How Current Sounds Like a Glass of Water
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"In my years as a recording artist I have had the pleasure of working with many, many wonderful people. There are few, however, that can match the incredible heart for ministry and the great talent of Sarah Macintosh.” – Michael W. Smith
You would be forgiven for making an assumption at this point. The fact is, most peopl...e would already have some sort of preconceived notion about who Sarah Macintosh is based on the above quote, a quote that is true but that says not a word about what the music that has sprung forth from Sarah Macintosh sounds like. But Michael W. Smith knows a good thing when he hears it. Which is why, once upon a time, he asked Sarah to join his band for a tour. (Again, entirely true, but not indicative of what her music sounds like...)
So what does she sound like? Is it anything like the pillar of the CCM community quoted above? (No.) Is it anything like the previous work she did with her groundbreaking former group, Chasing Furies? (Closer, but not really.)
It sounds more like a drop of color in a glass of water. No, really. Think about it: Pop music, as a form, is a glass of water. There are conventions that we’re all used to, certain attributes that the vessel must adhere to for us to accept it. It must contain the attributes that make it a glass of water. And the cultural landscape is littered with glasses of water left of shelves, on counters, in our cars and offices. They are enjoyed for a bit, maybe even savored. At times, they might even save us. But at the end of the day, it’s just another glass of water that is enjoyed until it isn’t, and then forgotten about.
But then someone comes along and drops a bit of color in a fresh glass. The vessel is still the same, but the contents are forever altered. It only takes one little drop – the color falls into the water and
blooms into unexpected and beautiful shapes, expanding outwards while evolving and dancing within its container. Its dance is joyous and wonderful and breathtaking, and before you know it, you’re looking at a glass of water that still has all the same attributes that the rest of the glasses of water have – save for one: That brilliant shock of color, setting it apart.
From the first moments of Sarah’s new album Current, you know that you are hearing something that stands apart. Yes, her music nestles in comfortably within our acceptable parameters of pop music. The vessel is correct. But the contents are of a completely different color. From the opening track you are listening to that drop of color make its way into every space within the glass. The bouncy and unexpected harp that opens the album’s title track gives way to strings, a chorus of drums, and a huge melody - a sonic palette that should sound familiar to anyone who has spent time listening to the Nashville indie-act Paper Route, co-producer JT Daley’s other day job.
It doesn’t stop with the banging opening number, though. The entire album is punctuated by chamber-pop elements and instrumentation. The standard sounds you would expect in a pop song clash with small and intimate details, giving the sonic landscape a sense of familiarity but with a lushness and texture that rings new to the ears of those of us who are so accustomed to the conventional output of the record labels these days. And while these elements draw you in, it’s the voice that keeps you listening. Sarah’s voice is wonderful, true, but it’s her turn of melody, of taking that one thing you rely on as a listener, and flipping it on its head before righting it again (before you’ve even realized it!) that makes listening to Current such a breathtaking and engrossing experience. Her mixture of musical phrase and words that come not from her head, but from her heart are what make you realize that you are not engrossed in a pop album – you are engrossed in one person’s honest-to-God work of art.
There are other points that could be highlighted to draw you in. The trailblazers of the music world that she has worked with over the
years (her aforementioned collaboration with one Michael W. Smith, her aforementioned band, worship juggernauts like Matt Redman, David Crowder and Tim Hughes to name a few), and the fact that for the past year she and her family have given up the comforts of their own home in Southern California in order to redefine what it means to be a touring musician and speaker. (For instance, The Macintoshes place themselves in one city for a month or two at a time, staying with friends and family members, and make small, short journeys that allow them the time to invest with the local churches where they are playing, share meals with the pastors and congregants, and get to know them as people versus concert-goers. It’s a novel way of combining the nomadic lifestyle and the putting-roots-down-in-a- community lifestyle and something that goes completely against the grain in the world of musicians on the road. Then again, Sarah seems to make a point to not do things in the normally expected way...)
These are all valid points to make. They show you, dear reader, that Sarah Macintosh is good, and safe, and that she has a heart that overflows for a new and different looking style of ministry. She is a woman not making worship music, but music that is worshipful, that is indicative of a worshipful life.
All of this is true.
But what makes her remarkable is that all of this feeds into her art, to that glass of water that was clear and unremarkable before you really looked at it. Because once you see past the vessel that you think you are used to, you see a shock of red, or blue, or green where there used to be nothing at all........


