.  Still, Here For You contains nothing off-course theologically, and will no doubt leave a positive mark on the landscape of modern worship.

Review of Here Among Us, by Jaron and Katherine Kamin, plus Interview

Contrary to what one might think I believe, the hymns movement is not THE answer for modern worship.  The reform that is needed and the reform that is happening in today’s evangelical congregational music needs much more than a revival of hymnody and historical connectivity.  That said, the hymns movement is still an important piece in this reform…which is why I want to continue to herald its growth and expansion. 

Jaron and Katherine Kamin are a welcome addition to the fold.  Recently relocated from Socal to Nashville, this singer/songwriter couple have found new solace in old hymnody.  Just yesterday, they released Here Among Us, a beautiful indie-rock hymns album, which was produced by the mighty Andrew Osenga. 

Jaron and Katherine share the vocal load throughout the album.  Jaron’s is a straight and simple pop voice (as any good modern worship leader should have)—not too flamboyant, but certainly nuanced and stylized.  Katherine’s is a round alto tone, uniquely suited to the indie style of the project.  Some of the songs are new tunes to the old hymn texts (e.g. “Praise My Soul the King of Heaven”), but many are modern re-arrangements of the original tune (e.g. “Nothing but the Blood” and “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”).  They’ve also included a few of their own great originals (e.g. “Light”). 

Much like my comments regarding Ascend the Hill, I personally enjoy the musical style of Jaron & Katherine.  Their style is a loose, engaging indie rock sound.  “Light” begins with a Built to Spill-ish / OK Go-ish beat and guitar chord shifting.  In general, there is a lot of “space” in their mic-placement or effects on the electric guitars…beautifully ethereal, as in “Christ is Made the Sure Foundation.”  You can hear the Nashville influence, as well, on tracks like “Give Praise to the Lord,” with its tasteful, arpeggiated banjo.  “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” contains a fresh rhythmic interplay between the original melody’s 4/4 rhythm and their added flowing 6/8 beat.  The drumming throughout the album is creative and unconventional.  I love the surprising second half of “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,” in that regard. 

The whole album is a rich sonic feast, but my favorite two songs are “Praise My Soul the King of Heaven” and “Christ is Made the Sure Foundation.”  In my opinion, many of these songs work wonderfully for congregational singing (see their answer to the final interview question below), and I hope that many churches (particularly the ones sold out on the Passion and Hillsong repertoire) will employ them.  I thank God that folks like Andrew Osenga spend time producing the work of new and emerging artists, especially those of the hymns movement variety.  You can hear Osenga’s tasteful electric guitar work throughout Here Among Us…in a sense it’s his small signature on the album.  Go out and get the album, and tell all your friends about it!  I can’t wait until their next project.

I had the privilege of being able to fire off a few questions to the Kamins.  When bloggers like me do interviews, it’s a risky endeavor, because artists are not always purposeful, thoughtful, and articulate.  This is not the case with the Kamins, which is why I wanted to give them a major voice on this post.

Tell us about your background as worship leaders and with worship music.

Well, we've been leading worship together since before we started dating.  So, for almost nine years.  It started with youth groups, then volunteering with smaller congregations, and eventually to Jaron being a full time director after some time in seminary.  Katherine's been involved on and off, but writing and playing music has always been one of our favorite ways to spend time together.  We've primarily led worship in congregations that were also our worshiping community.  With this record, though, we've had opportunities to visit other congregations, and that's been a really beautiful experience for us, being received into another body's worship service and connecting with folks there.

When we started leading it was almost entirely with contemporary songs.  It really wasn't until around 2007 when Jaron's boss at the time, Jim Rauch of Westminster Pres in Escondido, CA, started asking him to include one hymn per week that our focus began to change.  It didn't take long for us to realize that rearranging these hymns for a contemporary style of worship really felt like the best of both worlds to us.  Eventually the pastor had to require that we include at least one contemporary song each week.

What are your thoughts, constructive and critical, about the state of contemporary evangelical worship today?

It’s hard to generalize about the state of evangelical worship.  So many churches are doing so many different things.  What we can say is that we think the church is at its best when people in local contexts are finding what works and resonates in their particular situation.  When they find or create the music and lyrics that give voice to their community, affirm scripture, and draw nearer to God because of it, then we see that as ideal.  From our perspective problems arise when a community goes through an identity crisis and starts to reach for a voice in worship that is not their own.  A church should not trust only a record label executive to determine what their worship should look like, though that executive may have some good ideas. 

What captivates you about hymns, and why have you chosen to focus your album on them?

We love hymns for at least three reasons.  The first is that the hymns provide a connection to the thousands of years of Church life that have come before us.  When we sing these songs, we sing with the saints of the past.  We have a connection to their struggles and joys, which, we believe, are struggles and joys that we still relate to today.  We have a connection to the way our fathers worshiped their God, who is also our God.

The second reason is that we find these songs, in general, to be very rich theologically.  So much modern music today, evangelical or otherwise, is about expressing an emotional state.  There’s nothing wrong with that, but the music of the last few centuries (again with exceptions) has been more about engaging with very particular aspects of who God is and who we are in Him.  Including hymns in our worship provides some needed balance.

