The Christian Music Thread Genre • Page 13

It was my favorite album of last year just above Sufjan's record. That record has brought me to tears more times than I can count since it released. It's really helped me through a bunch of trials, especially the one-two punch of "The Rain Keeps Falling" and "Rejoice".

 

Two interesting recommendations! This is the thing I used to love about this thread. Need to check these out.

 

You've returned!

I've been waiting for you to reply to update you. I'M IN LOVE.

Archabald clicked on a second listen and I've been obsessed for the past week or two. I've listening almost exclusively to them. So sososososososo good.

I have not returned to DENS though. It would be overwhelming if DENS clicked on further listening the way Archabald has.

 

Oh.... I won't tell you what I thought about the album, then....

HOWEVER, last weekend, a family from my church gave me a last minute invite to see Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God concert for free! It was incredible. The show started with two Burning Edge songs, "Power of a Great Affection" and.... I think.... "The Dark Before the Dawn," and both were lovely.

 

That's a very interesting analysis of Colors. I can buy that.

I'll have to check out Eshon! I've enjoyed Sho's album a whole bunch, save for maybe one or two tracks and just in general the fact that most songs last a little too long. The closing track, "Piano Break - 33 AD" really sold me on the whole project, though. The whole thing probably hasn't broken into my top 10 (although Archabald now might be somewhere in my top 5 to top 15), but "Piano Break" has to be one of my favorite songs of the year, a list that might also include "Colors Die Out" and ... if I were to pick one RK song ... "Marigold."

 

Awesome!!!

 

TBEoD was maybe the most underwhelming AP record I've heard on first listen so if those are your thoughts it's understandable. Repeat listens really sunk in and it became a favorite. That's how all of his records have been for me though even though he's my favorite. :)

When and where last weekend??? I saw the tour in Birmingham last Friday and it was amazing. He played "The Power of a Great Affection" and "Sower's Song" at my concert.

 

That would have been so cool to see "Sower's" live! When I listened to Burning Edge for the first time and felt super disappointed by it, "Sower's" was my immediate favorite, the one song that I immediately loved. I saw the tour Sunday night, the first of two shows in Nashville (where I live as of this past February). I've been a fan of Peterson since 2012 and this was my first time seeing him live. The church I attend in Nashville is filled with AP fans, so there was a solid 20-30 of us there near the front of the venue, hahah.

So if you pieced the years together, my introduction to AP was Light for the Lost Boy, one of the few albums in the world to which I would attribute the adjective "perfect." So hype was high concerning a follow-up. In fact, my two most highly anticipated albums of 2015 were his and his friend Sara Groves' Floodplains. And while her album blew all my expectations away (it was my #2 of the year behind Kendrick Lamar and ahead of Falling Up), AP's might have been my most disappointing album of the year (kind of like this year's new Norma Jean album).

But it wasn't for lack of trying! I listened to the album plenty of times. I listened to it once or twice with my girlfriend at the time and she really liked it. I showed two of my best friends his song "My One Safe Place" (the song that's probably my longstanding favorite next to "Be Kind to Yourself," which has made me cry a few times), and the two of them ended up using the song as their father-daughter/mother-son dance at their wedding this past January. So that was really special. But as a whole, the only time I enjoyed the ENTIRE album was when I listened to the commentary edition. Getting to hear Peterson's stories behind the song really bolstered each song and made me like each one more (however it also pointed out a few details that now bug me). Still, though, trying to go back and listen to the regular 10-track album just doesn't do it for me.

Interestingly, I recently listened to Counting Stars and Far Country for the first time each. And I didn't like either! At least from my first listens. But it's starting to seem like Light for the Lost Boy is an outlier for me, the one album in AP's catalog that clicks.

 

Floodplains is super good, but I need to listen more. I really love Sara Groves. And props for putting that record between Kendrick and Falling Up. That odd ball combination of artists warms my heart. :) Haha.

Funny that AP was your most disappointing album of last year and Norma Jean's was your most disappointing of this year. I thought Polar Similar was pretty fantastic.

LFtLB is the only Andrew Peterson record that clicked immediately for me because it's easily his most diverse and adventurous record. It aligns most with the rest of what I listen to (it's the only AP album you could ALMOST put in the alternative rock category) and it was EASILY my favorite of his up until two years ago when I really dug into the rest of his stuff (which hadn't clicked with me yet). It's taken a couple years for every single album of his to click but I can honestly say now that there isn't a single Andrew Peterson song I don't at least like, and I'd honestly say I flat-out love most of them. He doesn't make music that wows on first listen which is why I've had trouble getting people into him, much less understand why I'm convinced he's the best Christian singer-songwriter out there when I typically listen to far more ambitious-sounding stuff. But his music has to slowly sink in as you take in the words. I describe the music as being initially mundane on first listen and becoming increasingly epic with each listen, especially as you dive into the lyrics. The lyrics themselves sort of follow suit with the music and weave mundane everyday life struggles with the epic redemption narrative of Scripture and it's really made me appreciate the small things in life and see the glory of God in them. I think The Far Country is the best example of this that I know--it clicked with me the least when I was first binging on his discography and now it's my favorite of his and one of my favorite records of all time.

