john lawrence heberle

song of the week fifty propaganda - excellent

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:20:00 -0400

song of the week fifty

propaganda - excellent

song of the week fourtynine flume - sleepless

Sat, 04 May 2013 16:47:00 -0400

song of the week fourtynine

flume - sleepless

music twentytwelve: part four

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:49:00 -0400

1. mars hill music

modern post - grace alone / sing team - oh! great is our god / kings kaleidoscope - asaph’s arrows / kin - kin / citizens - already not yet

the number one album of the year is a total and complete cheat. here’s my flimsy reasoning: they are all EPs from the same church; five different bands, but who cares…

mars hill music released a slew of EPs from various bands that make up the multi-campused church’s various worship teams. each band is great in their own right; each has a unique style of worship and songwriting.

some quick thoughts on all the EPs:

modern post - grace alone

dustin kensrue’s outfit creates 80s flavored rock worship songs with beats that make it difficult to not break out and dance. kensrue’s voice wails throughout most of the tracks and the unabashed upbeat tone of all the songs is quite refreshing. worship is fun, and these guys make it fun.

the sing team - oh! great is our god

the sing team consists of a group of family and friends who claim to draw inspiration from motown to the muppets (which is great because i love both of those things). i thought at first i was listening to a children’s album, but the richness and the depth of the lyrics drew me in.

king’s kaleidoscope - asaph’s arrows

king’s kaleidoscope is probably my favorite band out of the lot, or at least the one from which i’m expecting the most innovation. their style is quite undefinable, but their hearts are not. everything points to jesus (although that could probably be said about all the bands). they seem to exude the most current, the most cutting edge, the most modern sound out of all the groups. the sky is the limit here.

(they also released a pretty great christmas EP in 2012)

kin - kin

kin is the band i know the least about, but might be the one i’ve listened to the most. their short three song EP is constantly on rotation. maybe it’s the singability or the catchiness of their riffs, but none-the-less, kin is a band that incites great worship.

citizens - already not yet

citizens brings some of the most compelling riffs to the table. their songs will get your feet stomping. they’re also the first mars hill band to release a full length album (which might be showing up on next year’s “year-end list”…). everything about them is just fun.

—

one thing i’ve noticed with modern worship is that usually a band falls into one of two camps:

1. modern sounds | empty words

these are bands that try desperately to connect to young audiences through the sound of the music, but usually sacrifice the quality of their lyrics in the process. what you’re left with are catchy songs that don’t really take you anywhere.

2. old fogey music | rich lyrics

these are bands that put their emphasis on the theology of their music. they craft beautiful turns of phrase that help you to meditate and know jesus; but usually the songs are horribly boring and you don’t want to listen to them anyway. listenability is ignored while lyrics are pushed to the forefront.

but in comes the mars hill bands— you get the best of both worlds. the music is extremely exciting, and the lyrics are as solid as they come. you can’t go wrong with that! buy all five EPs today.

song of the week fourtyeight young summer - fever dream

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 17:25:00 -0400

song of the week fourtyeight

young summer - fever dream

song of the week fourtyseven shel - paint my life

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 18:30:00 -0500

song of the week fourtyseven

shel - paint my life

music twentytwelve: part three

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:37:32 -0500

4. julia stone - by the horns

julia stone has one of the most unique voices i’ve ever heard. she just crafts great folk songs. she does great covers. her albums feels like it was recorded in 1974, placed in a sealed time capsule before anyone had heard it, and not opened until 2012. it’s nostalgic without being cheesy. it’s soft without being overtly feminine. it’s pretty decent.

3. yeasayer - fragrant world

i wanted to not like this. i had heard yeasayer before and had thought “maybe i just don’t get it.” then i heard the opening riff from henrietta and the crazy tonal shift it takes for the last 2 minutes and i realized i had been missing out on something. yeasayer blends so many different styles and genres that you would be hard-pressed to peg them into one hole. one thing that is unmistakable though is the sound of brooklyn. the cutting edge, pushing the boundaries, post-modern (or maybe post post-modern?) sound feels so inseparable from brooklyn, the borough which the band calls home. it’s awkward at first, but the more you listen the more the layers get peeled back and the more you can appreciate this pretty great album.

2. lovelite - in three persons

this came out of nowhere for me. i had heard of lovelite and followed them somewhat closely over the years but never was truly blown away by anything they put out. this album feels like a great leap forward for them as a band. it finds them expanding on that “80s sound” that they somewhat resembled before. here it goes to whole new levels. the reverb soaked drums, the poppy guitar riffs, the soaring vocals. it’s all there. but in three persons completely tows the line between genius and cheesy. at no point does it feel forced or uneven. it feels like the natural progression for a band finally finding their voice. and talk about a great lyrics!

selfish motives, haunted choices / we cry out with broken voices / precious Jesus our great purpose / You’re the center of existence

those words taken as they’re written are deeply moving. but accompany them with the beautiful orchestration and you’ve got one very powerful song. i, for one, cannot wait to see what’s next from lovelite.

music twentytwelve: part two

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:05:00 -0500

7. mumford and sons - babel

this was probably the album i was most looking forward to all year. loved the mumfs first album, and was eagerly anticipating a repeat effort. and that’s more or less what this is. it feels almost like a collection of b-sides that didn’t quite make the cut the first time around. it’s their first album…just not as good. some of the songs recreate the ecstatic, foot stomping fun, while others just sort of fall flat. if you liked the first, you’ll like the second. i just didn’t like it as much.