Third, a lot of the music is just beautifully written music.  It makes sense- it that has survived for centuries.  You tend to hang on to the good stuff.  That makes for a pretty big pool of great music.

What, in your minds, is the value of setting old hymns to new music?

For us a lot of the value in it is that the new music enables us to own the lyrics a little more.  That’s the hope anyway, but to be honest, we also just love to rearrange songs, whether they were written in the last twenty years or the last two hundred.  We personally still love the hymns when you’ve got a group of people singing around a piano or pipe organ, but we hope that these arrangements will provide a fresh experience for people.

What are your hopes and goals for this album?

It really was a privilege just to be able to make this album.  To work with this music with such amazing musicians and to see the vision become a reality through our work with Andy Osenga was kind of a realization of hope for us already.  However, we hope that the people who might benefit from hearing this record will be able to hear it.  We hope it provides something fresh, that it gives voice to people.  And we hope it enables these works to minister to folks who may not engage with them otherwise.  We hope that people who hear it will participate in it.  One of the things we were really intentional about in recording, even in the keys we chose, is making a record with which people would be able to participate, whether that's by using these arrangements at church or singing along in the car.  And one of the beautiful things about working primarily with lyrics we didn't write is that when we lead others in a live setting, it doesn't feel as though we're imposing our own words onto them.  We're all partaking in the ministry by the saints that came before us.

Review of The Mercy Seat / The War by Jamie Barnes and Brooks Ritter

Jamie Barnes, The Mercy Seat
Brooks Ritter, The War (split EP)
Released: February 22, 2011

There is something very special going on in Louisville, and my writing a review about this “happening” is kind of like the woman who was straining just to get a finger on the hem of Jesus’ robe—just a touch is all I ask.  God has gathered a whole lot of young talent and put it under one ecclesiastical roof.  This is the best summary I can give for what is happening with Sojourn Music.  Sojourn Community Church is a multi-site community with a strong vision for how the arts are a part of God’s kingdom-restoration in the community.  You don’t see too many churches out there with this vision.  But before I heap accolades on the music of two incredible singer-songwriters, Jamie Barnes and Brooks Ritter, for their latest split EP, The Mercy Seat / The War (read Sojourn's description here), let me begin by commenting on something rather unrelated to the music itself.

Jamie Barnes and Brooks Ritter are humble, generous men of God.  I met Jamie several years ago when my wife and I took a field trip out to Sojourn in the summer of 2008.  I met Brooks just over a year ago at the Calvin Symposium on Christian Worship in Grand Rapids.  I was flying solo, and Jamie took the time to single me out and invite me to a few social gatherings where I got to hobnob with Keith Getty, Kevin Twit, Mike Cosper, and other heroes of mine.  Jamie’s hospitality in that act meant a lot to me and spoke volumes about him.  Brooks engaged me in a bunch of conversations, and he always exhibited the uttermost kindness and humility, even as I told him that he had an incredible, one-of-a-kind voice.  These two are men of character, and that is perhaps the most important thing I could say about them.

OVERALL COMMENTS

The album itself is just incredible.  It is true artistry, which does not kowtow to simplistic pop sensibilities.  It is a “split EP” in the sense that it is a full, ten-song album split down the middle.  The first five are Barnes’ songs; the last five are Ritter’s.  All songs are either explicitly based in old church hymns, or else they are haunted by the spirits of the great English hymn writers.  But this is not a “worship album.”  It is definitely solo material, some of which can be (and has been) transposed into the context of corporate Christian worship (e.g. “The Mercy Seat” and “Absent from Flesh”).  Recorded live at the 930 Art Center in Louisville, KY, the stylistic diversity in these ten tracks is astonishing.  Jazz, gospel (black and white, mind you), blues, grunge, soul, country, rock—they’re all here.  Yet this smorgasbord is no hodgepodge.  The cohesion comes from its production, themes, and the souls of the singers themselves. 

If you can’t afford the whole album, you must at least get Barnes’ “Absent from Flesh” and Ritter’s “The War.”  In my opinion, they are the best songs on the album.

Theologically, the album is rock-solid.  Texts which are based in time-tested hymns from greats like Isaac Watts are nearly always a slam dunk in the Department of Biblical Conformity.  Barnes and Ritter write the kinds of songs that will last in Christian hymnody. 

THE MERCY SEAT  |  JAMIE BARNES

Barnes says, “If we’re being honest, we all have this longing for an advocate, and a lot of the songs on my side of the EP have this hint of desperation in them.”  That’s a great summary statement of the textual trajectory and musical edge which unify the five songs.  Musically, Jamie provides an aural feast.  His songs keep his voice in a modest vocal range, and his smooth, simple singing style perfectly fits the “longing” and “hint of desperation” he intends.  My favorite feature of his music here are the use of horns, sergeantly peppered throughout the EP.  The slippery, jazzy “Dark Passenger” has some moments of tight ensemble, especially among the horns.  There is an exquisite moment, just around 3:44, where the vibrato between two instruments locks into eerie symmetry.  Verse two is powerful:

Why do these hands withdraw from worship,
And battle your embrace?
They clinch in anger far too often,
And seldom stretch in faith.

