Inspirationless, Judged Fairly
Posted March 04, 2010
By theherox,
The Christian music industry is a sour, messy place. Theoretically, Christian music should be the best music in the world: powerful songwriting comes from good inspiration, so the most powerful music in the world would sensibly come from musicians who are playing under the direct inspiration of the creator of the universe. Talented musicians use creativity straight from The Creator in order to worship Him and also give fellow believers a way to gather together in a simple and earnest form of worship for everyone. But rarely is this the case, for these modern rock/gospel bands are often cited for bringing terrible music to the world, music that rewrites pop songs with biblical lyrics.
Honestly, a lot of religious artists are this way. They have a heart to make music that is worshipful, but they lack some mix of the real musical talent or divine inspiration needed to create the caliber of music God deserves. That’s when a listener must remember that Christian music has become an “industry.” Gospel record labels need to have a roster of artists that keep selling records. Sometimes, even talented bands who have clearly worn the stamp of God’s touch in their music sometimes end up releasing an album that simply doesn’t have inspiration.
In 2008, Sanctus Real (whose name technically means “true holiness”) released We Need Each Other, a fantastic album that mixed meaningful lyrics with flawless and oftentimes unique pop/rock songwriting. Their follow-up, 2010’s Pieces of a Real Heart, is no such masterpiece. With the release of their fifth full-length record, the band clearly knows what they’re doing. As musicians and songwriters, they know how to put 2 +2 together so to form well-crafted pop tunes. But the inspiration isn’t present at all. Not only is the music retreading past ground, but the melodies don’t have any true emotion and the lyrics rarely have much to say. It’s not hard to fall for the catchy hook and chugging guitars of “Take Over Me” or to enjoy the story of a growing child in “I’ll Show You How to Live,” but the album is just a template with no lasting effect.
The album’s brightest spot is “Dear Heart,” with its quirky indie-pop feel and its revelatory lyrics: “Dear heart, do you belong to me or do I belong to you? Just look at all the trouble you dragged me into. I’ve heard it said to follow your heart, but oh heart, you’ve let me down, chasing love where it can’t be found. All of your emotions have led me to doubt.” But even if this song were perfect, an album could never be recommended when it advertises a real heart and in fact has no heart at all. View All Music And Book Reviews By theherox | View theherox's Profile
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