Counting Stars is another example of my initial opinion of AP's music being turned over on its head with time. Two of my least favorite songs on the record ("Planting Trees" and "God of My Fathers") are now my favorites. It's really weird and maybe it's for personal reasons, but I can't think of another artist who's music has grown on me as much as Andrew Peterson's. I would've never thought he'd be my all-time favorite artist when I first listened to his music and now I don't even question it in my head.

 

That's really cool--thanks for sharing so much!

I'll admit that I really wasn't paying attention to the lyrics at all when I listened to Far Country and Counting Stars, so I'll have to give them another (more focused) chance.

Everything you described is basically my experience with Steven Curtis Chapman. For a lot of my life, I thought he was just "fine," with some fun songs and great singles. The more I dig in, though, the more I love his whole discography, in particular 2013's The Glorious Unfolding.

As far as my favorite Christian artists, he's the top, with Sara Groves next. (Both would still be in my top 5 or 6, all genres.) Sara Groves' career to me has been wild because I'm honestly convinced each of her albums is better than the previous one.

Since we're on Christian talk, this isn't music related, but I just finished a theological blog post you might find interesting, if you get a chance :)

https://oursbyaccident.com/2016/12/18/writing-happy-birthday-on-jesuss-facebook-wall/

 

Man, think I missed this when it happened in August but Dallas Taylor had an awful crash. It's a bleak read - not for the easily squeamish!

 

Thanks for the DENS recommendation on this thread - been listening for the last week!

 

So glad you're enjoying it! It's definitely one of my favorites of the year.

Read that Dallas Taylor update when they posted it and it's awful. Glad he's doing better, relatively, but was no prepared for the extent of his injuries when I read about them. It doesn't seem to end.

 

So I've been leading worship at our church for about 1.5 years. Background - I was raised in a Church of Christ and went to a Church of Christ University. I've been attending Calvary churches for the past 4.5 years.

I'm wondering, what are some of your favorite worship songs? I feel like my selection has been pretty stale and unexciting for some time. I sing and play guitar and we usually have a friend sing with me and play piano and her husband drums. Most of the time it's just the three of us, so not a large band by any means. I pick about 5-6 songs every week but I feel like we just play the same stuff over and over. Any suggestions?

 

My church doesn't do 'worship music' so I don't know how they would transfer but I love Kings Kaleidoscope and Citizens and Saints.

Defender by KK is probably an all time fave at this point.

 

Is anyone here into Comrades? i stumbled onto these guys on a whim and am really loving their latest album. Really digging the Beloved vibe, with some definite Thrice and post-rock influences.

 

really dig comrades. didn't know they had a new album until i stumbled across it a few months ago.

 

Contributing to the discussion of the best music from 2016: I've just finished putting together my end of year lists. Here are my favourite songs and here are my favourite albums.

Any thoughts?

(The majority of it is music put out by Christians but one or two artists aren't - just clarifying as it is the Christian Music Thread).

 

Well written! Definitely going to check the ones out that I haven't heard.

 

Not sure if it's been posted in here but I just found out about new Oh, Sleeper track. I was so excited to listen to it and it really bored me. :/

 

I've not really listened to them since Children of Fire. I didn't find too much variation in their sound. But When I Am God is one of my favourite albums in that kind of style.

 

So now I've finished looking backwards, two questions:

What are the releases that you are most looking forward to this year?

Will Reagan announced a new album is coming out at the end of January which I'm pretty excited for. I think Bradley Hathaway will put something out too. My Epic have promised a yearly EP - although the last one didn't grip me as much as their full length albums, I'll still check this out. Rivers & Robots have an instrumental album coming out soon which I'm looking forward to giving a go. I always enjoy pretty much any song Sleeping at Last release.

Which bands haven't announced anything that you would love to see a release from?

For me Ascend the Hill would be up there. Not 100% sure on their status as a band but they were one of my favourite bands from Come&Live! back when it was a label and I think that they would write some interesting lyrics (I've been enjoying seeing Tweets from Joel Davis about his recent spiritual journeying).

Tom Crouch put out a four song EP last year and I'm dying for a full length - hope something like that emerges this year.

Other than that (and slightly moving out of the stereotypical Christian music and into more 'spiritual') if mewithoutYou put out another album that would be fantastic.

 

What oh what are Hands teasing?

Love those guys...

 

Hands is one of my all-time favs

 

Lecrae does not get enough love, man. Anomaly still blows my mind and this new single is soooo soooooo good.