Songs From the Sky are Songs FOR the Sky
Posted June 05, 2017
By MarcusHathcock_NRT,
It's been a wild ride for Brandon Bee and his family over the past couple of years. Having left his job as an in-house producer and worship leader at a Portland, Ore.-area church, Bee and his wife and kids pursued a wild call of God for music and ministry in Italy. However, after just a few months overseas, medical issues in the family brought the Bees back to the Northwest.
This season of change and travel and challenge has birthed some new songs out of one of the industry's most underrated talents. Now, after his discography has largely been dominated by artful songwriting in pop-rock flair, Brandon Bee gives us a worship EP in earnest, titled Songs From the Sky.
Fans of Bee's previous work, as well as the modern worship movement, will find something to love here, as the artist seamlessly transitions from corporate worship song to vertically oriented pop-rock song.
While Bee incorporates some synth elements on these six songs, there's no question that the guitar remains the main driving force of his music, whether it be driving electric guitars, the finger-picking goodness of an acoustic, or fun lead lines.
Although the EP is titled Songs From the Sky, I think it should be titled Songs For the Sky, because each song is directed right at the Lord, centering on the themes of declaration and dedication.
Dedication is shown even in the title of the second track, "I Give You My Whole World," and acoustically driven song of confession and decision that powerfully vows, "You deserve more than Sunday / So I give you my whole world." There are beautiful, soothing harmonies that carry the chorus, along with the atmospheric guitar tones that ring throughout.
The album highlight, "Activates," is incredibly singable, talking about how God's love and His Spirit reaches into the hearts of His people and activates them to change the world. From a first-person perspective, Bee sings in the large, climactic bridge, "Without fear, without blame, with a voice unashamed / We will tell the world there is no greater name / Than Jesus!" The vocoder effect in the bridge section elicits goosebumps.
In terms of declaration, "Comforter" kicks off the EP with a repeated refrain that "there is none above You," basically declaring that because He is above all the things of this world, the Lord is uniquely qualified to be our comforter. It's a definite congregational song that I could see being sung in churches with varying arrangements.
"Your Name Says it All" focuses on the name of Jesus--"enough for me, enough for all the lonely people..." The song manages to be driving and energetic without being manic; Bee keeps his chill throughout the entire project, although that doesn't mean it's a sleepy record by any means. "Your Name Says it All" is a nice hyperfocused song that resounds His name, a name that needs to be sung out more than ever these days.
"I Celebrate the Lord" is a song of declaration for the things Jesus has done for all of us, personally and corporately. After comparing himself to a sheep with a broken leg being carried by the Good Shepherd, Bee declares that he's given the strength to stand and be understood because he worships "the God of love." The ambling song builds to a beautiful crescendo that allows Bee to showcase his smooth, powerful high notes.
The only speed bump on this project, sadly, is the album closer. It's not that "Your Great Love" is a bad song; it's indeed a very good song--quite possibly the strongest on the record. The problem is that after five tracks of well-produced studio material, this is a somewhat out of place live track whose rawness wouldn't be a problem if it weren't juxtaposed with the other songs. The arrangement is solid and the lyrics are poignant, so it's kind of a bummer that this song didn't get a studio treatment, as it could be an awe-inspiring album closer.
Closing Thoughts:
Brandon Bee's foray into modern worship music is a delightful first outing, and I sincerely hope he continues trying to write songs for the Church. His creativity, musical know-how and passion for the things that matter are much needed in worship songwriting. He also does a good job of writing singable songs that aren't immediately timestamped by trendy arrangements, but instead, are equipped for longevity.
Song to Download:
"Activates" (Get it on iTunes here.)
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