My Own Little World

Today, I got an interesting announcement in my inbox. I subscribe to Phil Joel's email newsletter that updates me on all things in his music. I really like him because of his tenure with the Newsboys (he is best known for singing the verses on "Entertaining Angels"), but I've been curious to know what he's up to as of late. I found out for the first time today that he has started a new worship project called  Zealand Worship . I immediately went to their website and looked for any music they had made available. Upon listening to the four tracks there, I decided to initiate a new section for my blog: New Artist Spotlight. I'll be doing these infrequently to highlight new artists, Christian and otherwise, that I find particularly appealing and intriguing. Zealand Worship fits this bill pretty well. They have a sound rooted in the mid-2000s "we want to sound like U2 but not make it too obvious" worship music but with a slight electronic edge to it. ...

Ever since Michael Tait replaced Peter Furler as the Newsboys' lead singer, I've become far less enamored with the band. After a solid initial release in Born Again and a mediocre worship album in God's Not Dead , I really did not know what to expect from Restart . Musically, I was not surprised at all. The album makes use of the standard modern pop-rock sound that both of Tait's albums have used. Some songs sound better than others, with "Live With Abandon" being the best. Overall, the music rarely obscured the lyrics, which with this style is a mark of some excellence, even if the composition is nothing we have not heard before. It supports the lyrics well; however, this is not necessarily a good thing. Most of the lyrics are somewhat thought-out, but a couple songs stand out for better or for worse. "Live With Abandon" and "We Believe" have excellent lyrics, especially the latter. "We Believe" is a simple yet effective p...