Blog Archive for December 2024

Album Of The Day: Real Emotion by Paper Route

Album Art of Paper Route's Real Emotion album - A photo of what looks like a square room, although a closer look shows that the back wall keeps going up and there's no ceiling visible in the room. The left half of the back wall is white, and the right half is black, and the area where they meet is not a straight line, but more a haphazard edge. Next to the black wall is a piano, and half of it is also black and the other half white with an illustration painted on the side of it. The white walls have graphics or even handwriting in black or color on them, though the majority of the color is black, white or blue. Three men are scattered around the room, one standing against the right wall, one sitting on a chair in the back, and one sitting in the middle of the floor. They're wearing dark blue clothes.

Paper Route is an independent rock/pop band. They've got great drums, great guitars and great synths to go with the soaring pop/rock anthems. This is their third album, and it's an album about a relationship falling apart, though from the energy the band brings to the album, you might not pick up on that in the lyrics on the first listen. (I definitely didn't.) It's an emotional, musical journey nearly an hour long that I found to be a great listen. And I never saw them play these songs on tour, but I do remember seeing them live once before this album and they put on a good show. Although the band has gone on "indefinite hiatus", the members still are working in the Nashville music scene in various roles: songwriting, producing, art/design, etc.

Release Year: 2016
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Album Of The Day: I'm Only A Man by Emery

Album Art of Emery's I'm Only A Man album - In what looks like a bathroom with no paint on the walls, just sheetrock, there is an old, white sink with two taps, one on each corner of the sink, and a metal soap holder in the middle. Above it is a mirror with a wood frame which is kinda frosted so you cannot see the reflection. In the top left, the band name is in white and the album's name is below in orangish-red.

Emery is a band that's hard to explain for me. They have a wide variety of sounds. There's definitely some screaming and lots of guitars, but it's also "emo" in parts and I think the sung vocals kinda remind me of a musical in the way they're sung for some reason. I'm Only A Man is their third album and it talks about the humanity of us and the struggles with relationships and ego. Honestly, the first time or two I listen to an Emery album, I usually am not sure I like it, but on subsequent listens I find more depth musically and lyrically, plus the unexpected turns it takes don't throw me off so much. This album is maybe not for everyone, but it's a musical roller coaster of rock, metal, emo, electronic pop, and many other things.

Release Year: 2007
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Album Of The Day
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Album Of The Day: Never Looking Back by The Burn Service

Album Art of The Burn Service's Never Looking Back album - Through some sort of blurry lens, we see a person walking through a very cracked desert landscape. In the blurry foreground, there seems to be a ladder. The title above the person is 'Never Looking Back', and in smaller print below the photo it says 'Live worship from a burn service' and in the bottom right is the 'Vineyard Music' logo.

The Burn Service is Jessie Lane, