Vivid Electronic Worship
Posted July 24, 2014
By MaryNikkel_NRT, Staff Reviewer
Florida five piece Cadence gave listeners a first taste of their smooth electro-pop vibe with their Awake EP in 2012. Summer 2014 sees the family band offering their debut full length project, the shimmering, worshipful Home.
Worship is on the cusp of a new era, an era that takes techniques native to wildly successful EDM artists and employs them to infuse worship music with new energy. Cadence is one of the bands pioneering this transition, utilizing a sound similar to An Epic No Less or recent breakout group Hillsong Young & Free.
Opener "I Believe" is a strong introduction to the band's direction, boasting lyrics that are vertical without losing personal earnesty while sending off sparks of electronic energy in the instrumentation. "For the Broken" utilizes a similar energy musically to emphasize the gratitude expressed to God: "You have come, and all our darkness, You light it up."
One of the band's strengths lies in the way they employ electronic techniques without using them as a crutch. Title track "Home" (with a strong feature from Jimmy Needham) gives us a slower, piano driven sound to lend poignancy to the lyrics speaking of wandering hearts finding home in Christ. The reverent "Everything Fades" also relies on more subtle musical sounds to focus the listener on the joining the deeply personal conversation with God. "Drifting" also sonically embodies the peace lead singer Donny Karpinen sings about.
The band's ability to balance old and new techniques is exemplified on "I Surrender All," a new take on the classic hymn, featuring Jonny Diaz. Although taking on such a well-loved and widely-known hymn is a risky endeavor even for the most established artist, Cadence takes it on with surprising success, casting the original in a more upbeat tone and inserting their own outro.
Closing Thoughts:
In a sea of recent vertically focused albums, Cadence's Home is likely to catch you by surprise with its exquisite synth sounds and intensely earnest lyrics. This is a promising debut that could easily see Cadence holding their own with worship heavy weights as they continue to develop their sound and their songwriting.
Song to Download Now:
"Home" (Get it on iTunes here.) View All Music And Book Reviews By MaryNikkel_NRT | View MaryNikkel_NRT's Profile
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