A Captivating Collection Posted October 29, 2020 By SelenaSchulz_NRT, Staff Reviewer
What You Need To Know Caitie Hurst has been releasing music since her debut EP in 2018, when her songs took the Christian pop scene by storm. Before that, she led worship and worked in youth ministry for years. So when the time came to release her own music, she knew what she wanted to accomplish. In her words, "I want to create music that has cool beats, but that ultimately it's the word of God within the songs making the impact."
Caitie released a Christmas single two years ago as well as a remix of one of her most popular songs "How Could I Be Silent." During the past several months, she has been releasing singles leading up to her new EP, At All Times.
What It Sounds Like Caitie's singing is truly beautiful and it is the distinctive highlight of the EP's sound. She has an amazing vocal range that stretches high and low as it follows the melody. It gives the EP a noteworthy feel that really connects with the listener. In the instrumental sense, the synth, piano, and light drums are the perfect backdrop to these songs. However, recent fans of Caitie's might be surprised at the more contemporary direction of this collection of songs versus the pop-heavy direction that launched her career a short time back. She plays in both genres well.
Spiritual/Lyrical Highlights This album is built on the foundation of God's truth and love. It focuses on how our Heavenly Father is always here to save us no matter what we do. He loves us and brings us peace when we need it most. He truly is our Savior and His vastness can sometimes be hard to wrap our minds around. These lyrics from "Limitless" perfectly capture the awe and majesty of our God: "Your love is limitless, limitless/ I'm never going to see the end/and there's no stopping it, stopping it/ It surrounds me everywhere I am."
Best Song On The Record It was really hard to choose my favorite song on this EP because all five of them blew me away! In the end, though, I would have to say that "Recover" is the best one. Caitie poured her heart into it (and all of the other songs as well), and I can feel her passion reverberating in each beat. Her faithfulness and love of God shine throughout every part of this song. I identify with her struggle of letting go of the past, but I also connect with her surrender. God takes away all of the "should have, could have, and would have." He makes us new and this song is a great reminder of His never-ceasing love.
Final Word This EP has catchy beats and powerful messages that are definitive to Christian music. However, it also has a little something extra thrown in. It is that "Caitie Hurst style" that makes this EP unique. I definitely recommend giving it a listen and adding it to your playlists.
You can find it on iTunes and Spotify when it releases on October 30th.
