Mike’s Mini Music Review – Thousand Foot Krutch – Welcome to the Masquerade

It’s been a banner couple of weeks for stellar album releases. Skillet blew me away with Awake, and now Thousand Foot Krutch has come out with … well, it’s not the best Christian rock album of the year (Skillet wrapped that one up two weeks ago), but Welcome to the Masquerade is really, really, really, really good.

I hesitate slightly to call it “excellent” – although it borders on that – because for such a fantastic album, Masquerade has a few flaws that keep it from being one of those five-star, two-thumbs up records.

First, though, the positives: many of the songs are tremendous. I love the title track, as well as Fire It Up, Bring Me To Life, and Forward Motion. There’s a good mix of traditional-style TFK rock-rap-nu metal songs, and some more pop-rock oriented songs. The ballad Looking Away blew me away because it didn’t sound like TFK at all. Heck, when I first heard it, I thought it was a band like FM Static. (Well, at least that makes sense.) Overall, the highs of this album are very high.

The negatives? The songs are great, but the structure of some of the pieces just doesn’t work for me. A song called Smack Down (Hello, WWE, are you going to pick this up now, or, like, now?) should be more like an in-your-face rocker akin to Fire It Up, but instead it’s almost a dirge and never really finds its groove. The closing song, Already Home, is a really pretty ballad until the last 20 seconds, and then all of the crescendo orchestration just suddenly dies in favour of an acoustic finish. It’s so abrupt, it’s like the orchestra got gunned down. As a result, it’s a huge anti-climax. And my biggest pet peeve of the album is that so many of the songs just end. Stop. Done. Finish. No flourish, no fade out, nothing. They. Just. End.

But in the end, you have to love any band that can properly incorporate triplets into its songs these days.

And for the record, the album cover freaked out my wife.

I still like Skillet’s Awake more than this record, but that’s a matter of taste and degree. TFK has put out an album that deserves the superlatives it’s receiving. My frustration is that with a little bit of tweaking of a few individual songs and some better choices on production, this album could have been an all-time classic. It’ll have to settle for being the second-best Christian rock album of 2009.

Downhere/Building 429 concert review

Had a fun few hours last night at West Edmonton Christian Assembly watching one of my favorite Christian bands – Downhere – live in concert for the first time. They were the openers for Building 429, but it was apparent from the moment that the host came out to welcome us to the show that Downhere was the band that the crowd wanted to see. Indeed, Downhere got a big standing ovation when their short set was over. Building 429, on the other hand, had almost half the audience walk out during their set.

And that’s a shame because for as good as Downhere is, and as great as their short set was, Building 429 was a lot of fun, and deserved to have more folks stick around to watch them.

Of course, to be fair, I was also one of those people who came just to see Downhere, but figured I’d stick around for Building 429 as a “bonus” concert. I thought I didn’t know that many Building 429 songs, but it turned out I was familiar with about half the songs in their set, which was a pleasant surprise. They were an energetic bunch of guys with an obvious heart for God and ministry. I’m now officially a fan.

The Downhere part of the show was fun because I was live-Twittering before and after their set, which actually got a Twitter response from the band later. Very cool. The guys in Downhere, as they noted on stage, do not take themselves particularly seriously, but they’re a fantastic quartet live (and in studio), and it was a real treat to see such talented musicians play.

Thumbs up.

Mike’s Mini Music Review – Skillet’s “Awake”

I have to admit – I was a little worried about Awake. Skillet’s last album, Comatose, was a gigantic hit in the Christian music community, and I figured it was inevitable that the followup album was going to be a letdown.

It turns out I was completely wrong. This record delivers. It’s fabulous. Great melodic guitar rock. Fun harmonies. Powerful songs. (I dare you to listen to “Lucy” and not get teary-eyed.) I haven’t stopped listening to it since Tuesday. It’s easily my favourite album of 2009.

