The only word I can think of to describe Sean Curran's music is anointed. Whether it's the songs he's released with Passion, Bellarive, or his solo project, there's something about his songs that makes heaven feel a little closer to me. Songs like "Holy," "Shake The Dust Off" and "Worthy Of Your Name" have felt like sacred space over the years.
Sean has been one of my favorite artists ever since he started releasing music with Passion in 2017--perhaps because his songs are much more honest than most worship songs. Instead of turning to overused chords and lyrics, his songs stand out. His music returns to the lost art of poetry within worship music and feels like a rebirth of creativity for the church. There's both vulnerability and anointment in his music, especially on his new album Basic Faith.
The 12-track album is an honest expression of the highs and lows of faith, centered on the theme of returning to Jesus, our first love. It was an honor to talk with Sean about the new record and what it was like leading worship at Passion in January.
First, I'd love to talk with you about Passion. What was it like returning to the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta and leading worship for 55,000 college students?
It was crazy! There's something about being in a room, not just of that size, but with the same age group. You can look around and bear witness to each other. It helps connect you to the greater story. All these people are not merely roaming the earth--they've been destined by the Lord to live in these days and carry His kingdom.
There's nothing like [Passion], especially in the most formative years of your life. They were [formative] for me. You're at an age where you start taking your life seriously and have to make decisions, [asking questions like] "God, who are you? What do you want with me? Why am I here?" The stuff that, if we're honest, keeps us up at night. These are the questions that have mystified and haunted humanity for as far back as we have documentation. It's in that [college] age I think you're open to the real possibility of encounter, breakthrough, and the whisper of God.
What was it like working on your new album while balancing life as a worship leader at Passion?
Balance is a special word--it's an important word. To even attempt to do it well takes a lifetime. But I care a lot about this. I think all of those spaces [of writing songs and worship leading] are important, and I'm trying to occupy them well. I care so much about what I would describe as this sanctified space where God's people are encouraged by God to gather and bring Him a song. It's woven into the rhythm of what it means to be a kingdom carrier and a Jesus lover. It's a Sabbath--it's the gathering and communion of the saints.
Your music has always stood out to me because your lyrics are so honest. Why choose to express such vulnerability in your songs?
Honesty is an important thing. I think, in many ways, vulnerability is the language of God. It opens us up. When we encounter God, we don't shut down; we open up. And when we're open, the things that need to get in can get in, and the things that need to get out can get out. And the Spirit of God is the freedom to do that. I'm trying to write songs that help that process happen. As people of faith, we need that.
The last thing we want is to ignore the reality of our lives or try to eclipse or evade the spots of our lives that we don't want to address. God is actually interested in helping us walk through those things. And music is a great vehicle for that.
Why did you choose the theme of "basic faith" for your new album? What does that mean to you?
I like the word "basic." To me, it's akin to something fundamental, which is different from simple. I would never want to suggest that faith is simple--I think that's misleading. Real faith takes a lifetime.
I've walked with the Lord for longer now than I haven't. There are so many ways that I've deepened in spirit, truth, wisdom, and, hopefully, a little maturity because of this walk with the Lord. But there are also a great many ways that I've overcomplicated things--I've taken things back into my own hands, and I've closed my hands instead of opened them.
Real faith isn't about knowing what's around every corner. Real faith is about trusting the King who's leading the way. The [title track] has a lot to do with trying to faithfully narrate that experience.
Sometimes we grow out of things we shouldn't--things like trust and wonder. My hope is that "Basic Faith" helps meet you where you are, and then helps you take a step. For some, it might be a step forward, but for somebody else, it might look like a return; a step home. That takes some vulnerability, but that's where surrender lives.
There seems to be a theme of nostalgia and remembrance throughout the first half of the album. "Led Me To You" looks back on the trials that led us to Jesus, and "Same Jesus" feels like a reminder that the God of history is still writing our stories. Can you talk about this theme? Why did you decide to write these songs around this theme?
I've been talking about something I'm calling "spiritual nostalgia." On a lot of the songs on the album, I had this thought experiment where I would put the theme of a song on the table inside an imaginary conversation with my younger self.
A lot of times [the question] is, "If you could teach your younger self one thing, what would it be?" I think that's very helpful, but often I think, "What would my younger self remind me of?"
