I have the privilege of listening to tons of new music and I wanted to showcase 4 CD’s/EP’s I am in love with right now.
1. Matthew Reed – Come and drink
Matthew sent this to me and asked that I check it out for him. I am a sucker for a well produced indie sound and when you mix that with worship I am instantly drawn in. I don’t know how best to describe this album other than it sounds very modern and yet I hear lots of things in it that I loved from the 90’s sonically. It has a Vigilantes of Love vibe to it (without the country folk rock). Wow honestly I really am having a hard time wrapping my head around the diversity and goodness of his sound and Don’t want to do him an injustice by comparing him wrong. The song “crash this place” is fantastic lyrically. “Holy spirit would you move in power and crash this place with love”. I love that image like we are inviting him to sleep on our couch or something. He as our companion and we are asking him to move in. “Emmanuel” is another stand out for me. Somewhere in my twisted brain this is what Norah Jones would sound like if she was a dude. I love this song and Really hope to be able to use it maybe even this Christmas. All in all this is a great 6 track CD that is creative, full of great stuff and does not get stuck in the rut of the “modern worship” sound with tons of delay pedals.
2. August York – This is How we Met
This is the First CD from my friends Mckendree and Rachel Tucker. Mckendree of course has had many great solo albums and played with Sonicflood as well, but after he got married this band evolved. I am a huge fan of what Mckendree does with his production, loops, and crazy digital fantastical surprises. He has a very cool raw voice. Rachel on the other hand is a stark contrast very similar to Zooey in She & Him. Somehow the two of them, much like their relationship, were meant to sing together. This CD takes you on a journey. I love what they do with all the different instruments and styles. It really has something for everybody and yet at the same time every song is “them”. It is great to hear them strip it down much like the Civil Wars, but also jazz it up like on the song “What I need”. One of my favorite songs is “no turning back”. It is just Rachel with nothing else and it is so haunting. You swear it is 1930 and you are listening to a Glass record. My one and only negative of the CD is I think Rachel could use more reverb in the production on some of the tracks. Her voice is just really cool and i would love to hear it even more echoed. I can picture these guys in a swanky throwback night club in the village in NY.
3. Nate Fancher – Surrender
I met nate in Sept at the Forge Conference in NJ. He, in passing, handed me his CD for me to listen to and I told him I would review it. I had 0 expectations because I knew very little about him, his ministry, or his “sound”. What I got was something very original and yet strangely familier at the same time. It is an amazing worship album and is starting to become easily one of my top favorites from anything I have listened this year. I love to compare artists to other artists so you can get a feel for it. So I would say it is like Owl City meets Gin Blossoms mixed with the spiritual integrity and lyrical content of Matt Redman. He is such a different and cool sounding vocalist with a Tener voice that reminds me of Ian Mcintosh. Great production, amazing instrumentation and a breath of fresh air. I can see myself doing a few tracks off this CD especially “holy Lovely”
3. Harvest Bashta – Make us Ready
I HATE EP’s because 90% of the time when I get an EP and sound like the church lady after listening to it “well isn’t that special!”. Sadly I find myself more times than not completely forgetting about the artist and not too excited for a full album. When I first heard of harvest of course I noticed her last name is the same as Daniel Bashta (my pick for best CD of the year). Turns out Harvest is his Sister. This EP broke the mold if you will. It is amazing and anointed. It moved me into a spirit of worship, warfare and revival right from the beginning. It is not overly complicated lyrically or musically. What it is though is a cry for God and for Him to show up, wreck us and revive the church. I love all 3 songs. I can’t wait to use them. Her sound is like what if Vicky Beeching and Misty Edwards had a baby. And since that is impossible it must tell you how cool this album is. I am praying somebody signs her ASAP because I want more of her music. Right now this EP is free on noisetrade.
Well there are 4 CD’s you may not have heard or even heard of that I think you need to go out and buy right away. I know what I am talking about so… DO IT!!
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