“Jealous Arm” contains a haunting chord progression at the front-end that moves from the major tonic chord to the minor.  The ghostly, Coldplay-like piano line accentuates the tense nature of revelry in the jealousy of God.  The first verse:

Is this the way we repay our God?
Who among us has he not made?
Forsaking His face for the sculpted things
We have shaped with our evil hands.
And where are they now, our silent golden cows?
His swift and jealous arm has thrown them down.

The choice track, however, is “Absent from Flesh”—roomy drums, earthy claps and slaps, and wailing horns make this an exquisite, original, and inspiring piece.  Co-writers Barnes and Watts, though separated by nearly three hundred years, together celebrate the eschaton:

Absent from flesh, O glorious day!
In one triumphant stroke
My reckoning paid, my charges dropped
And the bonds ‘round my hands are broke.

I go where God and glory shine,
To one eternal day
This failing body I now resign,
For the angels point my way.

Hearing the unparalleled hymns of Isaac Watts so beautifully re-dressed and re-given to the modern church simply makes me want to dance naked in the streets. 

THE WAR  |  BROOKS RITTER

Many singers, including myself, shake their fists toward the heavenlies that they were not graced with the golden voice of Brooks Ritter.  No joke: the first time I heard his voice, I pegged him for a fifty-year-old, black Mississippi Delta bluesman.  This twenty-something has all the soul, presence, and maturity of a voice twice his age, and he stewards his gifts well throughout this EP.  “The War,” a grungy blues tune, introduces Ritter with a punch to the belly, and the left-hand-calloused fingerprints of Neil Robins’ axe-work (of Dirt Poor Robins and No More Kings) are all over this number.  It’s reminiscent of Soundgarden at the height of their music-making.  The text of this song’s chorus characterizes the posture of the whole album—centered upon the gospel of the finished work of Christ:

Though the scars of my sin run deep
They’re washed in the flood brought from Calvary
Remind me O Lord in my hour of deed
The war won  for the redeemed!

“Good Day” takes a stylistic leap in a different direction.  It is a black gospel number, through and through, full of clever colloquialisms fitting to the genre.  This song rocks:

Well, hey, Jesus the God man came to the Earth
He opened his arms to the children of dirt
He was singing a new song, “Child come on I’ll show you the way”
It was a good day when the Lord came
You know it was a good day

My Jesus came through the desert
He walked on the sea and died on the hill of Mount Calvary
He went to the grave but checked out on the third day
It was a good day when the Lord came,
It was a good, good day.

I love the thought that Jesus “checked out” of the grave on the third day like it was a hotel room.  The ease with which Almighty Christ sealed His victory over death is worthy of such a thought.  The next song, “Waters of Forgiveness,” is a soulful white gospel number that one could hear arranged for an all-male quartet.

In the words of Barnes: “This record, it’s more than just making music for our local church.We want to be a community of artists…So it’s important to us to publish music and to publish books and things of that nature…These songs are just a way for us to point to truth.  Hopefully that’s what good art will do, point to a good God who’s the author and creator of everything.”  God has given the Sojourn community a unique call with the provision of unique resources.  The Mercy Seat / The War is proof that these artists continue to steward such gifts well.  A while back I posted on why worship leaders should be theologians and theologians worship leaders.  Barnes and Ritter are worship leader-theologians par excellence.  Go get this album, people. 

Review of Aftermath by Hillsong United

Hillsong United, Aftermath (Sparrow)
Released: February 15, 2011

Within the “imprints” of the Hillsong brand (Hillsong, United, Live, and Kids), it is United which propels their style and artistry forward.  In the case of Aftermath, their movement is a retro-progression (different from a retrogression) into 80s sounds and styles.  This album is atypical of what has come before in that it feels much less like a “worship album."  The backing choir, congregational sound, and crowd noise are absent—it’s only solo voices and faint BGVs.  There are no arena sounds and reverberant air.  It is a clean, tight, studio album that appears to have been recorded on three different continents.  I have no doubt that, because this is not an “arena worship” recording, there will be many Hillsong United fans at least initially disappointed.  But this should not take away from the fact that Aftermath is a fabulous sonic feast, expanding our United palette with fresh tastes from the not-so-distant past.

REVIEW SUMMARY

If you are looking for new material for congregational singing, you’ve come to the wrong place.  With some exception (e.g. “Rhythms of Grace”), though United undoubtedly uses these songs in their worship contexts, the melodic complexity of these songs lend themselves to performance-material rather than lifting voices in corporate worship.  That said, Aftermath is still a well-produced, musical, and artistic achievement.  Furthermore, the album is Christ-centered and God-exalting in its texts, though it suffers a bit from theological imprecision and scattered logical flow.  If United’s goal was to provide the Church with more worship songs, I would say that previous albums (e.g. Tear Down the Walls / Across the Earth and All of the Above) have done a better job at accomplishing that end.  If their goal was to artistically stretch themselves and their listener-ship musically, they have succeeded greatly.  No song stands out as one I would enthusiastically recommend for congregational worship, but many songs could be fitting.

