SIMPLE SONGS FOR YOUNG AND OLD
By CityAlight
CityAlight (Sydney, Australia) has become a go-to resource for many churches in the UK over the last nine years, writing songs with lyrical richness paired with singable (and playable!) melodies.
Their latest EP, Simple Songs for Young and Old (2023) is another demonstration of their signature style. The EP consists of six songs – five new and one reworking.
Tunes to make you hum
Melodically, the songs are easy to pick up and you’ll be humming along before you know it. Thematically, these songs cover familiar ground for the group: God’s presence with us; hope, peace and comfort when life is tough.
Musically, we’re in CityAlight’s home territory with a medium-rock ‘church’ sound - there’s no doubt it’s CityAlight, but the persistent presence of the congregational voice is a joy to hear.
Stand-out songs
A couple of songs stand out: He Calls Me Friend and Day After Day, Jesus Reigns. Both songs exhibit a natural and obvious melody that is easy to pick up and hard to put down. But the real strength of these songs is their thematic content.
He Calls Me Friend is a wonderful exploration of the work of Christ on our behalf, and the joy that it is to know that He calls us ‘friend’. Day After Day, Jesus Reigns is a song full of hope – reflecting on the ongoing work of Christ in the life of the believer. With content like this: ‘If the day should test my faith, Or fill my heart with songs of praise, I can face it with this hope, Jesus won’t forget His own’, it’s not hard to imagine these songs becoming a staple in churches of all shapes and sizes.
Sheet music is available for free at www. cityalight.com
