REVIEW: Elevation Worship – “Kingdom Come”

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ARTIST: Elevation Worship
RELEASE: “Kingdom Come“
Independent

I’ll admit it: I’m not familiar with Elevation Church’s past worship CDs – I’ve never heard anything they’ve written or released prior to “Kingdom Come”.  I can’t say that it’s a step forward or back.  So, from this fairly limited perspective, I will give my rather one-sided opinion.

If you are tired of the Coldplay-inspired, Hillsong United sound (well, until their new CD – they abandoned that sound themselves!), then you may want to pass on this, as well-produced as it is (and it sounds GREAT – open, expansive – plenty of breathing room for the instruments), it fits firmly within the Hillsong United/Planet Shakers/Generation Unleashed/Alm UK territory, and doesn’t pull any surprises there. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Kingdom of God, Music Review, New Music, Shannon Tagged With:

REVIEW: Brian Wurzell – GRACE OCEAN

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Artist: Brian Wurzell
Release: Grace Ocean
Highlights: “Grace Ocean”, “Great Redeemer” – other notables included “Sing”, & “Floodgates”

Brian Wurzell, the Worship Arts Director at Hillside Community Church inRancho Cucamonga, CA (formerly at Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Chandler, AZ), has delivered to us a refreshingly unique, modern rock worship album.  GRACE OCEAN subtly tips its hat to indie-rock bands like Pedro the Lion and Starfler 59, while never becoming inaccessible.

Obvious corporate highlights  (take note, fellow worship leaders) are the hook-laden title track, which is pure ear candy (Can a “worship song” also be “ear candy”?  I guess so.  See exhibit A: “Grace Ocean”), and the mid-tempo ballad “Great Redeemer” – a prayer that God would “take our weakness and show Yourself strong”.  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Creativity, Music Review, New Music, Shannon Tagged With: , , , ,

REVIEW: Over the Rhine – THE LONG SURRENDER

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Artist: Over the Rhine
Release: The Long Surrender
Highlights: “Rave On”, “Only God can save us Now”, “Oh Yeah by the Way”, & “The King Knows How”

I still remember the night I first heard Over the Rhine. I was mostly into indie-rock and metal, and only went to hear them because some friends had invited me. It was ’92 when I walked into a dingy bar in Columbus, Ohio, and the stage was covered in candles, with little paths amongst the candle-light to a stool for each musician. When the band took the stage, it was like an angelic visitation – I don’t think I could even bring myself to clap during the performance. I sat still, jaw gaping wide, just taking in the subtle beauty – the understated excellence – of what poured from the stage. Needless to say, I’ve followed the band faithfully since.

That said, the Long Surrender, Over the Rhine’s 11th studio album, and – counting live CDs and compilations – 19th overall, took some well-spent listening to really come to terms with, even though it is truly one of the masterpieces of their catalogue. [Read more…]

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REVIEW: Joshua Seller – MY KING IS COMING

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Artist: Joshua Seller

Release: My King is Coming
Highlights: “Came to Save”, “Greater”, “My King is Coming”, & “Worship Rises”

Joshua and I met while we were both speaking at the Forge Conference this past October, at which time he gave me a pre-release of his forthcoming CD, “My King is Coming”.  However, I got so much new music at that conference that it honestly took me a few months to really give it a good listen.

Joshua is the worship pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel [Read more…]

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