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Legedary
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Legedary
The
77’s
It’s been a
few years since their last studio release, but Christian alternative rock
pioneers The 77’s are back with their new album,
A Golden Field of Radioactive
Crows. Unlike their labelmates The Choir (who released their own comeback
album, Flap Your Wings last fall), age hasn’t produced a mellowing
effect for The 77’s. They continue to make excellent music that combines
bouncy rock melodies with witty, intelligent lyrics. A Golden Field
of Radioactive Crows is a stellar album that will not only entertain
past fans of The 77’s, but should get the band many new ones.
All
Star United
For the past
few years, All Star United has been one of the most creative, musically
diverse and unfortunately underrated bands in Christian music. Their last
studio album, International Anthems for the Human Race, was released
in December of 1998, and besides a couple of new songs on their best of
album, Smash Hits, there hasn’t been any new material released from
the band. Seeing this, All Star United responded to the wishes of their
fans, and released a five song EP full of b-sides, rarities and previously
unreleased tracks, Let’s Get Crazy. The title track is just as energetic
and thrilling as standout hits from previous albums, like “Smash Hit”,
“Superstar” or “Hang On”. Though they aren’t quite as great as songs from
their other albums, “Fall on Me” and “Song for the Broken Hearted” are
fairly good light rock songs. Let’s Get Crazy is good not only for
the songs, but for the fact that All Star United responded and catered
to the needs of their fans. You know a band is good when their b-sides
are much better than most of the stuff released in Christian rock. This
fall All Star United is set to release a new, full length studio album,
but it’s unfortunate that with the persistent rumors of the band’s break
up, this upcoming album may be the band’s last.
Broomtree
After their
self-titled pop/punk debut album, Broomtree lost some of their punk edge
in favor of a more rock oriented sound on their sophomore release, Transparent.
Their third album, Maybe This Time, continues with the less-punk
trend, and has a British rock/pop sound to it, and is their best release
so far. With the exception of the guitar heavy pop style of album's closing
tracks "Sunshine" and "By My Side", Maybe This Time features edgy,
alternative rock with distorted guitars and Christ-centered lyrics. The
only problem worth noting on this album is the fact that, at times, the
guitar/drum beats overpower and drown out Kylie Schilg's vocals. Showcasing
their continuing musical growth, Maybe This Time is a solid release
from a band that keeps on getting better.
Creed
Creed has become
one of the top bands in the world, and the spiritual lyrics and Pentecostal
background of lead singer Scott Stapp has sparked a huge conterversey over
weather or not they're a Christian band. Which also brings up the issue
of "What defines a Christian band?". But discussing that further would
take up way more time and space than I can fit into a paragraph long CD
review. On the band's new album, Weathered, the same spiritual elements
remain: "I tell it like it is/If the truth will set you free/I feel sorry
for your soul/Can't you hear the the ringing /Cause for you the bell tolls"
("Freedom Fighter"), "Reflecting on all of my mistakes/I thought I found
the road to somewhere/Somewhere in His grace/I cried out heaven save me"
("One Last Breath"), "At times life's unfair/And you know it's plain to
see/Hey God I know/I'm just a dot in this world/Have you forgot about me?/Whatever
life brings/I've been through everything/And now I'm on my knees again"
("Don't Stop Dancing"). Those are the examples that mention God/Christianity
my name, but many songs on this album could be (and probably are) directed
to God. Musically,
Weathered is a step up from Human Clay,
which all sounded nearly exactly the same, and , while it featured some
great songs ("What if", "Higher", "With Arms Wide Open") was mostly filler.
There's a lot more variety on Weathered than its predecessor, with
a mix of edgy hard rock ("Bullets"), Native chanting ("Who's Got My Back"),
and the melodic post-grunge rock we're used to from Creed ("My Sacrifice",
"Don't Stop Dancing", "Weathered", "Freedom Fighter", and more). "One Last
Breath", a slow, powerful ballad, is Weathered's best song, and
is a sure fire hit (though most of this radio-friendly album is). On this
album, Creed delivers what most of their fans want, and improve yet don't
make any drastic changes. It was predicted that this would be Creed's equivalent
of the Joshua Tree, and Weathered fits somewhere between
the Joshua Tree and mass produced radio friendly rock.
The
Elms
The Big
Surprise
Sparrow
The Elms, a
four piece band from Columbus, Ohio, released their debut EP in February
of 2000, with a full length album set to release in August of that year.
Well August became January 2001, then April before The Big Surprise
finally released on May 22nd. The good news is, it’s more than worth the
wait. The Big Surprise is a perfect brit-rock album, that includes
alternative rock (“Lifeboat”), surf rock (“Hey Hey”) and melodic ballads
(“Real Men Cry”). It’s always hard to predict a new band’s future success,
but it’s safe to say that this is the debut album from the next big thing
in Christian music.
Further
Seems Forever
Further Seems
Forever’s debut album The Moon Is Down stands out from the rest
of Tooth & Nail’s bands for two reasons. First, they’re from Florida,
a few thousand miles away from most of T&N’s bands which are from California.
Secondly, and more importantly, their music is great. This is a modern
rock album that showcases plenty of artistic talent and spiritual references.
