Released 20 years ago tomorrow, this is the 2nd album from The Rocket Summer, the artist name of Bryce Avary, who wrote, produced, sang and played every instrument on this album. This album caught my fancy back when this came out, and I still listen to it from time to time. The Rocket Summer's music is performed with such passion and a bit of a reckless momentum. Bryce's vocals are sometimes so energetic he's screaming a bit, and then other times it's a whisper. His sound might be considered a bit "emo", but it's a mix of piano-based and guitar-based rock. It's a fun hour of poppy rock ruminating on life, love and relationships from this man who was young at the time. A few months ago, I got to see him play this entire album and it was fun to see him play live for the first time. He definitely talked about how feels that even 20 years later, these songs still resonate with him, and they do with me too. It's a fun album.

Release Year: 2005
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Released 40 years ago tomorrow, this is the 7th studio album by Christian pop icon Amy Grant. By this time, Grant was now the queen of Contemporary Christian Music. She was mostly music my sisters listened to and I don't remember this album specifically being played on cassettes as a kid, but I'm not afraid to give it a listen all these years later. It's certainly very '80s pop, which is not at all surprising. I'm familiar with "Love Of Another Kind" because I'm a Rich Mullins fan—he co-wrote it—and have heard him sing that before. And I've heard "Find A Way" and "Everywhere I Go" because those were major singles and are on her hits compilation for this period. But it's a good album, I'm finding today. "Wise Up" is fun pop with a good '80s rock edge to it. I'm not sure if the album is timeless, but it's a great snapshot of the best Christian pop had to offer from the era. The album originally was released with four different cover artwork versions on LP and cassette, and the digital 35th anniversary release incorporates all 4 photos.

Release Year: 1985
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Jess Ray and Taylor Leonhardt both are accomplished solo singer/songwriters, but they also lead worship together as Mission House. In this live recording from Dallas, Texas, USA, the duo sings some of their modern worship as well as some classic hymns. It sounds like a very simple, acoustic setup for the group on this album, with mostly just keyboards and acoustic guitars and no huge worship band, but the simplicity of this recording and their performance adds to the authenticity. Dee Wilson and Aaron Williams also join them for a few tracks each. It's great to hear their versions of "How Great Thou Art" and "I Need Thee Every Hour" as well as Mission House favorites like "If I Was A Bird" and new songs like "Seek And Find". It's a powerful session of communal worship and you can hear the community sing along on this recording. Listening to this music is a good way for me to start the week.

Release Year: 2023
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I'll be honest. I'm not sure I totally understand the lo-fi, electronic pop that is so often made these days. Maybe it's just not my thing. But I'm willing to give it a try and see how it goes. Released today, this is the 8th album in only 7 years from Forrest Frank. Child Of God II finds the young man definitely has some talent for music, though he keeps the lyrical content pretty standard Gospel and feel good, positive lyrics. I like that the whole album doesn't sound the same; there's bits of Gospel, R&B, reggae, and hip-hop mixed into this for lots of good vibes. Apparently this is what the Christian kids are listening to these days, and it's not bad. (Maybe some of the non-Christian kids and the adults are listening too.) I'm not sure if it's something I'll listen to more often, but it's fun to hear a brand new release that is full of creativity and artistry.

Release Year: 2025
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