MUSICALITY

The best way I can describe the unity of styles on this album is with the label “neo-80s space galactica punk.”  It is as if Talking Heads, Enya, Green Day, and the creators of Tron all got together in a collaborative project.  From Cars-like moog intros (“Light Will Shine”), to Top Gun-ish airy keys and staccato bass lines (“Nova”), to programming and legato lines mixed with Enya-style vocals (“Bones”), to pumping, tremolo synths (“Search My Heart”), United appears to be jumping on the 80s retro bandwagon that pop, rock, and hip-hop artists alike have been exploring as of late.  United seems to be stepping off their penchant toward heavy tom-work in the drumming.  “Rhythms of Grace” is a great example of this, where, at about the 3:20-marker, the drummer has chosen a creative, unorthodox, indie-style beat.

Track six, “b.e. (interlude),” gives a shout-out to Hillsong Live’s “Beautiful Exchange,” with the haunting choir in the background, singing,

Holy are You, God
Holy is Your Name
With everything I’ve got
My heart will sing, how I love You

Joel Houston, as Executive Producer and songwriter/co-songwriter for many of the tracks, is extremely talented and creative.  This project seems to reveal that Houston was challenging himself with something different.  This album is an enjoyable listen, with authentic artistry in the musicality and production from top to bottom.

THEOLOGICAL CONTENT

That Brooke (Fraser) Ligertwood had very little involvement with the album (the credits indicate that she sang BGVs) shows, especially in the songwriting.  Ligertwood, especially in recent years, has provided a bit more biblical depth and theological reflection in her material.  Aftermath has no “standout” song, textually speaking, which parallels the depth of “Desert Song” (Ligertwood) or “You Hold Me Now” (Morgan/Crocker) from United’s previous album, Tear Down the Walls / Across the Earth (read my review of that album here).  That said, Aftermath is beautifully Christ- and Gospel-centered.  The unifying theme and song of the album, “Aftermath,” is a rich metaphor for how the Gospel reaches sinners in the beautiful mess of the incarnation of Christ:

The skies lay low where You are
On the earth You rest Your feet
Yet the hands that cradle the stars
Are the hands that bled for me
In a moment of glorious surrender
You were broken for all the world to see
Lifted out of the ashes
I am found in the aftermath

“Aftermath” implies that an important and decisive battle took place, yet the battle was not clean.  This is a wonderful picture of the cross—the deepest love possible poured out, combined with the greatest injustice that ever took place.  The cross is simultaneously a place of healing and a place of wreckage.  “Aftermath” gathers all those concepts into one word filled with rich imagery, which is quite remarkable. 

Especially against the backdrop of historic Christian hymnody and the biblical Psalms, United’s texts continue their general trend of being more “impressionistic” as opposed to logically coherent.  Take, for instance, the opening verse and pre-chorus of “Go”:

In the Father there is freedom
There is hope in the Name that is Jesus
Lay your life down, give it all now
We are found in the love of the Saviour
We’ve come alive in You
Set free to show the truth
Our lives will never be the same

There isn’t much that helps these statements hang together in a logical progression, which ends up seeming more like mere emoting than making any cohesive statement in the song.  The same song also exhibits the triumphalism that some have rightly criticized in the past:

We’re giving it all away, away
We’re giving it all to go Your way
We are sold out to Your calling

Certainly we need to make room for consecration.  We should sing statements of commitment, even whole-hearted commitment.  But I have dialogued with not a few folks who are weary of singing such words when they know that their sinful, broken hearts feel very inauthentic when such lyrics are sung.  I admit myself that, much of the time, I don’t feel sold out to God’s calling; I don’t give it all to go God’s way.  Such triumphal lyrics need to be administered in careful dosages, set in the context of Gospel-response and consecration as opposed to an “I’m trying, God! I can do it!” mentality.  I’m not saying that this is what United has done or that this was the songwriter’s intent, but I am saying that too much of this can either drive people away or lead them to false senses of their own spiritual power and moral success.  “Like an Avalanche” is a good counter-example to that issue of triumphalism, displaying consecration as Gospel-borne response:

Trading Your righteousness for shame
Despite all my pride and foolish ways…
Oh, take my life
Take all that I am
With all that I am I will love You

One other concern on the album is with some “Trinitarian confusion” in the song “Father” (I mention this issue in my article on my criteria for choosing worship songs.)  A problem exists in evangelical worship that shows up more than we’d like to admit.  There are times when our prayers or our songs can speak to or of one member of the Trinity about works or characteristics that really are attributed to another member.  In “Father,” the following is sung:

Father
Let heaven and earth collide in the endless wonder
Of Your love upon the cross

The collision of heaven and earth is most precisely a reference to the incarnation of Jesus, God the Son, the second member of the Trinity.  Furthermore, though the Father’s love was certainly present at the cross, “Your love upon the cross” is a phrase one would expect to be singing to God the Son.  But the whole chorus begins with the vocative, “Father,” indicating that what follows is addressed to Him.  Hillsong has an incredible international platform, and because of that, they must be aware that they have the privilege of teaching and conveying both spirituality and theology to a broad swath of the Church catholic.  Theological precision should be a high-priority analytical grid that they perpetually apply to their new material.  The scope of their influence demands it.