6. rend collective experiment - homemade worship by handmade people

one of the best discoveries of the year. a reminder that worship can be fun. they really create some interesting orchestration of songs, and have that soaring group vocal thing going on that really sweeps you into the music. some of the songs bend toward the traditional worship/christian music fare, but on the whole it’s a really creative band doing some really creative things. it’s like mumford and sons recording a worship album.

5. delta spirit - delta spirit

i had such high hopes for this album coming into the year. and i wasn’t disappointed. 2010’s history from below was such a great rootsy/americana/indie rock album and put the spirit on the map (for me at least). this album gives a sort of departure from that sound blending some 60s/70s california beach vibes to their rootsy sound. they’re at their best when they’re creating driving alt rock songs that build and build until they explode. delta spirt is one of the great american rock bands working today.

music twentytwelve: part one

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:38:00 -0500

10. dry the river - weights and measures

its just so different, its good. its like bon iver, will oldham, and arcade fire were thrown into a test tube, and out came dry the river. it’s a really interesting mix of folk/bombastic rock/falsetto harmonies that for some reason works fairly well. they’re like the killers if the killers were cool.

9. judah & the lion - first fruits

a great bluegrass worship album. if you’re tired of traditional worship songs, pop this on your ipod and enjoy banjo filled worship. lyrically it’s not the most profound, but they’re doing something musically that’s more interesting than most bands that it’s worth a buy.

8. gungor - a creation liturgy

what makes gungor so great, is fully on display in this live album. while most live christian albums are recorded in massive stadiums with thousands of voices singing along, this sounds like it was recorded at a local bar. you can hear people talking, bottles clinking, and of course people worshiping along. it mostly combines songs recorded from their previous two efforts, with some adjustments in arrangements. the energy and passion is palpable, and the musicianship is phenomenal, especially for a live outfit. gungor is a great band, and if this recording is any indication, a great live act. dont miss out!

song of the week fourtysix alt-j - fitzpleasure

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 09:57:00 -0500

song of the week fourtysix

alt-j - fitzpleasure

song of the week fourtyfive marcus foster - i was broken

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 20:39:00 -0500

song of the week fourtyfive

marcus foster - i was broken

song of the week fortyfour kin - all my tears

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 11:47:00 -0500

song of the week fortyfour

kin - all my tears

song of the week fortythree future unlimited - lightweight eyes

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 23:06:00 -0400

song of the week fortythree

future unlimited - lightweight eyes

song of the week fortytwo hudson taylor - battles

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 11:16:00 -0400

song of the week fortytwo

hudson taylor - battles

films to keep an eye on...

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 14:15:07 -0400

what to look for in the coming months….

brooklyn castle

this doc has a lot of buzz coming out of sxsw and hotdocs, and after watching the trailer i can see why. it looks like an uplifting story of human triumph, the american dream, and chess! when i heard that they’ve won more national championships than any other school, it blew my mind. it’s such an interesting and fascinating subject. really excited for this one.

gregory crewdson: brief encounters

one of the most interesting voices in modern art. i’ve always been interested in the process by which he takes his photographs, and this looks like a great insight into the entire thing. the one criticism i have of the trailer is that crewdson’s photography is so surreal, that it lend itself to a little more visual mastery in filmmaking. this seems like a really straight up documentary, while the filmmakers could have done something really interesting…

song of the week fortyone beautiful eulogy (feat. josh garrels)...

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 11:07:00 -0400

song of the week fortyone

beautiful eulogy (feat. josh garrels) - anchor

song of the week forty little people - start shootin’...

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 11:19:00 -0400

song of the week forty

little people - start shootin’ (little people’s americana remix)

song of the week thirtynine empire of the sun - walking on a...

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:27:00 -0400

song of the week thirtynine

empire of the sun - walking on a dream

"The law is for the self-righteous, to humble their pride. The gospel is for the lost, to remove..."

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:16:59 -0400

“The law is for the self-righteous, to humble their pride. The gospel is for the lost, to remove their despair.”

- Charles Spurgeon

song of the week thirtyeight the modern post - before the throne

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 10:22:01 -0400

song of the week thirtyeight

the modern post - before the throne

song of the week thirtyseven fossil collective - satellite

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 21:38:00 -0400

song of the week thirtyseven

fossil collective - satellite