Genre: College Rock, Praise & Worship
David Crowder has emerged as a hot name in Christian music, and nobody knows how. Crowder is tall and gangly with an unkept afro. He wouldn't know how to be cool and he avoids being entertaining, but people keep showing up to hear him play. Why? Because David Crowder writes songs to lead people to worship God. That's it.
Within the first ten minutes on the album, "Oh Praise Him" will become your new favorite song. It’s upbeat and simple, but remarkably uplifting. If every church had this song in their hymnals, you wonder if the world would be a better place.
Crowder has made a habit of taking secular songs and letting them to praise God. In his first album he sang "Thank You," a hypnotic song written by an anti-religion icon: Sinead O'Conner. On this album, Crowder let Sarah Brightman's "Deliver Me" become the best new praise song in years. That's followed by the hypnotic "Closer." Although most of the tracks on the album could be considered Praise & Worship, Crowder avoids the genre pitfuls by staying creative and experiemental.
The music today is usually double-dipped with the latest flavor of pop, so the David Crowder sound won't seem familiar. His voice is sharp and strong, his songs uncluttered and to the point, both in lyrics and musical arrangements. Yet, there is a smoky mystery that surrounds each song, a vibe unmatched in Christian music.
Summary: By nature of praise and worship, the songs are subtle and don't demand your attention like most popular music. But in it's subtetly, this remains one of the top albums of the year. If Crowder continues to produce such exceptional albums, he'll be writing and inspiring for years to come. I'm ready.
-Matt Smith
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