I thank God for Hillsong United.  Like never before, more tribes, tongues, and nations are unified in worship in ways previously unthinkable.  God is using them to stir hearts, to promote justice, and to form people into the image and likeness of Christ.  May God bear fruit for His kingdom through Aftermath.

Review of "Come Away," by Jesus Culture

If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that, even at the relative beginning of my career as a pastor and worship leader, I want to be a part of God's work in mentoring and raising up the next generation of pastors and worship leaders.  Every other week, I meet with a bright young man, Robert, who I believe God is calling to ministry in some capacity.  Every once in a while, we have an assignment.  This one was for Robert to use some of the analytical tools we've been discussing to review a new worship album.  I encouraged him to review the important criteria for choosing worship songs and to take a look at some of my reviews.  After processing a few drafts, this is what Robert produced.  He did a great job.  Feel free to comment!

*****

I like to say that this album is a cotton candy album. It is sweet and good but its volume is largely disproportionate to its density. Jesus Culture itself is actually a series of conferences which started in 1999. Out of these conferences came the Jesus Culture music which has its sights on sparking a revival of God-fearing, Jesus-glorifying Christians on a global scale. Come Away is a live album.

MUSICALITY

The music in the album was comfortably overshadowed by the lyrics. The musical arrangements never distracted from the text being sung. Towards the beginning of the album the music felt one-dimensional and wasn’t a whole lot to write home about. However, there was a noticeable progression in the complexity of the music as the album played. The first track kicked the album off with a repetitive, four-on-the-floor rhythm accompanying solid, down-stroking guitar chords. The  4/4 with down-strokes lingered with nearly the entire album broken up by a few of the songs which had dynamic rhythm, volume and guitar riffs such as track three, "You Are My Passion" (one of the two strongest tracks). The album closed with a pointed rhythm and a lightly syncopated vocal refrain. This closing track felt the strongest of all ten tracks. Mostly because the much repeated refrain was musically interesting enough to keep from becoming monotonous, but at the same time not so interesting that it was distracting from the words.  Come Away’s music felt typical of most modern worship: sincere, bright and easy to pick up for Sunday morning.

THEOLOGICAL CONTENT

In the textual territory, the album was full of strong and largely vertical worship lyrics (vertical worship=talking to God; horizontal worship=talking to creation about God) . One could step behind these lyrics and worship with them sincerely. However, they did not really delve into fresh aspects of God’s glory. The album was full of a lot of stock “christianese” such as, “Come into my heart,” and, “You’re so amazing, God.” I mean that not to say that they did a bad job, but rather that they only said what one would expect. My other critique for the text of the album is that the words are extremely "seven-eleven-ish" (one phrase repeated over and over). This is not bad, however there is a demographic which finds it difficult to worship with such repetition. There is nothing within the lyrics which is theologically unsound or out of context (both biblical context and contextually with the rest of the lyrics: no random, disjointed phrases). Some of my favorite lyrics on the album were from track six, "Freedom Reigns," which talks about the freedom gained from Christ. The song’s refrain is,

If you’re tired and thirsty, there is freedom
Give your all to Jesus, there is freedom.

These lyrics stuck out to me particularly because they draw a synonymous line between God’s grace and freedom. Most of the words are pointed directly at God, praying for Him to bring a passion for Christ to the youth of this generation.  All in all, the text is solid.

As a final summation, Come Away is an album full of good 2-3 minute worship songs. Unfortunately, every song was an average length of 7:45. This made the songs feel overly repetitive and "fluffy" (except for the final track, "One Thing Remains").  I like the album and commend Jesus Culture for their work in bringing this music to the table

-Robert



An Interview with Worship Band, Ascend the Hill, on Their Latest Hymns Album

It’s my pleasure to introduce to many of you Ascend the Hill.  My friend and fellow Denver worship leader, Chris Martin, pointed me to them a few months back.  They do consider themselves a worship band, but their music is very much performance-oriented.  Musically, their style reminds me of Death Cab for Cutie (think early material like Photo Album, and Transatlanticism) and Band of Horses.  The lead vocalist is a robust tenor, and the drummer has a way of taking simple meters and giving them a very creative, rhythmic feel.  Their electric guitars are chimey and ethereal.  In addition to appreciating the music, I personally enjoy it.  Ambient indie rock is my cup of tea.