Tracklisting ::

[COMING SOON]

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There was a moment in Andy Cherry’s life when he just wasn’t sure. Fresh out of high school, leading worship at church in the morning and playing music in bars at night, he stood up to sing during a service one morning and something just didn’t feel right.

“I didn't want to be there. I thought, ‘I'm wasting my time.’ And then it just hit me. God was touching people where they were and He didn’t need me to work in their lives,” says Cherry, now 25, newly married to wife Michelle, and poised to release his first LP Nothing Left to Fear on Essential Records, March 6.

“That was the moment where I thought, ‘OK, this is bigger than me, and I'd better get on board. I'd better hold on for dear life and follow wherever God leads me.’”

You’ll sense the musical and spiritual growth Cherry’s been led toward in Nothing Left to Fear, which he created alongside highly regarded producer and five-time SESAC Christian songwriter of the year, Jason Ingram.

Stomping percussion underlines the celebratory refrain of “Rise with a shout, cry out, our God’s alive!” in leadoff single, “Our God’s Alive.” Gentle fingerpicked guitars lead through “Running to Our Savior,” an expression of God’s comfort in the face of loss. And “Nothing to Fear” -- with its refrain of "Why should I worry/ When Your love surrounds me?” -- grounds the album’s overarching sense of the comfort and hope that comes with faith, the knowledge that worry is needless, that God will sustain you.

But Cherry also funneled the struggle and uncertainty that lingers, and the honest questioning that comes with both, into Nothing Left to Fear.

Opening track “City of Light” -- a lush melodic rock anthem -- ended up a treatise to God that asks Him to awaken our hearts and for that to be recognized. It started as the expression of a personal breaking point, when Cherry was confused and lost and needed to be reminded that a new day would dawn. That song and others -- “He Has Done it All,” about how God has made us complete; “Beautiful Morning,” in which Cherry sings, “I need nothing, but Your love” -- aren’t just proclamations of devotion but reminders and sources of comfort to Cherry himself.

To Cherry, there’s strength -- and closeness to God -- in admitting that you haven’t figured it all out. Nothing Left to Fear is his admission, and his invitations to question, learn, grow and worship with him, together.

“The reason I do what I do is because I want to compel people to a deeper walk with God,” says Cherry.

“Through my work in churches, I’ve witnessed people – for whatever reasons – shy away from asking hard questions. I think this hesitancy, or fear, keep them from a closer relationship with God. Through these songs, I hope to help people work around that fear and find the love He intends for each us.”

He continues, “There's an understanding that comes when you start looking at yourself through God's eyes, and when you're finally able to communicate with Him on an honest level I think you're able to see yourself without a filter.”

He finds inspiration toward that intent in the “pretty extensive example of worship music” we have in Psalms. (He takes on a very famous hymn on Nothing Left to Fear -- “Nothing But the Blood” -- repackaging and modernizing it as a propulsive, layered sonic celebration.) Beyond the poetry and praise in the hymn, you also find real struggle -- and real honesty.

“I’m sure we’ve all had moments where we’ve felt like we’ve been attacked; even forsaken,” Cherry says. “The moments where you just want to say, ‘My life is really messed up, and I think You have let this happen to me.’ God can handle that -- He's got really broad shoulders and He handle your honesty and confusion – even your anger. His feelings aren't going to be hurt. He doesn't need us to sugarcoat things because He knows what we’re feeling. So when we dancing around what we're actually feeling towards Him I think we do ourselves a disservice. In my writing and playing, I hope to point people to a broader view of God; to encourage them to dialogue in honesty, like David did.”

[DEPOSIT FILES]

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For your consideration: Fireflight—Artist of the Year.
Imagine. Thanks to GMA’s 2009 Dove Award nomination, thousands of people did. And, frankly, many liked the way it sounded. So what if Fireflight was a modern rock act nominated alongside six of Christian music's biggest giants? The future had arrived. Now, with the release of the band's double-taker of an album, For Those Who Wait, it's time ...for everyone else to catch up.

