Christian Music Artist Reviews
So, I have to say that I am super proud of the Christian music world lately. They’re producing music that is good enough to use on television. We’ve come a long way from having not the greatest music ever, but good lyrics. Yeah for the best of both worlds!
One of my favorite Christmas songs. God could have chose to send Jesus with all the power and ability to take down the world with one breath, but instead He came as a small little baby. Thus proving God’s even stronger, because He still wins using weakness.
Could’ve come like a mighty storm
With all the strength of a hurricane
You could’ve come like a forest fire
With the power of heaven in Your flame
But You came like a winter snow
Quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below
You could’ve swept in like a tidal wave
Or an ocean to ravish our hearts
You could have come through like a roaring flood
To wipe away the things we’ve scarred
But You came like a winter snow
(Yes, You did)
You were quiet
You were soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below
Oh, no, Your voice wasn’t in a bush burning
No, Your voice wasn’t in a rushing wind
It was still
It was small
It was hidden
You came like a winter snow
Quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below
Falling
(Oh, yeah)
To the earth below
You came falling
From the sky in the night
To the earth below
Lately I’ve been in a very Hymny mood, which is sort of abnormal. But I think the lyrics are just so beautifully written. One of my favorites right now is “How Deep the Father’s Love” This song is just sooo good. His love is far beyond our understanding. His love is what pulls me out of the deepest pits of life. And I know with all my heart that He loves me, has saved me, and I am free because of Him.
This particular one is covered by Joy Williams. I just like her easy breathless voice.
Lyrics
How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that left Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
As a gift while I was in the hospital a friend gave me an itunes gift card and this was one of the albums I bought. One word, INCREDIBLE. I absolutely love this album. His voice, lyrics, musical ingenuity, and everything about the album I would back with my reputation.
The album consists of 10 songs with varying tempos and meanings. Song order is as followed:
1. Awakening
2. When the Waters Rise
3. Our Great God
4. Power in Your Name
5. Coming Alive
6. Light of the World
7. Faithful Over Us
8. Only Our God
9. Brilliant Light
10. Every Perfect Gift
My favorites are “Awakening” “Our Great God” “Power in Your Name” “Coming Alive” and “Every Perfect Gift” The theme of this album, if I had to make it one theme, would definitely be just exalting God for all that He is. Each song has a characteristic about God that it praises, which is awesome! :D
Lyrics: What more can I say? They’re great! They are deep, and they’re catchy.
Voice: Excellent voice. The kind you could listen to all day and not get annoyed with it. It doesn’t stick out compared to other artists, but it is still pleasant.
Music: EXCELLENT! He has an awesome electronic vibe going throughout the songs. He knows when to speed things along, and he knows when to slow it down and feel it more. It’s just really good.
BONUS TRIVIA!!! It was produced by Steve Fee, which makes this album even better. Plus Steve Fee actually wrote some of the songs. I love that guy. :D
Ratings!
Voice: 4 out of 5
Music: 4.8 out of 5
Lyrics: 4.8 out of 5
This will sound awful, but until this album came out from Tomlin I hadn’t paid much attention to him. I sang and heard his songs in church all the time, but I wasn’t impressed by the music or the songs in a way that I wanted to buy his album. However, when I listened to this album I was shocked that “this” was Chris Tomlin. It was still Church music, but he stepped the game up for all the churches around the world because of it.
His voice isn’t my typical favorite male vocal tone. It’s a higher range and it’s extremely pure. I like his tone for a first soprano opera singer, but for a guy it isn’t my typical “favorite”. However, with this album he graduated from the vocals of his previous albums. Chris Tomlin stepped it up. The intro to God Almighty is incredible. I love what he did with the strings. Sing Sing Sing is just an epicly fun song to sing in church. I love how upbeat it is. It actually reminds me of another friend’s song that I have. (I’ll be reviewing him later) I love I will rise because the lyrics… the heartfelt nature of the song.
My favorite songs are “Sing Sing Sing” “God Almighty” “I will Rise” “Jesus Messiah” His lyrics are pretty simple. I think that’s just sorta Chris Tomlin though. He has a heart for God that is humble, not about himself. I don’t even think he thinks he’s cool or anything. His lyrics are similar. He doesn’t spin lyrics that are going to cause people to wonder about the meaning. It’s obvious. God you are amazing. We are not. We worship You with our lives. Simply put, but very good. :)
The album has incredible songs. The lyrics are incredible. The music is innovative. It’s overall just a great album. Plus it has sold like a million bajillion copies. Had several top radio hits. Had an incredible tour, and all the while remained humble and God focused. Therefore I put it among my music library must haves.
Voice: 3 out of 5
Music 4.25 out of 5
Lyrics 4.5 out of 5
Ok first off…. LOVE THIS SONG. I’m going to post the lyrics. I know I don’t usually, but I’m going to try a little spin on what I’ve been doing. Let me know what you guys think!
This song was written because Josh Wilson wanted to do something to help with the flood that happened in 2010 in Nashville. A lot of people were just saying to only pray, but so often we use this as an excuse. It is vital to follow through on words/prayers with actions inspired by the Holy Spirit. This song is so cool. It has inspired me, and has kind of become my theme song. God has designed each of us to do our part, so stop waiting for someone else to do what YOU were designed for, and submit your life to God. Watch where He takes you!