Ascend the Hill is based in Tampa, FL, and they’re on the Come&Live label, a missional non-profit community of artists who consider their bands “musicianaries.”  Ascend the Hill’s latest album, Hymns: Take the World But Give Me Jesus, is of particular interest to me because they’ve done some creative setting of old hymn texts to new music (sometimes preserving the original melodies).  My favorite track is the first, “The Love of God,” a fairly recent "old hymn" (1917) by Frederick M. Lehman.  Its third verse is exquisite:

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

You can listen to this song and others on their myspace page, but I’d certainly encourage you to buy their music and support their artistic enterprise.  It is my hope and prayer that Ascend the Hill won't make setting old hymns to new music a one-shot deal.  Most of the hymns they explore are fairly recent in church history, and they would have much to offer the Church by exploring the vast arsenal of hymnody across the span of the last 2000 years.

Recently, I had the privilege of meeting (via email) one of the band’s members, Seth Davis, and he graciously gave his time to engage in the following brief interview.

*****

Tell us a little bit about your band.

Our band as a whole has a ton of influences because each individual person in the band come from completely different backgrounds of music. I personally grew up playing punk hardcore and loved bands like Life in Your Way, Have Heart, Verse and so on. Later I got into more experimental indie stuff like where a lot of the ambient sound comes into Ascend the Hill.

What are your thoughts about the state of modern worship today, and how do you hope to contribute to its growth and development?

This question is always difficult for me to answer because personally there hasn't been a ton of "worship" music I can connect with. Don't get me wrong I can worship to just about anything but I find myself listening to This Will Destroy You during my quiet times rather than Hillsong United. Although I believe some of the more mainstream Christian worship is great from some people, I can’t connect with it. But there are some amazing worship bands evolving and getting more recognition like some good friends of ours, The Ember Days, personally my favorite worship band. It makes me happy to see some of these new ambient worship bands grow and evolve. 

Your latest album is a project which re-dresses old hymns.  What inspired you to do this, and what do you think hymns have to offer the modern church today?

The whole hymns record just seemed to happen. Honestly the whole record is just a testimony to who God is. The music, ideas, inspiration—it all came from Him. I am just happy He let us be apart of it! I think it has shown a lot of kids what hymns really mean and how intimate and amazing each and every lyric is. We didn't want people to miss out on these songs.

What kind of feedback have you received from your fans about doing a hymns project?

The feedback has been far beyond what I ever imagined. The people that support our band are just phenomenal.

What’s next for Ascend the Hill?

We are currently taking a short break until January 5 and we leave to New Zealand to tour over there with The Ember Days. We’ll be over there a month then tour another month in the states when we get home. There are talks of Canada here soon, and we will be writing a new full length very soon!



Review of And If Our God Is For Us, by Chris Tomlin

Chris Tomlin, And if Our God is For Us (Sparrow)
Released: November 16, 2010 

The Passion movement has its stars.  Chris Tomlin is its superstar.  He has seen the most commercial success, and he is very much the front-runner of mainstream American modern worship.  In some respects, it’s very hard for Tomlin to top himself.  The enduring success of many songs from Arriving (2004) manifests itself continually on the CCLI top ten list.  “How Great is Our God,” “Holy is the Lord,” and (Laura Story’s) “Indescribable” are now mainstay go-to anthems for mainstream contemporary/modern worship.  See the Morning (2006) and Hello Love (2008) were great albums but did not yield for the church the same caliber of lasting tunes for the church.  And if Our God is For Us is probably also destined to a similar fate, though the album, as a whole, seems to notch back toward greater congregational accessibility as compared to the previous two (See the Morning and Hello Love had its share of more performance-oriented, radio-friendly material).  The album’s title gets its name from the moving and raucous bridge of the first track, “Our God,” which made its first recorded appearance earlier this year on Passion’s Awakening.

REVIEW SUMMARY

And if Our God is For Us should not be considered a worship album in the proper sense, but many of its songs are congregationally-friendly and appropriate for corporate singing.  The musical production is exquisite, making typical pop songs and arrangements fresh to the ears through interesting and creative choices of color.  Theologically, the album is God-centered.  As is the case with the other mainstream worship leaders who have come of age (e.g. Redman, Hughes), there is a maturity and biblical overlay to the textual content that was not as present in Tomlin’s earlier songwriting ventures.  “All to Us” is a fresh, moving, and powerful song with hints at a new theological focus for Tomlin (ecclesiology).  I do hold a mild concern that the Gospel of Christ’s atonement is extremely understated in this album (one could note the same thing about many previous albums).  Tomlin is a master of writing broad, sweeping songs of exultation to God, but I wish for more explicitness as to the fuel of what makes that possible for us—the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The songs I would incorporate for corporate worship at my church would be, in order: “All to Us,” “Our God,” and “Awakening.”

MUSICALITY

Because this is more of an “artist album” than a worship album, one should expect that not every song will have singable melodies fit for congregations.  The songs that seem more performance-oriented and less congregationally-friendly are “I Lift My Hands,” “No Chains on Me,” and “The Name of Jesus” (though some might view them as fine for congregations).  Stylistically, some songs, in melody and arrangement, sound conventional (e.g. “Jesus My Redeemer”), and others are arranged with more forward-looking choices (e.g. “All to Us” [see drum notes below]).