Granted, the past few years have been a whirlwind. Back when the Floridians launched their Flicker Records debut, The Healing of Harms, in 2006, the versatile quintet rocked two No. 1 radio singles, toured relentlessly, and, best of all, discovered a growing fanbase that reciprocated the band’s passion. Next up, Fireflight’s 2008 sophomore album, Unbreakable. Before the record released, NBC repeatedly used its title track, the lead single, for prime time television promos. The fuse had been lit. As operation Google “Unbreakable” began, the album debuted at No. 10 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart. One domino tipped another. Fireflight won Taco Bell’s fan-voted “Best of the Beat” contest and then performed at ESPN’s “Winter X Games 13.” As Fireflight logged additional audio exposure on ABC, E! Entertainment’s “Style Network,’ and even SyFy, Christian rock and pop radio fanned its own flames, sending three more Fireflight singles—“Unbreakable,” “The Hunger” and “Stand Up”—to No. 1. Before the smoke cleared, the “Unbreakable” music video logged more than a million plays on YouTube, and the song itself had been confirmed as a future download for the wildly popular Rock Band™ video game.

The table has been set for the highly-anticipated third project, For Those Who Wait. With its stunning new 10-song collection, Fireflight exceeds expectations. As drummer Phee Shorb puts it, “For Those Who Wait sounds as good as I’ve always hoped we could sound.”

Front and center? One Dawn Michele. With all due respect to exceptional peers such as Paramore and Evanescence, not all female lead singers are created equal. Armed with an arresting voice that's drawn comparisons to Joan Jett and The Pretenders’ Chrissy Hynde, Dawn actually makes authoritative gut-rock sound beautiful. And her bandmates? With her every step of the way and, at times, elevating the proceedings. From the moment Fireflight’s new album hits speakers, one thing’s for sure: This is 2010.

While some might speculate the band had a huge recording budget or tapped the talents of an iconic mainstream producer, Fireflight guitarist/support vocalist Justin Cox explains the record’s fuller, more muscular sound is the result of taking a different approach and different equipment into the studio. When the rock quintet—which also features Fireflight founder/guitarist Glenn Drennen and bassist Wendy Drennen (his wife)—reunited with Rob Hawkins (Jackson Waters, Rush of Fools), who also helmed Unbreakable, Justin told the producer he “wanted this album to be way heavier and way bigger.” For much of the recording, Fireflight also switched to high end solid body electric guitars that yield richer tones, and—much to the band’s credit—a superior amplifier known for unforgiving clarity if you make mistakes. “The results were phenomenal,” says Justin with a satisfied smile. “It wasn’t about being as heavy as we could be, it was more about impact and dynamics. Because the soft parts, you just need those to sit back. We wanted this album to sound more epic, to sound like a journey from start to finish.”

An epic journey? In more ways than one. In fact, Fireflight’s first three albums have been a thematic travelogue of sorts. While the band’s debut emphasized resiliency amidst hardship, Unbreakable focused on emerging victorious beyond such difficulty. And For Those Who Wait? “This album is a maturation in understanding that sometimes you don’t appreciate why you’re on the path that you’re are,” Dawn explains. “A lot of times, we get bogged down thinking about things that we’re waiting for. As soon as I get my bills paid, then things are going to be great. As soon as my family member’s not sick anymore, then things are going to be a lot better. And when we do that, we totally miss out on what’s happening in-between now and our goal. God has times of waiting in our lives because He has something for us to learn. Hard things that happen, that throw us off of our plan, become the most important things in our lives because God will take them and use them to shape our character and who we are.”

This insight not only drives the album’s dynamic title track—a defiant rocker which shatters the “Unbreakable” mold—it frames the entire record. “This album is filled with even more personal stories of our own, our families’, friends’, and our fans’,” relates Dawn, who, along with Justin, writes the band’s lyrics. “It’s our lives, our hearts, and our pain just poured out. We worked to take the things that we struggled through and faced to leave a trail of bread crumbs, in hopes that other people would be able to see what we went through and find hope in that.”