Judging from other reviews I’ve read, for the very few who don’t like Awake, the big complaint is that it’s Comatose II – that Skillet hasn’t grown as a band or changed their style or whatnot.

In many ways, Awake picks right up where Comatose leaves off, but so what? Skillet has figured out the formula of big arena rock with guitars, keyboards and strings, and 1980s-style power ballads, and they make it work for them. I happen to enjoy that formula a lot, so I’m perfectly happy with Awake. Ecstatic, even.

Which is not to say that Skillet has entirely duplicated Comatose. The biggest change on Awake is the addition of new drummer Jen Ledger to the vocal line-up, singing both backup and supporting lead vocals on songs, which is a definite upgrade to Skillet’s overall package.

Not only is there not a bad song on the entire album, the first half of Awake is among the strongest string of songs I’ve ever heard on any record. And given the album’s lyrical emphasis on real-life situations (love, loss, forgiveness, bad relationships, etc.), songs like “Don’t Wake Me”, “One Day Too Late” and “Forgiven” would not be out of place as soundtrack songs on any number of teen or young-adult dramas. And “Hero” would make an excellent action movie trailer song.

OK, there are some nitpicky things. For instance, the fact that the line “My voice will be heard today” gets repeated during the second verse of “Hero” bugs me and strikes me as lazy lyric writing. And if I had done the arrangements on “Alive and Awake” I would have tweaked the chorus just a bit.

But, again, it’s nitpicking. I don’t have enough superlatives for Awake. This album is tremendous. Five stars. 10 out of 10. Highest recommendation. Just go buy it.

POD's Anything Right - Same chorus as TFK's Fire It Up?

My friend Jim comments on my previous post that the chorus to TFK's Fire It Up sounds an awful lot like POD's Anything Right.

So here's POD's song. What do you think? (Chorus starts at 1:20)

Is it just me or are songs getting shorter?

I have zero evidence to back up my subject line question beyond a gut feeling, but I recently grabbed three songs off two upcoming albums and the longest song is 3:09. The other two clock in at 3:08 and three minutes even. (What got me thinking of this was a new playlist I created on my iPod that had just five songs in it, and ran a few ticks over 15 minutes.)

I could have sworn that the average pop song used to be three-and-a-half to four minutes long, and maybe more if you let the guitar player or keyboard dude really ramp up the solo before the final chorus.

So what's the deal?

WikiAnswers says the average song length is 3:20. I have no idea what that's based on, but even that sounds short.

Then there's this guy who says, "Over the last forty years, the average length of pop songs (or country songs, or most rock songs etc.) has grown from a tight two minutes to an ungainly four."

I don't remember a lot of two minute pop or rock songs during the last 40 years (and I'm 40, and don't listen to country), but I never thought a four-minute pop song was "ungainly."

I pose the question again, then - are pop songs today getting shorter?

Thousand Foot Krutch - Fire It Up

The greatness of new autumn releases continues!

And now for something completely different

From the file, "Things you probably didn't know about me", I'm a HUGE Huey Lewis and the News fan. I dusted off my copy of Live at 25 the other day, and fell in love with the band all over again. Great stuff.





Go ahead, laugh. I don't care.

Mike's Mini Music Review: Newsboys - In The Hands of God

I have a general rule for albums: If there are three good songs on it (read: three songs I really like), I don't regret the purchase.

By that standard, the Newsboys' brand new album, In The Hands of God, is a fine purchase, as it passes my general rule, with a minimum of three songs that I'll listen to lots. The title track has been a big hit on Christian radio, and as I've written about before, it's a song that really surprises you with the way it builds. My Friend Jesus is a rather amusing ditty about - wait for it - being on hold with tech support. No, really. But that's what makes the song work - it pulls something profound out of something so mundane. (It's a song that I'd expect to hear Relient K or Stellar Kart sing, actually.) Lead Me to the Cross is a pretty powerful worship oriented ballad.