Seven of the eleven tracks were produced by Ed Cash, whose sonic choices I’ve come to admire greatly (the other four were produced by Dan Muckala).  The album, as a whole, takes a modern spin on the 80’s production sound: programmed pulses, drum loops, and very airy synths (e.g. the techno-club sound of “No Chains on Me”).  I love some of the rhythm choices made by the producers, especially the more unconventional sparse beat-compositions (e.g. “I Will Follow” and “Majesty of Heaven”).  In “All to Us,” the snare-kick work, combined with pregnant pause every other measure, is an appealing departure from the typical slow 4/4 ballad drum rhythm. 

“Our God” is a beautiful second arrangement of the now popular song which first appeared on Passion’s Awakening (see my review of that album and song) in a more typical arena-band style.  The string parts arranged in that song (though obviously programmed) are stirring and creative in their simplicity.  Likewise, “Awakening” is a second arrangement from the same album…perhaps a bit less interesting this time around.  In short, there is a simple diversity within the wide boundaries of pop music that makes this album a delight to listen to without tiring the ear with a lot of the same.

THEOLOGICAL CONTENT

Great on songs which exalt God.  Tomlin seems to specialize in songs of exaltation.  “Our God,” “Majesty of Heaven,” “Lovely,” “All to Us,” and “Faithful” are bent toward the transcendent. “All to Us,” in particular, stands out as a worship-gem.  The pre-chorus, in particular, is powerful:

Let the glory of Your name be the passion of the Church
Let the righteousness of God be a holy flame that burns
Let the saving love of Christ be the measure of our lives
We believe you’re all to us

Did you hear that first line?  Don’t miss it.  Yes, mainstream worship is finally breaking the ecclesiological barrier in their worship-writing.  Modern worship, at times, has seemed almost like a parachurch entity that had little understanding of and advocacy for the Church.  The “me and God” tenor of their songs lent itself to encouraging church-less Christianity.  When modern worship writers are recognizing God's special place for the Church in the world, I believe it is a mark of maturity.  I believe in the statement, which, though it has various forms, probably originates in Cyprian of Carthage: "Extra ecclesiam nulla salus" (Outside of the church, there is no salvation).  This statement can and has been taken to extremes by my Catholic and Orthodox brothers and sisters, but I understand it to simply mean that when God saves (by grace through faith alone, of course), He saves you into a community of believers--the Church.  To believe that "it's just me and God" (often called "Lone Ranger Christianity") is not Christianity at all.  So, I'm excited to see that the Church, even for a brief moment, is highlighted.

For Tomlin, the Gospel often equals freedom.  I also notice that Tomlin consistently writes from a certain angle of the gospel—freedom—and this seems typical of other mainstream charismatic worship forerunners like Hillsong.  For instance, here’s how “The Name of Jesus” progresses:

The name of Jesus is a refuge
A shelter from the storm
A help to those who call

The name of Jesus is a fortress
A saving place to run
A hope unshakeable

When we fall you are the Savior
When we call you are the answer
There is power in your name

So from this, I’m expecting to drive toward the root of that power—the atoning work of Christ.  But, instead, it moves here in the chorus:

In the name of Jesus
There is life and healing
Chains are broken in Your name
Every knee will bow down and our hearts will cry out
Songs of freedom in Your name

More Gospel, please.  So my question, in a song like this, is, Where does this power and freedom come from?  I don’t necessarily think that every song needs to highlight the atoning work of Christ, but I am using this song as an illustration for what I have found under-highlighted in Tomlin’s songwriting—the meritorious life and death of Christ, His active and passive obedience.  I would encourage Tomlin to make these more explicit.  In doing so, the Gospel will be more explicit, and the result will be that the meaning of all these songs will become that much more powerful.  There do exist “cross”-references:

• “up on the cross with open arms” in “Lovely”
• “you paid my ransom / you chose to suffer” in “Jesus My Redeemer”
• “let the saving love of Christ be the measure of our lives” and "hope and mercy at the cross" in “All to Us”

But I believe there should be so much more.  If we are going to truly sing about “Jesus My Redeemer,” we should be singing about blood, sin, death, and imputed righteousness.  If we are going to be singing about how “Faithful” God is, we must sing about where that faithfulness was most proven—at the cross.  Christian worship is most overtly Christian when it begins, ends, and is saturated by the Gospel. 

Nevertheless, the theology in And If Our God is For Us is solid, and I’m probably nit-picking Tomlin simply because he’s, well, Chris Tomlin…perhaps the most influential American worship leader in this current generation.  A great album...very edifying...and a gift to the church!

Review of God Be Praised, by Gateway Worship

Gateway Worship, God Be Praised (Integrity)
Released: November 9, 2011

Gateway Church celebrated its tenth anniversary this year.  With an attendance of 16,000 people on a given Sunday, this Dallas-Ft. Worth-based church is becoming nationally and internationally influential, especially with its worship music.  God Be Praised is Gateway Worship’s third live album, alongside five other studio albums, the first having been produced in 2003. 