With this in mind, Fireflight renders lead single, “Desperate.” Performed with hard-rocking urgency and emotion, the song takes you to the end of the rope and literally demands the only hope there is. For Those Who Wait unveils the band’s thickest groove yet with the song, “Fire in My Eyes.” The instant its steroidic guitars kick in, the operative word is big. And just when you think it’s reached its height, Dawn’s soaring chorus shows you how exquisite powerful vocals can actually be.

Even as Fireflight stakes its most authoritative claim in high-decibel rock, the multifaceted act also renders two masterful piano-based ballads. When Dawn assures us of God’s personal and intervening nature in the strings-enriched “Name,” it’s immediately evident her emotive vocals are equally poignant in an intimate musical framework. Its counterpart, “Recovery Begins,” is an artful vibefest as the band gently invites the Still Small Voice to speak forth.

At a time when countless Americans are struggling with feelings of inadequacy in today’s fragile job market, Fireflight offers the ascending rock track “All I Need to Be” as a prayerful reminder of where a believer’s identity should truly reside. As Dawn explains, many people of faith experience recurring anxiety as they seek God’s will for their lives. Instead of seeing their calling to the Christian life as being definitive, believers often obsess over vocation as a potential calling. Says Dawn, “I went through a time when I was seeking God intensely, asking, ‘What is the path You’d have for me? Where should I go?’ And I felt like He said to me, ‘My path covers the whole world, and I walk in love.’ I felt like what He was saying to me was that as long as I am walking in love and listening for His leading, it doesn’t matter where I go or what I do, that I will have fulfilled His purposes.”

Even as Fireflight wrote the songs for For Those Who Wait, Dawn, who tragically lost a brother during her youth, saw another—Hunter—diagnosed with brain cancer and have to have surgery. “It really was like reliving your worst nightmare, having it come true again,” she says. “I just cried out to God, ‘If we lose him, what will we do? It will destroy my family, because we’ve only barely recovered from the first time.’ And God really impressed upon me that all great people have gone through impossible circumstances. But it’s those things that have defined their character and made them who they are now. That helped me to have faith and to have strength to make it through that whole situation, and now Hunter’s doing wonderfully.” Dawn echoes this insight as she sings, “I'm not what I have done/I’m what I’ve overcome,” in the moody yet explosive modern rock standout, “What I've Overcome.”

“We pray earnestly that God will give us good songs that will be able to help people,” she says. “And He’s come through for us, especially in our weakest moments. That’s when we’ve really gotten the best stuff.” This awareness of God’s magnificence amidst personal weakness is a defining trait for Fireflight. It not only frames the band’s songwriting, it empowers Fireflight’s rejection of “rock star” entitlement and enables genuine relationships between the group and countless fans. “We work collectively as a band to answer every MySpace and ShoutLife question we get,” says the lead singer. “We believe first and foremost the Christian faith is relational. We try to show people God’s love, and you just can’t do that unless you care about them.” This manifests itself most directly as the band proactively interacts and prays with fans who “need to talk” after concerts.
In the most urgent cases, Fireflight connects its fans with ministry partners such as To Write Love on Her Arms, which helps individuals struggling with self injury, depression and addiction, and Dawson McAllister’s HopeLine, which gives life guidance to teenagers and young adults. In fact, in a highly unusual move for a band, Fireflight recently took a hope coach from Dawson McAllister’s team out on tour for its fans’ benefit.
Beyond immediate relational needs, Fireflight also flexes its muscle in far-reaching compassion and justice efforts. Explains Dawn, “We’re passionate about helping people both in America and in developing countries, where just a little can do so much. Jesus was extremely interested in the orphans, and the poor, and the widows. That was such a big part of what He did and what He emphasized to Christians, what they needed to be doing. As a result, Fireflight’s work includes a focused partnership with The Legacy of Hope International, a ministry committed to serving the most immediate needs of Cambodia’s poorest children.......


Tracklisting ::

[DEPOSIT FILES]

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