Heaven comes to Earth with Wickham's newest.
Posted December 07, 2009
By lordrings87,
Poet, worship leader, musician, genius, all words used to describe worship leader Phil Wickham. But the best words to describe his newest album "Heaven & Earth" would be: Heavenly, ethereal, worshipful, surreal. Following in the footsteps of David Crowder Bands' "Church Music", Phil continues to re-define worship music with this Electronica/80's Rock hybrid. For those looking for the Derek Webb-esque sound of his first album, this is certainly not for you, but those fans of "Cannons" and the aforementioned Crowder will be treated to musical candy.
The album opens with the beautiful "Eden", a piano and synth heavy rocker. It is a recollection of Eden, and puts very plainly "I want it like it was back then, I want to be in Eden!" The next track "Coming Alive" is sure to have you bobbing your head and tapping your feet. The title track continues the trend of the first two songs, but it maintains the flow wonderfully and isn't repetitive. The only throw back to the folksy style of his first album is "The Time is Now". It is an acoustic guitar driven (but still synth heavy, and even has some funky banjo thrown in for good measure) ballad and is a pleasure to listen to, extremely fun (I cannot emphasize that point enough), and still fits in perfectly. "Hold On" is a space age rock song that is unlike anything I have ever heard from Phil. "Safe" features MercyMe frontman Bart Millard, and is the only song on the album that I may skip on return visits. Don't get me wrong, it's good, and lyrically it's a true stand-out, but it's just a little too normal compared to the rest of the album. The rest of the album follows with the same kind of charisma and beauty that graced the first 5 tracks. "Cielo" is the only other song that really stands out from the rest of this phenomenal album. The lyrics, vocals, and instrumentation are heavenly to say the least. It is easily one of the best on the album.
I would love to classify this album as groundbreaking in the world of Christian music, but other artists like Family Force 5, And Then There Were None, Krystal Meyers, Plumb, and David Crowder Band already broke that ground with all of their most recent offerings. But this album is just as good if not better than some of those recently mentioned projects, and you would be a fool to skip out on this fantastic release. This is sure to be a major contender for awards from Doves to Grammys. One of the best of 2009 for sure!
Pick it up on Nov. 17th and check him out on tour now with Chris and Conrad in a city near you.
~BrianH View All Music And Book Reviews By lordrings87 | View lordrings87's Profile
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