Lead singer/songwriter Lamont Hiebert has watched as his songs of revolution and rejuvenation have impacted listeners across the globe. But sometimes actions speak louder than words, and after hearing reports about child slavery and exploitation, Lamont had a life altering experience when he traveled to Southeast Asia and witnessed the sale of children first-hand. Not content to simply write songs about the issue, Lamont co-founded the organization Love146 to help end child slavery and exploitation. Love146 quickly gained national recognition for their work, earning the MySpace Impact Award for Social Justice, and they were named an "Agent Of Change" by GQ magazine. Lamont's experiences as a modern-day abolitionist are at the heart of many of the songs on Ten Shekel Shirt's album Jubilee, easily the strongest album in the band's career. Though the album's songs deal with weighty subject matter, Lamont and Ten Shekel Shirt bring a strong message of hope throughout.
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FANTASTIC RETURN FOR POP/ROCK BAND| Posted September 29, 2008
Lamont Hiebert has returned from his musical sabbatical. Normally, after selling 150,000 albums, the focus is on moving forward. Yet the front man and songwriter for Ten Shekel Shirt quietly exited to focus on another calling and passion: forming Love146—a non-profit organization dedicated to helping end child slavery and exploitation.
The theme of freedom pervades this return to form entitled Jubilee. “I’m walking up to your tomb to call your name/To give you a new start/Remove your shame,” sings Hiebert on “Surprised.” It’s an acoustic ebb and flow that yearns like Vertical Horizon’s slower tracks. “You Rescue” continues the lyrical thread with lines like “You will never stop restoring what’s been lost.” All the while, Hiebert makes certain the musicianship matches the lyrics, especially on “You Rescue” whose chorus is immediately memorable.
“Spark” ups the ante and tempo as a solid pop/rock radio tune that includes Hiebert’s falsetto and slight Brit-rock builds. “En Garde” is an album highlight complete with slight street-beat-sampling and a perfectly placed string section. It’s a darker number that grabs your attention immediately. Album closer “It’s Slavery” kick starts the end with a Switchfoot-esque twist.
All things considered, it’s great to have Ten Shekel Shirt back. The band’s early albums showed great promise, and Hiebert & Co. make sure to remind us of that. –Matt Conner
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CMCentral.com. Click here to visit CMCentral.com today!
After an apparent five year hiatus, Ten Shekel Shirt has released their third collection of modern pop/rock- Jubilee; an apt title perfectly describing the disc’s over-arching theme. As established by God, Jubilee was the Jewish celebration of institutional forgiveness to be observed every fifty years. When (and if) it occurred, the celebration was meant to remedy social inequality by freeing people (and land), effectively eliminating economic and social servitude. TSS’s founder and front-man, Lamont Hiebert passionately embraces the concept and has dedicated himself to the cause of modern-day abolition with a fervor that shines through the songs of Jubilee (the album).
The lyrics of Jubilee abound with grace, forgiveness and redemption. Each song affirms Divine Providence, while unflinchingly looking at depravation and challenging the listener to rise above the world’s foibles. A sense of world-weariness underlies Hiebert’s delivery on many of the songs, but instead of bringing down the emotional tone, it serves as an intelligent counter-balance; appropriate, considering the challenging subject matter addressed in many of the songs.
Ten Shekel Shirt’s music is stylistically akin to their previous projects (Much & Risk), yet avoids sounding dated. The band’s ability to create music that moves between sparse simplicity and fully textured, layered compositions is striking. Musically, TSS shares sonic DNA with bands like Arcade Fire, Coldplay, Death Cab for Cutie, The Fray, etc.; where a delicate balance is struck between the music, lyrics and vocal delivery, allowing each element to reinforce and subtly compliment the overall composition.
From start to finish, the songs of Jubilee are affirmations of exoneration, celebrations of emancipation, and reminders of God’s incomparable mercy. If you appreciate subtle music intertwined with forthright lyrics (Caedmon’s Call, Downhere, Jars of Clay, Leeland, and Starfield), check out Ten Shekel Shirt’s latest. Take a moment to visit the band’s website, and investigate how you can become involved in TSS’s mission of freedom and hope.
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