Gateway Worship appears to have emerged largely out of the Christ for the Nations Institute (CFNI), a Bible school from the Pentecostal/charismatic tradition.  It appears that as CFNI raises up young, talented worship leaders (including, notably, Dove award-winner Kari Jobe), they send them to Gateway.  Some hail Gateway as the Hillsong of the United States.  To me, at least stylistically, New Life Church (Colorado Springs, CO) seems like a closer parallel.

REVIEW SUMMARY

God Be Praised is a typical-sounding, live “arena worship” album, with an array of lead singers and worship leaders.  It verges on being more “contemporary” than “modern” in worship-style, and it displays a sensible array of worship-expression—praise, adoration, confession, lament.  My favorite songs (and therefore the songs I’d most likely incorporate at our church), musically and textually, are “O the Blood” and “Faithful God.”  It is a solid album with exquisite moments of inspiration, but it does not jump out to the listener, either musically or theologically, as extraordinary.

MUSICALITY

Generally, but especially in comparison to the stylistic fore-thinking of groups like Hillsong, the album can be characterized as a beautiful, but typical, contemporary worship project.  In production-style and song-arrangement, God Be Praised sounds like it sits on the 60/40 mark of the contemporary/modern worship spectrum.  (I recognize that there’s a bit of artificiality in this distinction, but those who listen regularly to worship music with a discerning ear can probably understand what I mean.)  Here’s where I hear the “contemporary” edge:

• Mix-wise, the drums and bass lack a little of the presence one associates with more aggressive modern worship tunes.
• They’ve pulled back the bass-rich boom one hears in, for instance, a Hillsong project. 
• Contemporary pop vocals, mixed higher on top than in modern worship albums
• More thinly-laid electric guitar tracks
• Electric guitar work sounds a bit more conventional (e.g. “Praise is the Offering”)

Its mixing characterizes the “arena worship” sound (e.g. clapping, verbed swell of choir/congregation, and that right-to-left expanse associated with ambient mic techniques in a large auditorium).  “One Single Drop” is an interesting departure from the standard fare with its use of a nylon-stringed guitar and the prominence of the V-of-vi chord.  “By the Grace of God,” even with its use of bagpipes and Irish flute, is musically reminiscent of the new tune to “Before the Throne of God Above” in melody and triple-meter drive.  The dynamic push and pull in “O the Blood” is inspiring and befits the passion of the subject of the Gospel.

THEOLOGICAL CONTENT

There is a beautiful and simple Gospel-centeredness to this project.  One sometimes gets the vibe from Christians in the Pentecostal/charismatic tradition that they can care more about their worship-experience than the Gospel that frees them.  Not here.  Justification by grace through faith is littered across the texts of God Be Praised.  Similarly, the album is God-centered, rather than me-centered, corroborating the evidence that contemporary/modern worship is continuing to move in that healthy direction to correct its errors of self-focused excess.  Thank God! 

This album is also intriguing from a hymns movement perspective, in that one discerns a few moments of the “haunting” of the Church’s hymn tradition.  “Praise Him” opens with the line, “All creatures of our God and King.”  “O for a Thousand (Hallelujah)” preserves the original tune and adds a chorus of their own.  The album’s title and final track is an older-English-style construction, which sounds more historically hymn-like.  The usual charismatic emphases are apparent, too (e.g. victory, emphasis of the “moment” of worship).  Some of my more critical colleagues would point out the overly sentimental nature of “I Hear the Lord Passing By.”  However, unlike other songs where God is spoken to as more of an intimate friend (even lover), this one incorporates important Psalm-like allusion.  Chorus 2 sings (similar to Psalms like Psalm 130):

I hear the Lord passing by
This could be my day of visitation
Have mercy on me, Lord
Hear my cry of desperation
Have mercy on me, Lord
From the depth of my affliction
I hear the Lord…passing by

The Bridge alludes to Psalm 84:

My heart, my flesh
Yearn to be with You

“Faithful God” is another example of how contemporary worship is slowly coming around to the language and expression of lament.  Here are the opening verse and chorus:

If I call, will You come?
When I cry, do You hear?
I believe every tear
Is caught up by a faithful God
So I will cry until You come
Cast my cares into Your arms
I can’t see past this storm
But I’m counting on a faithful God

Faithful God
You hold my life secure
All my days are Yours
I believe
My God is like a fire defending me
Faithfully

There are even moments of exalting God’s sweeping sovereignty!  Verse 2:

I believe You still heal
And demons still bow
I’m convinced there is power
In trusting in a faithful God
So I will praise till You appear
And set Your foot upon this shore
I declare that every foe
Is subject to my faithful God.

The album ends in a beautiful, swelled, repeated refrain that ushers you into the heavenlies, Revelation-style:

Hallelujah, we’re redeemed and made free
By the blood of the Lamb, we have won
Hallelujah, we will sing victory
Jesus conquered the grave, God be praised

In sum, this album is theologically sound.  Even some of my past criticisms of more charismatic worship albums (e.g. over-emphasis on our victory and our ability) I find met with a much more Christ-centered balance.  I would love to see such albums engage in a bit more confession, but I believe we are on our way.  Thank you, Gateway, for a beautiful offering to our God!