Worship music does have a future after all. This one shows the way with colour, energy and soaring production.
Label: Independent
Time: 5 tracks / 22 mins:
How refreshing to have a worship set opening with bright, zingy beats. “Dynamite” is about the power of the Holy Spirit changing lives and exudes energy to match. Smith sings, “I’m gonna lift my hands, lift them into the light,” which would normally count as a worn out cliché, but in a dance music context, it feels far more appropriate.
Vocals on the more ponderous “Take my Heart” slow things down a bit, but the pace returns with “Burn Bright.” It’s not all down to the keys, either. In this context, even the guitar lines feel brighter.
Smith is a worship pastor at London’s Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) church and it’s easy to spot the influence of his former colleague Tim Hughes, particularly in the title track, where he cuts-and-pastes Hughes phrases (such as, “We’ll sing with all creation, ‘Shout it out!’”).
This title track and the closer “End of Me” create a sense of glory as the keys soar densely and guitars chime. It’s music that conveys something of the wonder Smith is singing about.
This release (produced by Martin Smith of Delirious? fame) was a début and Kickstarter project, which has probably freed it from the overbearing constriction of record company involvement, especially as Christian record companies don’t seem to get EDM, preferring to keep rolling out the guitar-based ‘same old, same old’.
This is very welcome – worship music does have a future after all.
Derek Walker
http://walkerwords.wordpress.com