I'm a [visual person], and I have this picture of an upward spiral. [I believe] faith is a journey up this spiral. Although you're always moving forward and ascending, you often have to revisit things. As you go around, you come back to things, maybe with a new perspective or an opportunity to regain an older perspective that's important to not lose sight of. I'm trying to speak about that experience in hopes that honesty creates an opening for people to find themselves in it. Because that's the type of thing the Spirit of God is looking for. He's looking for an opening of vulnerability to say, "You're being real right now. Now we can get to work. Your mask is gone, your façade is gone." I'm hoping these songs help do that for people because that's what they're helping do for me.
The second half of this album seems to flip to looking toward the future. The title track seems to be the halfway point that pivots the record to songs about heaven like "He Who Is To Come" and "Come Now." Heaven coming down was also a huge theme at Passion. What prompted your decision to focus on that aspect of our faith?
My friends and I have been having a lot of conversations about this over the past year. It's [connected to] the idea that we think we're living in really intense times. And it's not to take away from that reality because we are. But why are we having such a hard time recognizing the truth that's cradling all of it?
Maybe for the past 30 or 40 years, we've just stopped singing about [the coming of Christ]. We sing a ton about--and rightly so--what Jesus has done for us. He became like us to free us from ourselves, and He went down into the pit to pull us up from it. These are the things that make God [who He is]. It's remarkable. But there's this other promise He left us with: He's coming back. Somehow, in the mystery of all things, God's coming back and He's going to set everything right. And when He does, He's going to wipe every tear, He's going to vanquish every evil. And He wants us to live as if we believe that's happening.
If you can actually get that into the forefront of your mind, it's so buoyant and stabilizing. It becomes so much easier to discern all the tactics of fear. There's so much [fear] getting the headlines these days, but you remember that God doesn't need a lawyer. All this stuff isn't shocking to the Lord. And somehow, He's going to set it all right.
As believers, I feel like this should come back into our vernacular again--God's coming back, and [we need to] live that way. That's a massive theme on the album, especially in "He Who is To Come." We are to be people who trust God's promise. The kingdom of God is not under threat. It's like God's tapping you on the shoulder saying, "I got this! Come on, let's go." I think that's a posture that would be really beautiful for His people to embody these days.
Sometimes we focus on the wrong piece of the puzzle, and we zoom in so far on it, sometimes because it's easy to monetize. It's easy to fearmonger. But oftentimes what's happening is things get so pixelated you don't know what you're looking at. We don't know how [Christ's return] is going to go. That's not the purview we have. But what we do know is that Jesus is going to return. And the return of the king is a good thing because God's going to set everything right. What if we moved in the rhythms of that wake? What would we find? Who would we be? That's so much more intriguing to me than to turn [Christ's return] into another thing we can be scared of.
Your songs have always been full of metaphors and poetry that bring the gospel to life. Truly, the words of these songs feel anointed. What goes into writing an album like Basic Faith and choosing these metaphors?
I think music is an incredible medium to use poetry. We have literary tools, and we can communicate in all these powerful ways. But sometimes, I almost feel like we're trying to force a song to use a literary tool that it's not as suited for. But metaphor, poetry, storytelling--these are all so important for us because sometimes they can narrate experiences in ways that can only be described in [these forms]. The way that words relate to each other in poetry is an expression in and of itself. It helps us narrate things like the beauty and mystery of God. I see Jesus doing that all the time with the parables and stories He tells.
I use garden imagery a lot. The cover of the project is driven by nature and childlikeness. There's something so profound that the root system is always three or four times wider and deeper than the canopy. That's a parable in and of itself.
[One of the songs on the album that uses poetry is] "Let It Take the Time It Takes." It's an interesting song because, in some ways, it's me just having a stream of conscious thoughts about the loss of my father. It [asks] how you find God in the liminal space. How do you find God in unanswered questions? How do you find God in the seasons you didn't ask for? You've got to use poetry to talk about that because anything else feels trite.
You did quite a bit of touring around this time last year. Do you plan on touring with this new album before Passion 2025 rolls around?
This year, we're trying to take it slow because last year was crazy. I'll be doing a little bit [of touring] with Pat Barrett and maybe a few sneaky things in the fall that I can't say too much about at the moment. But for the most part, it's going to be "internet Sean"--my social media persona. Then we'll pick up more travel in the spring.
How can we be praying for you?
I would love prayer for wisdom and for the Lord to move into the spaces of my life that I've allowed to become way too stressful. Anxiety does not need to have its hands on the steering wheel. I'd love for prayer for that.
Grace Chaves is NRT's News Editor. She's been part of NewReleaseToday since 2019 and is continuing her journey by majoring in Multimedia Journalism at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego.
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