Gungor - I Am Mountain
Gungor has been one of the few Christian bands that I will listen to on a regular basis. (As a disclaimer, when I say Christian I'm implying that their lyrics are inherently Christian, not just the faith of the members.) They aren't your stereotypical four chords CCM that has plagued the Christian music scene for years. They're talented, very talented in fact, well produced, and challenging. Let's look at a little bit of background on the band first.
Gungor is led by Michael Gungor, a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. It is his talent and vision that are the driving force behind the group. In various interviews he has described Gungor as a music collective, that is to imply that it is more so a community of musicians pooling their ideas together to form the band and its music. This may be true, but as I mentioned, Michael's behind the wheel. One of the members of the collective is his wife, Lisa, who plays various instruments and shares the vocal responsibilities. Together they are the worship leaders for a church in Colorado.
While they've been around for some time, Gungor's breakthrough album was Beautiful Things, released in 2010. They had a few singles on this album that were especially popular in worship services, most notably the title track, "Beautiful Things". They followed that one with a concept album, "Ghosts Upon the Earth". The name for the album was taken from a C.S. Lewis book, The Great Divorce, and makes reference to our time on Earth being passing and brief. The concept of the album is the creation, fall, redemption, restoration narrative that is ever present in the Christian realm. An excellent album, one that I didn't think they'd be able to top until I heard, I Am Mountain. They released another album, A Creation Liturgy, in 2012, but I have to admit I haven't listened to it yet.
I Am Mountain is a bit of a different sound than anything Gungor had produced before. In their previous albums Beautiful Things and A Creation Liturgy Gungor brought a much stronger praise and worship aspect to their music. With Ghosts Upon the Earth, they followed through on the idea of a concept album. Each album had a specific point and message. This isn't necessarily the case with I Am Mountain. Much of the songs are independent in theme from the others. For example, the opening/title track is a recognition of how simple and small we are in the context of the universe with lyrics like, "I am mountain, I am dust, constellations made of us". It speaks to glory, imagination, and wonder that is God. Gungor follows this with a song entitled, Beat of Her Heart, a mythological tale in which Michael personifies a Satyr chasing after a beauty, even going to Hades to bring her back, only to lose her at the last possible second.
I could go on, but this is getting long. This album is gorgeous, although it's not necessarily thematically connected from song to song, it still carries itself as a complete album from beginning to end. Definitely worth your time and worth the price of admission if you get a chance to go see them live.
Video for I Am Mountain:
A killer acoustic version for their song, "When Death Dies", off of their album Ghosts Upon the Earth.
Hiromi - Move
Hiromi Uehara was first brought to my attention by my good friend, Ben Fisher (who's a fine pianist himself), while perusing through youtube videos. He shared with me a video of Hiromi playing her own arrangement of "I've Got Rhythm" (video below). As a musician, sometimes you hear people play and it inspires you to grab your horn and join in. Other people you hear, and it is so good it makes you want to quit because, "what's the point?" Hiromi tends to make me feel like the later. She has an amazing talent that has people comparing her to the likes of Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum. It's not just that her playing is extremely technical, it's also that she's able to pass her passion and joy through the music to the listener as well. This may be most evident in the fact that she often smiles as she plays. You know she's enjoying it, and as a result we do to.
The album is themed around her day which always starts with the alarm clock's chirping on the title track, "Move". It then delves into the chaos most of us feel as we struggle to wake up and process what's going on around us. This carries through into the song "Brand New Day", I imagine this track is the "after the first cup of coffee" part of the morning. From there she gets a little funky, almost a throwback to Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon" from Head Hunters with the synth she uses. Her three track "Suite Escapism"paints a pretty stark contrast between "Reality", "Fantasy" and "In Between". "Reality" is chaotic, constant, and fast paced. The "Fantasy" is very laid back relaxed and flowing. As you might imagine, "In Between" is just as advertised a nice balance of the chaos of "Reality" and the placidness of the "Fantasy". The next tune opens up with a funk bass line which really lets you know what time it is, "Margarita!" time. It's a fun tune that lets you relax, tap your foot, and groove along. The last song on the album, "11:49 PM", seems to be a reflection on the day and a relenting to see it go. The struggle to stay awake and say goodbye to the wonder that was the day that has passed and the unfortunate future that awaits with the alarm clock in the morning.