Sometimes I
I just want to close my eyes
And act like everyone’s alright
When I know they’re not
This world needs God
But it’s easier to stand and watch
I could say a prayer and just move on
Like nothing’s wrong
But I refuse
‘Cause I don’t want to live like I don’t care
I don’t want to say another empty prayer
Oh, I refuse
To sit around and wait for someone else
To do what God has called me to do myself
Oh, I could choose
Not to move but I refuse
I can hear the least of these
Crying out so desperately
And I know we are the hands and feet
Of You, oh God
So, if You say move
It’s time for me to follow through
And do what I was made to do
Show them who You are
‘Cause I don’t want to live like I don’t care
I don’t want to say another empty prayer
Oh, I refuse
To sit around and wait for someone else
To do what God has called me to do myself
Oh, I could choose
Not to move but I refuse
To stand and watch the weary and lost
Cry out for help
I refuse to turn my back
And try and act like all is well
I refuse to stay unchanged
To wait another day to die to myself
I refuse to make one more excuse
‘Cause I don’t want to live like I don’t care
I don’t want to say another empty prayer
Oh, I refuse
To sit around and wait for someone else
To do what God has called me to do myself
Oh, I could choose
Not to move but I refuse
So I know a lot of you probably won’t know this guy… honestly I didn’t either. He added me on my twitter and so I listened to his music and figured I’d pass on some info to you guys about him. :)
You won’t know about him because he is an Independent signed artist. He got started with music because he was at a concert and fell in love with the idea that he could impact the world for God through his music. He started writing music before he was 20 with a publishing company, and then later he got signed when he was 20. He just released an EP album this month and it is available on itunes. It is called “Love is Taking Over” It includes 4 songs:
1. All I Wanna Know
2. It’s You
3. Love is Taking Over
4. Let it Go
The overall theme of this album is finding the meaning of life/love in “You” which I’m assuming to be God because he makes references to Heaven, and we all know that the names for God are typically capitalized.
Sooo ratings time ( I always feel weird about this part, but I feel like it’s helpful)
Voice: 3 out of 5
Let’s see… I would say his voice doesn’t naturally grab me. However, it’s one of those voices that gets you after a bit. It’s some what nasally, but not in a bad way… which sometimes nasally can be bad haha. He totally reminds me of MIKESCHAIR. I love them, and I’d still choose them over Dakota, but if you like MIKESCHAIR I’d say you’d like him too. They have similar voice styles.
Music: 2 out of 5
I wasn’t super impressed. It definitely doesn’t sound bad, but it isn’t super distinct to me. I do like the cool little humming that he does in “It’s You” I like the little things like that because I know that crazy people like me will memorize that hums and do it super loud in the car when we hear the song.
Lyrics: 2 out of 5
Often times I’ll look at an album and want lyrics that are super challenging to my walk with God, songs that encourage me to reach higher. The lyrics on this album aren’t like a revelation, but they are nice. It seems almost like a rededication of your life kind of album, and for those of you with non-Christian friends the lyrics are friendly enough to speak to the void in their life. I don’t know how they’ll feel about the music part of it, but lyrically speaking it’s a good starter for them.
I don’t know that I’ll buy this particular EP, but I’ll keep my eye on him. I’d say he has a decent future ahead of him.
By the way guys…. YEAH… Chris Tomlin is releasing a music video Tuesday that I WILL be blogging about. It’s just a little song called “I Lift My Hands” …. yeah… LOVE that song. I’ll give you guys the background story on it too. It’s kind of incredible. :D kk Don’t get too psyched between now and then.
—Becky
Dara has been releasing music as an independent artist since 2006, but something tells me that now that she is signed to Word Entertainment she’ll probably have a decent career ahead of her. Her voice reminds me of Francesca Battistelli but a bit more bright in its sound. Its very soulful with hints of jazzy playfulness. Which is somewhat weird to me because Battistelli is signed to Word too. -shrug- Any who! She just released a single called “Suitcases”. This song emphasizes letting go of everything that holds you down in order to be happy and live life fully. In her words:“I want to paint a picture of God’s complete restorative love and how through Christ, we have an opportunity to live free”. It is a feel good, easy going, summer drive kind of song.
I look forward to her full album release on July 12. Although lyrically sparse I can see the potential for something good. I guess we will see. Am I buying this single? No… but when the full album comes out I’ll give you guys another update and THEN maybe I’ll buy it.
Anthem Lights is a new Christian boy band. They have four members (from the left) Kyle Kupecky,Caleb Grimm, Alan Powell, Chad Graham. Their group started with Chad Graham. He was pursuing a music career and his friend Alan Powell teamed up with him one day to do some writing. In that time they realized that the music would be better with multiple voices. With that they added Kyle and Caleb to the team.
The main idea that they are pushing right now is the idea that as Christ followers we don’t really belong here, and it’s not our home. We shouldn’t be comfortable. We are still here to make an impact, but we’re here for a mission and not to be comfortable.
Kay now to break the sound down. They have a full album set to release this month (May 2011) but they released an EP in February. From that EP this I’ve gathered a decent grip on if they’re any good. Musically they are pretty good. Their music has a good beat and it’s definitely catchy. They definitely incorporate a lot of electronic synth sound as well as normal band instruments. Their vocals, although varied between members, are pretty good. I actually like that they all have a distinct sound apart from each other, but then they can also blend extremely well in their harmonies. If I have one complaint with them is their lyrics. It seems like so often catchy music lacks in the lyric department, and I have to say that fits for Anthem lights too. I think they could use a bit more focus and less generalities.
Overall these guys are pretty good. I bought their music. I like variety. When I want more upbeat and fun I listen to them, and when I want a little more focused lyrics I listen to other artists. I like them, and I look forward to their new album. I’ll definitely buy it.
SOOOO my ratings!
Music: 3.8 out of 5
Voices: 4 out of 5
Lyrics: 2.75 out of 5
Message: 2.9 out of 5