The rest of the album? Eh ... it's a decidedly mixed bag. Dance starts out really well, but the chorus doesn't work for me. The Way We Roll is just OK. But The Upside is kinda nifty - kind of a throwback summer song that you'd play with your windows down.

Worth picking up if you're a fan of the Newsboys.

Christianity Today gives Ending is Beginning 5 stars

See? I told you Downhere's new album is good!

Their best album so far? In many ways, yes, though each Downhere album has had its share of pop/rock highpoints. At the very least, Ending Is Beginning further cements the band's place in Christian music for their artful expressions of our faith. Downhere has hit their stride with this album, and assuming that their following continues to grow, it appears that we can expect continued excellence from them for years to come.

Mike's Music Review - Downhere - Ending is Beginning

OK, I promised a review of the album tonight, and circumstances have conspired to make it shorter than I wanted it to be. No song-by-song review. Just some overall thoughts.

It's a fantastic album - sonically and lyrically. I think my favorite song at this point is Don't Miss Now, which has a great piano hook and some stunning harmonies, and actually reminded me of a post-Peter Cetera Chicago song at times.

One thing I noticed listening to it going to work this morning is how some of the songs on Ending is Beginning would have not sounded at all out of place on a Starfield album. (That's a compliment, by the way - to both bands.)

Finally, Chris Sligh has some very kind words about Ending is Beginning. I think, "You must, must, must check out this album" pretty much sums it up.

Coming tonight

A review of Downhere's Ending is Beginning.

Casting Crowns - The Altar and the Door Live CD/DVD

I've said it before but it bears repeating: Casting Crowns should only put out live albums.

The Altar and the Door Live CD/DVD is so much better than the studio version, it's almost mindboggling. This is a band that has so much fun and brings so much passion to its music that it just can't be captured in a studio session. As a result, their live albums just buzz with excitement, and their song arrangements are far more energetic and inventive than the studio versions.

If you haven't bought The Altar and the Door and you like Casting Crowns, just go straight to the live version. It does not have every song from the studio release, but it hits the highlights of the studio album. Not to mention, there's an absolutely haunting version of Love Them Like Jesus (originally from the Lifesong album) that will bring tears to your eyes.

Downhere - Ending is Beginning - September 23

Just doing my bit ...

Downhere free album download

The Christian band Downhere has offered up their 2006 album, Wide Eyed and Mystified, for a completely free download here. I believe the offer is only good until the end of June.

In my opinion, it's a fine album and well worth downloading. Hey, it's free! If you don't like it, delete it.

Amanda Falk - Beautiful

My first YouTube video to hit 2,000 views, which it did yesterday.



(And, no, I'm not awake now, sitting in front of the computer posting. I used the scheduled post feature in Blogger to put this up in the middle of the night.)

Church stage collapses in Abbotsford, B.C.

A disturbing story from the Starfield concert last night in Abbotsford, B.C.

Starfield - Reign in Us

My current favourite song.

FFH - Ready to Fly

This song is very special to me for reasons that not very many people know. I love this song. Utterly love this song.

The video ... well, did I mention how much I love the song?

Petra - Creed

This post serves two purposes:

1) It's an excuse to post a video for Petra's song "Creed," which is awesome.

2) It's a test of YouTube's "post directly to your blog" feature, which was very easy to set up, but the actual mechanics of which are hidden under the "Share" button, which was not the most intuitive thing I've ever seen.

NEW! Shared items

The keen-eyed among you will have noticed that I now have a "shared items" applet along the right-hand side of the page. I have several dozen blog feeds in my Google Reader (an amazing application), and from time to time, I'll be marking items there that I think my readership (all 4 of you) might be interested in reading as well. Or not.

The items can be clicked one at a time, or you can click the "read more" link to read all the items in my list.

Currently, there's some MMA news, a good article on the death of Christian rock pioneer Larry Norman, and and older link to the day I got cut from the Edmonton Sun.