Released 20 years ago today is one of my all-time favorite albums, the only full-length studio album by rock band The Listening. They brought a darker, more psychedelic rock style than I had really experienced before and I love it. These 9 songs span nearly 50 minutes, with the songs averaging about 5½ minutes long, making it quite a vibe. Lyrically, it talks of love and occasionally getting high, but maybe also finding God in those things. The guitars are splendid, and the bass, drums, keys and programming build such a great sound. It's beautiful to listen to all the way through and I highly recommend you give this album a listen. I really wish we got more music from this band, and I'm sad I never got to seem them play live!

Release Year: 2005
Listen on Apple Music
(Sadly, looks like it's not on Spotify currently.)

Released 10 years ago today is the fourth studio album from electronic rock band Mutemath. This band is one of my favorite bands and they put on such a great show for the tours supporting this album in late 2015 and early 2016. The lyrics are sometimes love songs, sometimes reminiscing on the good times of the past or even the hurt in their lives. But even with some dark themes in the lyrics on occasion, the music is still upbeat and positive. The title track is a fun instrumental jam, and the whole album is full of even more synths and electronic elements. Their previous albums had more guitar, but I feel like the electronic vibe makes it a more dance-y than their previous albums which is cool. Many remixes of "Monument" were released around this time, and songs like "Light Up", "Joy Rides" and "Used To" are definitely highlights of this album. This is my favorite album after the band's excellent debut, I think, though I really like all their albums. I can't believe it's already been 10 years!

Release Year: 2015
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Released 20 years ago this past Saturday, this is the only EP release from this rock super-group, and it's just called "EP". Sam Ashworth is the lead singer and is a producer and songwriter, Lindsay Jamieson has done drums for Ben Folds and others, Matt Slocum is the primary songwriter for Sixpence None The Richer, and John Davis was the lead singer of Superdrag. They released this 4-song EP of quality rock with lots of variety in the sound. In 2022, the EP was released on vinyl and a 5th song that was recorded in 2005 was added to the digital version. It's a quick but quality collection of songs and worth a listen.

Release Year: 2005
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Released 20 years ago this coming Friday, this is the sixth studio album from British Christian rockers Delirious?. (Yes, they have a question mark at the end of their name.) The band that started out as a modern worship band had spent a time being a rock band, and by this time, they blended a bit of both, having the sound of a rock band but the lyrics of a modern worship band for the most part. While this album wasn't as exciting as their rock band albums in my opinion, it's quality music and I still love listening to this band, no matter which album it is. "Now Is The Time", "Paint The Town Red", and "Here I Am Send Me" are excellent rock 'n' roll songs with a good message. "Our God Reigns" and "All This Time" are a bit more chill and excellent anthems of faith. And songs like "Miracle Maker" and "Take Off My Shoes" bring some of that epic worship rock like "Obsession" and "Investigate" did on previous albums. Lyrically, it's not just songs of praise to God, as some talk about social issues around the world and the imperfections of this world God gave us. I do feel like I loved and were more affected by their earlier lyrics while these seem a bit more safe and predictable, but musically, the band kept pushing themselves on albums like this. There's a reason they're one of my top bands and it's hard to believe it's already been 20 years since this was released.

Release Year: 2005
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