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Album Of The Day: The Kid by Thad Cockrell
Released 2 years ago today, this is one of the albums I have paid the most for, and it's Thad's 5th album as a solo artist or band leader. I had heard of Thad Cockrell many years ago, but only really got to know his music when I saw him singing vocals on the band Leagues about 15 years ago now. Since then, I've been following his career with interest. For whatever reason, Thad Cockrell decided to make this album a bit of an exclusive item. It's not available on streaming, and Thad says this album is best understood if you listen to the whole 18-track, 80-minute album in one sitting. You can buy it for $99.99, and that's really the only way to hear it at this time (and maybe ever). Thad seems to like the old-school album experience and is arguing that, this way, he gets enough money to recoup the cost of making the album. I'm not sure it's working out for him, but I wish him the best. I like Thad's style and his often falsetto vocals. It's a long album that mixes pop, rock, country and soul, but it's definitely well-done musically. The songs are personal and fun, mostly lyrics about his life and love, with some occasional religious references. I had enjoyed Leagues and Thad's previous solo album, so I decided to take the leap and support independent music and buy a copy, and I'm glad I did.
Release Year: 2024
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Album Of The Day: You Are Fullness by Young Oceans
Released 5 years ago earlier this month, this is the fourth studio album of new songs by Young Oceans, the indie-pop/soft-rock moniker of Eric Marshall. Eric writes songs of praise and prayer to God and fashions beautiful, epic music beds to go with these songs sung with a bit of echo. The songs are musically layered and probably not conducive to communal worship at church in this form, but they are beautiful songs that could be used for personal inspiration and reflection. Young Oceans is one of those artists that I hadn't really heard of and checked out until 6-9 months ago despite being around for nearly 15 years now, but I'm really liking the musical vibe and the lyrics of all his music, and need to check out more of his releases.
Release Year: 2021
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Album Of The Day: Live by Jennifer Knapp
Released 20 years ago today, this the first live album from Jennifer Knapp, a folk-rock musician most well known from the late '90s and early '00s. Recorded during this era and assembled by her guitarist Mark Lee Townsend, this album is an excellent collection of recordings that captures how Jennifer's live shows differed from the album versions, at least when performing with the full band. Captured here along with some of her biggest hit songs are some of the bits of a concert, such as getting the audience to cheer and talking about how big the crowd is tonight. And "His Grace Is Sufficient" has a long guitar solo in the middle that goes into intros of all the band members complete with a bit of a solo, which is really fun. The energy of her live show is captured well and you can tell Jennifer Knapp and the band were having fun doing a rock show. Closing out the album and keeping the audience in suspense, the song "Undo Me" has a very long intro where the band vamps with a different version of the song with the same lyrics before jumping into the regular song. It's a fun hour of music from mostly her first two albums and quality live recordings.
Release Year: 2016
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Album Of The Day: Recognition by Carolyn Arends
Released 5 years ago yesterday, this is the 12th and latest album by Carolyn Arends, if my counting is correct. I first heard Carolyn Arends when she was a Christian pop/contemporary singer-songwriter in the mid-to-late 1990s. But after that style gave way to rock in the 2000s, she continued to release new music on smaller Canadian labels and I didn't hear it as much. But in 2020, she launched a crowd-funding campaign to release a new album, and I got a copy from supporting that campaign. Honestly, I haven't listened to it too much since it's release, but it's a good album and I enjoyed my listen today a lot. Her lyrics are honest, have some fun turns of phrase and show that, like the rest of us, she is struggling with life in this modern day. A highlight is "Without Music", which features Amy Grant on harmonies and a verse; it's a beautiful song about the gift music is to humanity. And through it all, Carolyn Arends makes it clear that what keeps her going is her faith in God and God's love. It's a beautiful album of new pop with a bit of a country flavor from an experienced musician, and I'm happy to have contributed a tiny bit to help the artist release it.
Release Year: 2021
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Album Of The Day: Native Tongue by Switchfoot
Released 7 years ago last week, this is the eleventh album from Switchfoot, a band I first saw play live in 1999 and have seen play live at least a dozen times more since then. On this 14-track album, there's a song or two (if not more) for each Switchfoot fan, I think. "Let It Happen" and "Take My Fire" really bring the rock from this experienced band. "Joy invincible", "Wonderful Feeling" and "All I Need" are good songs that that can make Christian feel like the band is speaking to them. But I really like the songs where the band experiments musically and calls us lyrically to think about the deeper things in life. The title track encourages us to speak in love, our native tongue, and not just use the words others taught us to say. "Voices" also challenges us to silence all the advertising, social media, and other voices and listen to the voices that count. "Dig New Streams" is an excellent song that first sounds like a slow song but then suddenly changes into a rock song and even morphs a few more times, while also challenging us to try something new. And "Prodigal Soul" is a plea to God for help that I identify with a lot. This isn't Switchfoot's best album, in my opinion, but it's still a quality set of songs from this longtime band. I'm looking forward to hopefully a new album from Switchfoot in 2026!
Release Year: 2019
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Album Of The Day: Skin And Wind by Charlie Peacock
Released 5 years ago this past Thursday, this is the 9th vocal album from Charlie Peacock, who started his career as a solo artist nearly 50 years ago. (If you want to count instrumental albums and his West Coast Diaries and other rare recordings, it's a bit more complicated to count which album this is.) In the '80s he was a pop singer with a bit of a jazz/funk vibe, and in the '90s he mixed that with a bit more of a Nashville sound, and in the last 15 years it even has a bit more of a Louisiana blues in it too. This album is a quick 10 songs and I like the second half more than the first though it is all good. Peacock is less preaching the Gospel in his music of the last few decades but on this album reminiscing about his life and the lessons he's learned. A few years before this album was released he released a jazz album and one of the bonus tracks was an early version of "The Captain", which is my favorite song from this album that gets stuck in my head often. It's a song about old age and ailments through the metaphor of a ship's captain; that in the end the body has the ultimate say, even if your mind is there still, being "the captain of the ship that's going down". In the end, "Faith, Hope & Love" is the title of the final track, the most important part of Charlie's life and it's a great place to end this album. Skin And Wind is a laid-back album from a music veteran who is still making excellent music and is one of my favorite artists.
Release Year: 2021
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Album Of The Day: Muteamath by Mutemath
First released 20 years ago today at live shows only and available later in the year online and through Warner Records, this is one of my favorite albums of all time. Mutemath created a masterpiece that combines frenetic drums, pounding bass, layers of keyboards and excellent guitar work to build a unique sonic landscape that you would think could not be reproduced live, but it was actually a spectacular live show as well. I'm not sure what exactly I would call this as far as genre, but maybe "electronic rock" fits. The opening song, "Typical", is a burst of energy that propels the band through the rest of the album. "Noticed" delights with some little bits of audio that are so creative. "Stare At The Sun" starts the middle of the album, which is my favorite, as it is the most epic and experimental part. The song's lyrics finish and it transitions seamlessly into "Obselete", an instrumental jam that relies heavily on the bass and drums. "Break The Same" begins with a bang and is a lengthy declaration of our shared humanity, complete with lots of shouting of the chorus line from lead signer Paul Meany amidst the organized cacophony of the band. And "You Are Mine" is a beautiful love song, no matter if it's to a lover or a higher power—I'm not sure which was the band's intention. The version of this album on streaming is the version released on Warner in November 2026, which includes "Control" and "Plan B" from their earlier EP as well as ends with a slightly reworked version of their instrumental jam "Reset", which always wows listeners. Mutemath continued for another decade or so before disbanding over strained relationships, sadly, but this is still their finest work, in my humble opinion.
Release Year: 2006
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Album Of The Day: Let It Echo by Jesus Culture
Released 10 years ago this past Thursday, this is the 9th album from the church worship collective called Jesus Culture and the first album by that artist name released on Sparrow Records. Like many other church groups before and since, they bring Coldplay-style arena pop/rock to a church setting. The music features pounding drums and bass lines, layers of keyboards and guitars, and lots of spontaneous playing and singing by the band on long, repetitive songs. This was recorded live at Jesus Culture Church, so the audience can be heard singing along with the large worship band on occasion. None of these are songs that ended up being popular at America's churches, as far as I'm aware, but the songs are still pretty good praise and worship. My favorites are the title track, "Miracles" and "Everything And Nothing Less". The songs may not be as deep and rich as the hymns of old, in my opinion, but it's still decent music trying to connect the modern Christian with God in prayerful music.
Release Year: 2016
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Album Of The Day: Church Clothes 3 by Lecrae
Released 10 years ago Thursday, this is the third in a series of "mixtape" albums from Lecrae that feature a bit less production and bit more freeform rapping than his normal albums. Lyrically, he does take a bit of time to defend himself from his critics, which is pretty common for an experienced hip-hop artist, but he also works to educate his listeners. "Gangland" features a verse from Propaganda and talks about being black in America and teaches some history. "Misconceptions 3" also features a few guest rappers and talks about why black America and the artists are misunderstood in a world of white, Christian music especially; it's a fast-moving dump of knowledge by some good rappers. This is a quick, 37-minute album full of raps from Lecrae and friends. Although I don't listen to it often and it's less memorable than his more produced albums, it's a solid listen of more underground-style rap.
Release Year: 2016
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Album Of The Day: 7 by The 77s
Released today digitally to streaming and available for a month or so on CD and vinyl, this is a brand-new album from The 77s (pronounced "Seventy-Sevens"), a California-based rock band that's been making music for over 45 years at this point. Their first album of original material in over 20 years, this contains 7 songs plus 4 bonus tracks from this Christian rock band. As you might expect from a band that's been around this long, it definitely has a classic/alternative rock sound, and maybe a bit of a country influence too. I haven't listened to this band's previous work too much, but I should probably listen to them more. They do have a loyal following in the Christian rock world, and it's always fun to hear a band come back and make something new and good for the fans, even new fans like me.
Release Year: 2026
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