It is a very complete album from beginning to end, one that is very entertaining to listen to and engaging throughout. Hiromi's energy really comes through and captivates the listener. Very much worth your time and money, especially if you're looking for a new jazz album.
Quick Hits:
Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience: Part 1
I can barely believe that I: 1) even bought this album, and 2) liked it enough that I thought I'd mention it in a post. I remember driving up to D.C. to see a friend and getting upset with how much I was enjoying the album. As you may or may not have guessed I don't really do the whole pop scene. At least not the current pop scene. I love me some Michael Jackson circa 1982. Which actually ties in to why I enjoy this album so much. Both had extreme talents performing at their peaks and both were extremely well produced. Don't get me wrong, Timberlake's album doesn't hold a candle to Thriller. Michael and Quincy were maybe the best two at their craft there has ever been, but that doesn't mean The 20/20 Experience: Part 1 was not well done. The album is very well thought out and it seems that JT is consistently trying to get the most out of each track, and for the most part succeeds. If you are looking for an album that's easy to take in and like the neo-soul/r&b sound than this might just be the album for you.
*Note: I intentionally left out Part 2 as it wasn't nearly as good of an album, although the single "Take Back the Night" was the best song of either album. Very much a throwback to MJ and "You Wanna Be Starting Something".
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
This album came recommended to me by a friend after I had mentioned that I was enjoying the Yeah Yeah Yeahs most recent album, Mosquito. I'll keep this quick. With this album Karen O. gets in your face, slaps you around a little bit, refuses to apologize, and leaves you groveling at her feet, all in the span 40 minutes. So, yeah check it out.
Gungor has been one of the few Christian bands that I will listen to on a regular basis. (As a disclaimer, when I say Christian I'm implying that their lyrics are inherently Christian, not just the faith of the members.) They aren't your stereotypical four chords CCM that has plagued the Christian music scene for years. They're talented, very talented in fact, well produced, and challenging. Let's look at a little bit of background on the band first.
Gungor is led by Michael Gungor, a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. It is his talent and vision that are the driving force behind the group. In various interviews he has described Gungor as a music collective, that is to imply that it is more so a community of musicians pooling their ideas together to form the band and its music. This may be true, but as I mentioned, Michael's behind the wheel. One of the members of the collective is his wife, Lisa, who plays various instruments and shares the vocal responsibilities. Together they are the worship leaders for a church in Colorado.
While they've been around for some time, Gungor's breakthrough album was Beautiful Things, released in 2010. They had a few singles on this album that were especially popular in worship services, most notably the title track, "Beautiful Things". They followed that one with a concept album, "Ghosts Upon the Earth". The name for the album was taken from a C.S. Lewis book, The Great Divorce, and makes reference to our time on Earth being passing and brief. The concept of the album is the creation, fall, redemption, restoration narrative that is ever present in the Christian realm. An excellent album, one that I didn't think they'd be able to top until I heard, I Am Mountain. They released another album, A Creation Liturgy, in 2012, but I have to admit I haven't listened to it yet.
I Am Mountain is a bit of a different sound than anything Gungor had produced before. In their previous albums Beautiful Things and A Creation Liturgy Gungor brought a much stronger praise and worship aspect to their music. With Ghosts Upon the Earth, they followed through on the idea of a concept album. Each album had a specific point and message. This isn't necessarily the case with I Am Mountain. Much of the songs are independent in theme from the others. For example, the opening/title track is a recognition of how simple and small we are in the context of the universe with lyrics like, "I am mountain, I am dust, constellations made of us". It speaks to glory, imagination, and wonder that is God. Gungor follows this with a song entitled, Beat of Her Heart, a mythological tale in which Michael personifies a Satyr chasing after a beauty, even going to Hades to bring her back, only to lose her at the last possible second.
I could go on, but this is getting long. This album is gorgeous, although it's not necessarily thematically connected from song to song, it still carries itself as a complete album from beginning to end. Definitely worth your time and worth the price of admission if you get a chance to go see them live.
Video for I Am Mountain:
A killer acoustic version for their song, "When Death Dies", off of their album Ghosts Upon the Earth.
