Kevin Max - Broken Temples

Whatever you might say about Kevin Max, you can't question the guys artistic integrity. After  brief stint fronting Audio Adrenaline, Max left over the creative direction of the band. Not content playing worship music for a steady paycheck, Max chose to go back out on his own.

Musically, you might not find much different between Audio Adrenaline's return and Broken Temple. Obviously, I attribute most of that to Max's unique and unmistakable vocal style. But it is quite a departure from the gutsy Cotes d'Armor (Max's 2010 solo full-length). Not just musically but lyrically as well. It might be Max's safest album laically since he parted with DC Talk. Which makes sense. Kevin said when he joined Audio A that he wanted to show he wasn't the "bad boy of christian rock" that he had been painted to be. While the lyrics might be "safe", Kevin's decision to leave Audio A shows his integrity as an artist and it isn't like Broken Temples is a worship album.

There's nothing wrong with Broken Temples. But it sounds like records we've heard from Max before. The songs are good. Upbeat and fun with meaningful lyrics. Good King's Highway is more fun than anything that was on the Audio Adrenaline comeback record. Light Me Up is another danceable track. Just As I Am feels like a nod to Max's love for the Beach Boy's Pet Sounds. Clear is a little moodier and introspective musically. Very new wave. Max stated he wanted to do something similar to Coldplay and that showcases itself on When We Were Young and That Was Then, This Is Now. White Horse isn't new wave, but it's another nod to Max's love for 80's music.

I really like and enjoy the songs on Broken Temples. The problem is, it doesn't feel new. And it doesn't have to. But because there's no pushing the envelope lyrically, it feels like something is lacking. So we're left with just a good record. A really good and enjoyable record. But it just doesn't have something that takes it to that next level. Maybe the record will grow on me more with time. Because I like the songs enough to keep listening. 4 out of 5 Stars.

Josh Garrels - Home

Josh Garrels isn't an artist I've ever loved. I enjoyed a bunch of aspects about Love & War & The Sea Between, but the album just didn't have staying power with me. In fact, my favorite thing Garrels has ever done is his hook on Beautiful Eulogy's Anchor.

But none of that stopped me from picking up Garrels' new album on release day and spinning it immediately. And spinning it again. And again. And according to iTunes, I've listened to Home 18 times.

Let me state this now: Go download Home right now!

If you're old enough to remember a time when listening to music was an activity, like you'd just go and listen to a record and do nothing else, this is the type of record you want to just listen to. To sit and explore and dive deep into and enjoy. Home is a record is soak your soul in to. Soulful, bluesy, expressive.

The strings that give way to a soul filled Born Again open up the album on an absolutely beautiful note. It could be Marvin Gaye, Ottis Redding, or Al Green singing over the track. Garrels has a flare for musical proficiency or quirks, which is probably why he find a hard punctuating a melody between the chorus and verse 2. The hook is infectious, but underrated in the way those great soul singers could deliver a love song. The way the music sways and interplays, between guitar sweeps, giant string sections and a harp, it's an orchestrated piece of genius.

Colors keeps the soulful vibe, while throwing in more of an Isley Brothers "rock" vibe. A Long Ways feels almost as if a ghost is haunting you. Like an emotional, painful past ghost. But only on the verses. The choruses feel like Garrels is breaking through the hurt. Which carries into the second verse, which builds to a triumphant closing. Leviathan is groove heavy and verse driven. Garrels falsetto carrying each and every tune. With each track, the styling and sound of the record has slowly been shifting and moving forward, punctuated by the bluesy rock and roll sound of The Arrow.

Heavens Light brings things down and showcases Garrels as the singer/songwriter he is. Simple and beautiful.The country, folksy influence find their way into Morning Light. It's a vast departure from the almost Motown esque sounds of Born Again, but the way the album moves and flows, it's not a shock to the ears and doesn't feel  out of place. It's just an artist showcasing their craft. Always Be is light and fun. The vocals and lyrics ebb and flow effortlessly in the background. Home At Last is another simple singer/songwriter song, but the instrumentation that is present creates a beautiful texture that keeps Garrels from ever being boring.

Benediction is the most stripped down track on the record and is a beautiful closer.

Home is a masterpiece. I don't feel like that's an overstatement. It's a record worth your time. Even if it doesn't sound like your style of music, the record is good enough to warrant a listen. You won't be disappointed. 5 out of 5 Stars!

Death Cab For Cutie - Kintsugi

There was a minor indie kid freakout when Chris Walla announced he was leaving Death Cab. What did it mean for the future of the band? How was this going to affect the sound and style of everyone's favorite indie rockers? Settle down kids. It;s not like Death Cab hasn't changed their sound in the past (Plans, Codes and Keys) and survived to still be one of your favorites. Sure, a stylistic change is bound to happen, but there's no need to panic.

The guitar work on Kintsugi's opener, No Room For Frame, is some of the most intricate and interesting I think I've ever heard from DCFC. The song is light and fun, an almost Pet Sounds influenced track. Gibbard's guitar work quickly shines and continues to showcase a simple take on intricate sound lines in Black Sun. It's as if the band thought they might start to be losing fans by placing The Ghost Of Beverly Drive up next. The song is a jangly pop throwback that sounds like some of the band's classic work from The Photo Album or We Have The Facts.

