Sold Out for God| Posted June 06, 2014 LoveCollide is the newest offering from the sister duo LoveCollide. Lauren and Brooke DeLeary previously released an album as The DeLearys. Why “LoveCollide”? Lauren and Brooke explain: Everything boils down to the cross. The cross is where God’s incredible LOVE for us COLLIDED with our wretched sin! When you finally understand that kind of love you cannot help but fall more in love with Him and that is when real abundant life begins! We also have a passion for others to see who they truly are in the eyes of Christ and to find their identity in Him. When you begin to see how much He loves you, it changes your life forever.”
The album includes standout recordings like the upbeat radio friendly and accessible openers "Sold Out," “Overtake Me” and “War Cry” and the gut wrenching personal ballads, "Through Your Eyes," “Numb” and “When Forgiveness Wins.”
From my first listen, I was totally singing along with these talented sisters during this album. The opening track “Sold Out” has an upbeat and God-focused flow and is such a fresh song. I’m really engaged by the Deleary’s emotional and sweet vocals and prayerful lyrics throughout the album, which have been seasoned beyond their years by studying God’s Word and songwriting, found in the biblically inspired lyrics, “No matter what the cost, I’ll count it all as loss.” That type of “sold out” for God singing is found throughout the album as the sisters consistently phrase biblical truth in vertically directed songs to encourage and edify listeners to live for God.
The next songs “Overtake Me” and “War Cry” continue with a worshipful and pop-infused musical style. These are both super-catchy songs loaded with biblical truth as Brooke and Lauren powerfully sing, “You overcame the grave, it’s hollow, You show me grace, pave the way to Follow” in “Overtake Me.”
The gorgeous harmonizing resembling BarlowGirl is just one of the many attractions to savor about this upbeat and sincere vertically focused pop album. The standout song “War Cry” causes me to sing along loudly with these prayerful lyrics directly to God: “Give me a faith that never dies out Give me a hope that conquers all doubt You are my Rock, my Strength in this fight, this is my war cry and I’m gonna cry out.” Brooke hits a note when she sings “this is my war cry” that gives me goose bumps. The excitement to share the Gospel carries over to be “living out loud, not holding back, the time is now, right now, to give all I have” as stated in “Living Out Loud.”
“I Love You More” is a pop-worship anthem which I've already added to my rotation of my top female led worship songs of the year. I love how passionately Brooke and Lauren sing the heart cry of the believer, "I love You God with all my heart, my mind, my strength, with all my soul" powerfully singing God’s great commandment.
"Loud Generation" is another catchy song with a David-like abandon before the Lord encouraging believers we should "dance like nobody’s watching, sing like no one’s listening, throw up your hands, this is our chance to be the loud generation.""Rave" keeps that theme going with Brooke and Lauren declaring, "I’m gonna clap my hands, I’m gonna stomp my feet, I’m gonna take a stand for Praise of the living King."
The album stops me in my tracks with two vulnerable and confessional ballads, "Numb" and "When Forgiveness Wins." Both songs showcase the sisters’ vocal and songwriting talent with a personal crying out to God in "Numb" with the sincere and worshipful lyrics "Faith is trusting the unseen when you seem so small. Finally gonna see the Light, Savior, He’s what you need, He’ll set You free, Savior, so you won’t feel numb, Savior.” When I hear the song, the hair stands up on my neck and I haven’t been that emotionally affected by a song since I first heard “Never Alone” by BarlowGirl. The concept of being sold out for the Gospel is perfectly bookended with closer, “Wanna Be” which sings, “Make me unashamed to wear Jesus’ name out on my sleeve Lord I’m Yours to break, strip away the fake, bring me to my knees.”
Closing Thoughts:
Like their female pop counterparts Britt Nicole, Kerrie Roberts, and Natalie Grant, Brooke and Lauren DeLeary have strong vocals and you can immediately identify with their catchy and upbeat lyrics. This is an inspirational and soul nourishing album by promising newcomer LoveCollide, easily the standout new artist of the year for me. They have an incredible heart for ministry and are excellent role models for listeners looking for truth and encouragement. LoveCollide is a completely worshipful album, loaded with biblical truth and sincere and powerful vocals. If you like the pop artists Britt Nicole and BarlowGirl, you need to check out LoveCollide.
Song to download first:
“Numb” (Get it on iTunes here.)
to add lyrics if not listed.