Like most of The Moon Is Down, “The Bradley”, “Madison Prep” and the title
track are emotion filled emo gems . “New Year’s Project” and “A New Desert
Life” show the band’s lighter side, with a toned down acoustic rock sound
making them standouts on a admirable album. Straying away from what seems
to be an ever increasing mess of less than stellar pop punk music otherwise
known as Tooth & Nail Records, The Moon Is Down is the best
album to come on the label since The Juliana Theory's Emotion Is Dead.
GS
Megaphone
Who would of thought that the first band signed to Ray Boltz's Spindust Records would be a hard rock band? Well, GS (God Sized) Megaphone's debut Out of My Mind is the debut album for both the band and the label, and it's definitley a great start. With a gritty alternative rock style not unlike that of Creed or Justifide, GS Megaphone's music is full of grinding and hook laden guitar work. Their songs deal with pertinent issues to Christian teens and adults alike. Combining great music with moral, Christ focused lyrics, Out of My Mind is an album that will musically appeal to fans of alternative and hard rock, while giving them a releavent and honest "God sized" message.
Plankeye
When lead singer/songwriter
Scott Siletta left Plankeye to form Fanmail, Plankeye’s sound (on their
first album without him, Relocation) changed from punk driven rock
to power pop, but still did show signs of their old style. Now on Strange
Exchange, their punk sound is nowhere to be found, and most of their
power pop sound is gone too. Plankeye’s musical style has changed once
again, this time in favor of a mellower modern rock sound, and they pull
it off great. Though their sound is as tranquil as it’s ever been, the
lyrics are deep and metaphoric (their best ever) and Strange Exchange
is Plankeye’s most artistic album as well. Strangely enough, Plankeye’s
constant exchange of musical styles has done them well.
Tait
Over the past
decade, dc Talk has been one of (if not the) most popular bands in Christian
music. This summer, all three members will release solo albums, showcasing
their various musical styles. The first album to be released is Empty,
by Michael Tait’s band, Tait. The album has a blend of musical styles that
includes Pete Stewart’s gritty guitar work on the modern rock songs “Alibi”,
“Spy” and “Bonded”, among others. Michael Tait’s emotional voice is showcased
on Top 40/Adult Contemporary songs like “All You Got”, “Tell me Why” and
the title track. Empty is one of the best Christian rock albums of the
year, though you’d expect that from a band who’s members have played in
bands the likes of Grammatrain, Petra and, of course, dc Talk.
Various
With few rock
Christmas albums in Christian music (or any music for that matter), the
first two releases in the Happy Christmas series were compilations
that were both highly original and very needed. They combined Christian
artists of various musical styles and levels of popularity covering Christmas
classics in their own style, or creating songs all their own. After a one
year hiatus, BEC Recordings releases the third installment in the series,
Happy
Christmas Vol. 3. The album kicks off with The OC Supertones' bouncy
ska-reggae version of "Heaven's Got a Baby", followed by Relient K's humorous
"Santa Claus is Thumbing to Town", which leads into the mellower sound
of Cadet's "The First Noel". Bleach's "What We Call Christmas" is done
in an excellent alt-rock style and is followed by Earthsuit's "Wonderful
Christmas Time", a song that was disappointing because it didn't quite
live up to the musical or lyrical qualities of the band's previous work.
The next four songs are Kendall Payne's and Poor Old Lu's folk covers of
"O Come O Come Emmanuel" and "What Child is This" respectively, Hangnail's
punk cover of "Do You Hear What I Hear" and the synth-pop of Joy Electric's
"Mrs. Santa Claus". With the exception of Ace Troubleshooter's "Have it
All" (done in a guitar heavy alternative rock style unlike their usual
pop/punk sound), the last six songs are, though very well done, rather
slow and monotone, and aren't reflective of the album's "Happy" title.
However, some of the album's best songs are found here, including the debut
of Relient K lead singer/songwriter Matthew Thiessen's side project, The
Earthquakes, with their piano laced ballad, "I Hate Christmas Parties",
and Aaron Sprinkle's "A Christmas Song For All Year Round", which reminds
us of the true meaning of Christmas. Probably the greatest release yet
in a stellar series, Happy Christmas Vol. 3 is probably the best
Christmas album you'll find in your Christian bookstore this holiday season.
Various
Keith Green
was an influential musician in inspirational music, but tragically died
in a plane crash on July 28, 1982. Though his music has lived on in churches
around the world, it has taken a bit of a different turn on the BEC Recordings
compilation album, Start Right Here: Remembering The Life of Keith Green.
Reminiscent of BEC Recordings’
Happy Christmas series, this album
features many of Tooth & Nail/BEC’s artists covering his songs in their
own form of music. Styles range from punk (MxPx’s “You Put This Love In
My Heart”) to hip hop (Ill Harmonics’ “So You Wanna Go Back To Egypt”)
to pop (Cadet’s “Your Love Broke Through”) to rock (Bleach’s “Asleep In
The Light”) and techno (Joy Electric’s “Make My Life A Prayer”). Other
bands featured are Hangnail, Starflyer 59, Ace Troubleshooter, Flight 180,
MG! The Visionary, Element 101 and the Dingees. Though fans of Keith Green’s
music may cringe at this album’s rock style,
Start Right Here
is
a great tribute album.