Songs like Little Wanderer, which have a slightly dark undertone, are kept upbeat and poppy. It seems as though there's an infused new life and creative freedom for Death Cab.

Things do get dicey after that. You've Haunted Me All Your Life and Hold No Guns just kind of sit on the record. No bad songs, but coming off the fun pop vibes, they just sit there, like sad sacks, You've Haunted eventually picks up but following that with Hold No Guns is like a dead weight in your gut. It's not that the songs are bad, it's just that there's no subtle signs that a change is coming and instead you go from upbeat indie pop songs, to these pretty sad stripped down songs. This is why track order matters!

The band tries to infuse more energy with Everything's A Ceiling, a song that reminds you the band is now into electronics. (And you were trying to forget about Codes & Keys) It's a double whammy if you hated Plans because the melody reminds me of those songs. (FWIW, I loved Plans) Good Help Is Hard to Find is a disco/Marron 5 type of guitar riff. It's completely different from anything Death Cab has done before. From there we get El Dorado, with its open chord , heavy reverb guitar riff before busting into an electronic dance number. It's a reminder that indie guys like new wave. Ingenue is another throwback style song. Guitar heavy with enough space to make sure the track isn't over saturated and drowning in sound. Binary Sea is a little more upbeat than your usual Death Cab piano ballads, but Death Cab has also never been one to close a record out on a sad note. It feels like the song needed some extra layer. An epic instrumental build or something to give it that over the top punch to really close the album out strong.

Kintsuigi might not be overly ambitious, but at times it feels like it's too much. Maybe that was Walla's primary function in the band. To take all the ideas and make sure there was a singular direction and flow to the album. Kintsugi feels complete and well thought out through flur songs before changing directions and the band is on to the next thing. I appreciate the creativity, but it's not cohesive. 3.5 out of 5 Stars.

Aaron Gillespie - Grace Through The Wandering

There's instantly something more compelling and interesting about Aaron Gillespie's second worship full-legnth. I hate to say more honest, because I don't think there was anything disingenuous about Anthem Song. Maybe it's the maturity. Between fronting the Almost and leading worship, there's a comfortability that comes through on Grace Through The Wandering. There's a lyrical richness in certain songs on Grace, that moves beyond the typical congregational worship and into a personal outpouring. And I think that it the biggest difference between Anthem Song and Grace Through The Wandering.

Grace takes a while to really hits it's stride. I enjoy the first couple of tracks, but the artistry and more crafted moments don't appear right away. Wake Us Up is a nice opener. Upbeat, but not crazy. It's a very nice congregational song, which I have no problem with! You need those on a worship album and I would love to be singing Wake Us Up in my church. Gillespie's spin on Praise Him is nice. He doesn't stray too far from the original, but makes it his own just enough to give it a fresh spin.

A Love Like Yours was the first track to really grab my ear. From the outset, the instrumentation sets a different tone. The hook is simple and easy, but impactful. The bridge being the chorus of None But Jesus creates an almost dark undertone. It's a beautiful and interesting arrangement that creates this weird dichotomy in the song. It works and you can see how live it could hit with chilling and heartbreaking impact. Keep Me In shows off the musical richness of Grace Through the Wandering, another area where Gillespie has grown since Anthem Song. Like on Keep Me In, the usage of strings on In You There's Hope is understated and almost forgotten, but they add this beautiful texture, and even though it's only momentary, it's perfect! Gillespie's country spin on Come Thou Fount to close the record, while not my favorite version of the hymn, is a nice step to really push the bounds of what something traditional should sound like or feel. It's the artist coming out.

I enjoy Grace Through The Wandering, and like I said, I think it's a huge step forward from Anthem Song. But I don't see this becoming a "go to" worship record for me. 3.5 out of 5 Stars.

The Lonely Revolts - Broken Bones, Burning Hearts

It doesn't seem to matter how old I get, I am drawn to gritty punk that makes you want to dance and mosh. There's that part of me that always returns to junior high and high school. Watching skate and snowboard videos, listening to Screaming Giant Records. Nothing else mattered but punk rock and skateboarding!

Broken Bones, Burning Hearts is an album full of songs that are raw and passionate. Instantly I wanted to get up and move around. You can just imagine the fun you would have seeing The Lonely Revolts live. It's get up and move around punk. Its't the type of album that drew me to the genre in the first place. Intense, with a message, but remembering that punk rock is also fun!

There's something about the vocals on Extra Extra, the album's opener, that reminds me of Lemmy from Motorhead. Scum of the Earth is a social/political/theological take down song that makes for good punk rock. The system must be challenged! White Flags isn't a ska song, but it has that skanking beat that makes you want to dance. Open Graves, Chariots of Fire, Dead For You, Check Your Pulse, are all circle pit and mosh pit songs. Songs that get you up and moving.

There are a handful of sing-a-long moments, but Broke Bones, Burning Hearts is more about getting people up and moving more than having them sing-a-long. The production feels like the band recorded everything in one take, playing together in the same room. It's old school!

The Lonely Revolts have released a punk rock gem. It might not come with a lot of accolades or acknowledgement, but this is punk for the true punk rock fan!

4 out of 5 Stars