Take a healthy dose of Barlowgirl, mix in a little Flyleaf, and you’ve got the basic ingredients for the sound you’ll find on Submerged’s debut EP Don’t Hide. Produced and co-written by Skillet’s Ben Kasica, Don’t Hide features some real flashes of brilliance and a knack for hooks that point to a bright future for this band. The band’s sound would be undoubtedly elevated by the major dollars that one of the big labels could provide, but for a starter project there is a lot to like. The most poignant song in the EP is without a doubt “The Beating of a Heart” which chronicles the sadness of an end of life journey: hands reaching, hearts beating/holding on to dear life/hope’s fading, doctors waiting/only a miracle can save her now. Forgivess for past mistakes is the theme of “Who I Used To Be”: the past has got me bound with chains/I’m not content to stay the same/help, I need you to get over it/what I did, I need you to forgive. Fans of female-fronted rock will find Submerged to be a diamond in the rough.
Submerged – Don’t Hide
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009Chris and Conrad
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009Passion and artistry is at the heart of this debut album featuring Chris Kuti and Conrad Johnson. From its opening track “You’re the One”, Chris and Conrad draw you into a world of rock and worship with a depth of lyrical intensity that will have you alternating between singing along and soul-searching introspection. This album engages you all the way with songs like “Buried Alive”: we’ve all broken ground/take one look around/we’re in over our heads/but we keep digging down. In the honesty of “Let It Out” we hear: how long can you keep building/those walls around your heart/how long can you keep running/from who you really are. Tight production, a bright guitar-driven sound, and perfectly blended vocals combine to make this an album well worth a listen. Oh, yeah –as an added bonus you’ll get the Chris and Conrad documentary DVD “We Want A Revolution” giving you a behind-the-scenes look at producing the album. Great music and a documentary – what else can you ask for?
Capital Lights – Outrage
Friday, June 19th, 2009Remedy Drive – Daylight is Coming
Friday, June 19th, 2009The all-brother band from Nebraska is emerging from the Indie scene with the boost of the haunting power of the album’s title cut. Remedy Drive successfully integrates a unique keyboard sound with driving guitars for a successful blend that works from start to finish. Lyrically this band stays focused on a theme of hopeful expectation, typified in the anthem Hope: hope is with me in my time of trouble/when it all comes crashing down she will stay/by my side digging through the rubble/she’s not giving up – not giving up – not giving up. Look for Remedy Drive at most of the major U.S. Christian music festivals in the summer of ’09.
Group1Crew: Ordinary Dreamers
Friday, June 19th, 2009Don’t dismiss Group1Crew as lightweight because their lyrics carry a positive message instead of trash talk. This three-person group delivers a serious dose of funky rhythms, teeth-rattling bass, melodic vocals and a whole lot more in a new release that is climbing charts and firing up concert halls coast-to-coast. Ordinary Dreamers restores your faith in an urban sound that doesn’t need to descend to the gutter, focusing instead on calling on a generation to live life with a passion and thirst for changing the world for the better with lyrics like those in Critical Emergency: this is a critical emergency/get up/we’ve got to get together/brothers and sisters are in desperate need/so get up/shine the light and get up.
The Classic Crime – Abracadavers
Friday, June 19th, 2009Take it from me – Mission Six
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009Come What May review
Monday, June 15th, 2009Come What May is a compelling film about Caleb Hogan, a college freshman’s struggle to prepare a legal argument for reversing Roe vs. Wade as part of a national moot court competition. The trouble is, Caleb’s mom will refuse to pay his college tuition unless he wins the competition, and he is convinced that his argument will fail. If that’s not enough of a plot, Caleb begins to fall in love with his partner for the competition, while at the same time his mom’s legal work to represent abortionists in court begins to destroy her relationship with Caleb’s dad. More twists and turns follow, but we’ll decline to give more details at the risk of spoiling the surprises in store. Filmed on a shoestring budget with the assistance of hundreds of home school students and Patrick Henry College, this film is well worth a look. Come What May is now available on DVD nationwide or maybe ordered online.
Every Young Man’s Battle
Monday, June 15th, 2009Authors Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker understand the trials that teen guys go through when it comes to temptation, and they also understand that the game seems to be rigged against guys when it comes to dealing with the nonstop parade of sexual imagery. This books addresses key issue guts face head-on, but don’t expect a “get out of jail free” card chalked up to guys just being guys. The real guts of the book lay out a battle plan for guys who are serious about personal purity, providing step-by-step advice for building lines of defense before it’s too late. “The problem is that some men excuse themselves as victims of impure eyes and thoughts, as if that absolves them from all responsibility,” write the authors.