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Save the humans (CD)Beating TimeSAVE THE HUMANS (CD) Oh no! Not another loud, in-your-face, over-produced, American-sounding, commercial-grade, 'Christian' rock album? Well, yes. Maybe. But it's all rather jolly good, actually! To be honest, if you don't like walls of sound, you are probably going to struggle with this one. But I do, so I didn't. Be prepared for something like a fusion of Oasis, The Police, Smash Mouth, even RadioHead. And don't be fooled by the few songs that start with a nice gentle acoustic intro, either - it's just the silence before the storm. It wears well. A couple of nights ago I listened to the whole album three times through without getting bored (always a good test). But it's not the sound that I like the most. It's the lyrics ... Two tracks are derived from hymns: 'Solid Rock' ('My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less'), and 'I love to tell the story'. The tunes are new, the words have been edited, but both are recognisable, joyful and uplifting. The remaining tracks are sometimes humorous, sometimes hard-hitting, but all deal with contemporary issues. The title track chides that we care more about the environment than our 'deadly sin disease'. 'Taboo' exposes permissive political correctness: 'No one blinks at anything I do until I claim that the resurrection is true'. 'American Idle' swipes at pop culture and pleads: 'Lose the world and gain your soul'. But my favourite has to be 'Into Your Arms' for its honesty and reality with respect to our daily struggle with our own wickedness - 'the part of me I hate' - 'I want to be the man on hands and knees, who doesn't try to hide his poverty'. 'Cover me with your mercy'! Eskelin founded All Stars United in 1996, but he took this break from the band because he 'wanted to write a project with ten potential radio singles [and] wanted it to be that musically charged and that happy'. He dismisses some of his earlier work as 'throwaway in terms of importance'. 'I've done a lot of growing up as a follower of Christ'. 'I don't want to mess around with songs and concepts that don't really get to the heart of the matter'. Indeed. This work shines with integrity. In a word: substance. PGDH© Evangelicals Now - November 2004 |