JJ Heller [LOVED]
Posted February 28, 2013
By KevinDavis_NRT, Staff Reviewer
JJ Heller’s new album LOVED is available everywhere March 12. JJ’s soft voice and introspective lyrics first hit the spotlight in 2009 when her song “Your Hands” was featured on the hit show So You Think You Can Dance? and eventually found a life of its own on radio across the country. JJ’s trademark ability to be transparent and vulnerable resonates throughout LOVED. The 10 new songs serve as a reminder not to let go of hope, to step out of fear and into trust in spite of life’s present struggles.
I’m one of JJ’s newer fans and both Painted Red and When I'm With You have been in heavy rotation for me since they released. Naturally I’ve been interested in hearing her back catalog which blew me away once I heard how “Love Me” was re-recorded as “What Love Really Means.” This album displays JJ’s signature introspective emotional singer-songwriter style that paved the way for her current success, which is well-deserved. This incredible five star album opens with “If You Fall” which ushers in a newer more ambient musical feel, similar to Ellie Goulding, A Fine Frenzy and Sarah McLachlan. It is one of several stand-out songs on this album. “For You” features guitar, piano and strings layered musically in a powerful fashion as the song builds to the emotional proclamation “If I can talk, Then I will sing for You, If I can walk, Then I will dance for You, As long as I can breathe, My heart will beat for You.” Amen.
“Redemption” and “Loved” are also transparent, vulnerable and moving songs. JJ’s breathtaking lyrics “Do you feel the ache inside your soul, You know you’ll never make it on your own, Sorrow is too great for you to hold it, You’re gonna break, Why don’t you lay it down” brings me to tears as I pray along with her in “Loved.” What’s so relatable is how JJ Heller’s “relationship” songs are relevant for everyone, but especially if you know Jesus, then you know the ultimate answer to the quest for love can only be found in Him. No song better displays that emotion than “Who You Are” which includes the extremely moving description of parents who have painful questions for God about losing a child. They ultimately find redemption in knowing and being known by our Father in Heaven as gorgeously sung in the lyrics: “You have a Father’s heart, And a love that’s wild, And You know what it’s like to lose, Yeah, You know what it’s like, What it’s like to lose a child.” I started sobbing the first time I heard the emotional bridge of the song, it’s that moving and beautiful.
JJ passionately sings “The truest things I know, Are those I cannot see, From my birth to my dying day, I believe, I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands, I’d rather be led by his nail-pierced hands, I’d rather have Jesus than anything…” in “I Believe,” one of many times this album causes tears to flow as I worship along with JJ in Spirit and in Truth. No matter what you are going through in life, God’s promise to His children is that you are loved. God is love. That biblical truth is profoundly captured on LOVED.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Rarely has an album affected me this deeply as many of the songs cause me to physically feel the depth and sincerity of JJ’s goose bump inducing emotional vocals. This is yet another one of those “gourmet” albums that only comes along when JJ Heller puts out a new album. I have to fight back tears while listening to several of the songs, especially “Redemption,” “Loved,” “Who You Are” and “I Believe.” The new worshipful songs “If You Fall,” “For You,” “Better Things” and “Come Back To Me” are not to be missed. If you like the singer-songwriters Audrey Assad, Sara Groves and Brooke Fraser then you must pick up LOVED by JJ Heller. This is one of the most emotionally moving and authentic albums I’ve ever heard. JJ’s remarkable singing voice and her interesting music and lyrics are truly captivating. This is a nearly perfect album. View All Music And Book Reviews By KevinDavis_NRT | View KevinDavis_NRT's Profile
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