Hiromi - Move
Hiromi Uehara was first brought to my attention by my good friend, Ben Fisher (who's a fine pianist himself), while perusing through youtube videos. He shared with me a video of Hiromi playing her own arrangement of "I've Got Rhythm" (video below). As a musician, sometimes you hear people play and it inspires you to grab your horn and join in. Other people you hear, and it is so good it makes you want to quit because, "what's the point?" Hiromi tends to make me feel like the later. She has an amazing talent that has people comparing her to the likes of Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum. It's not just that her playing is extremely technical, it's also that she's able to pass her passion and joy through the music to the listener as well. This may be most evident in the fact that she often smiles as she plays. You know she's enjoying it, and as a result we do to.
The album is themed around her day which always starts with the alarm clock's chirping on the title track, "Move". It then delves into the chaos most of us feel as we struggle to wake up and process what's going on around us. This carries through into the song "Brand New Day", I imagine this track is the "after the first cup of coffee" part of the morning. From there she gets a little funky, almost a throwback to Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon" from Head Hunters with the synth she uses. Her three track "Suite Escapism"paints a pretty stark contrast between "Reality", "Fantasy" and "In Between". "Reality" is chaotic, constant, and fast paced. The "Fantasy" is very laid back relaxed and flowing. As you might imagine, "In Between" is just as advertised a nice balance of the chaos of "Reality" and the placidness of the "Fantasy". The next tune opens up with a funk bass line which really lets you know what time it is, "Margarita!" time. It's a fun tune that lets you relax, tap your foot, and groove along. The last song on the album, "11:49 PM", seems to be a reflection on the day and a relenting to see it go. The struggle to stay awake and say goodbye to the wonder that was the day that has passed and the unfortunate future that awaits with the alarm clock in the morning.
It is a very complete album from beginning to end, one that is very entertaining to listen to and engaging throughout. Hiromi's energy really comes through and captivates the listener. Very much worth your time and money, especially if you're looking for a new jazz album.
Quick Hits:
I can barely believe that I: 1) even bought this album, and 2) liked it enough that I thought I'd mention it in a post. I remember driving up to D.C. to see a friend and getting upset with how much I was enjoying the album. As you may or may not have guessed I don't really do the whole pop scene. At least not the current pop scene. I love me some Michael Jackson circa 1982. Which actually ties in to why I enjoy this album so much. Both had extreme talents performing at their peaks and both were extremely well produced. Don't get me wrong, Timberlake's album doesn't hold a candle to Thriller. Michael and Quincy were maybe the best two at their craft there has ever been, but that doesn't mean The 20/20 Experience: Part 1 was not well done. The album is very well thought out and it seems that JT is consistently trying to get the most out of each track, and for the most part succeeds. If you are looking for an album that's easy to take in and like the neo-soul/r&b sound than this might just be the album for you.
*Note: I intentionally left out Part 2 as it wasn't nearly as good of an album, although the single "Take Back the Night" was the best song of either album. Very much a throwback to MJ and "You Wanna Be Starting Something".
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
This album came recommended to me by a friend after I had mentioned that I was enjoying the Yeah Yeah Yeahs most recent album, Mosquito. I'll keep this quick. With this album Karen O. gets in your face, slaps you around a little bit, refuses to apologize, and leaves you groveling at her feet, all in the span 40 minutes. So, yeah check it out.
Janelle Monáe - Electric Lady
Monáe follows up her big breakout album with Suites IV and V of what seems to be her seven suite masterpiece. As the title implies, this album really is electric. Monáe continues life as her alter-ego, Cindy Mayweather, an android freedom fighter from the distant future. In terms of the overall concept of the album, and the suite, I have to say that this album makes a lot more sense and seems more complete as a result. The radio interludes, in which DJ Crash-Crash checks in on the vibe of the city, do wonders to facilitate the setting of the scene. In retrospect the album does wonders for helping understand and take in her previous album, ArchAndroid. Musically, this album continues the performances and creativity Monáe has given in the past. Lastly, if you can somehow manage to track it down check out her performance at the September iTunes Festival in London. At the end of her set I was thinking she was a female James Brown and have personally dubbed her, "The hardest working woman in show business"
No comments:
Post a Comment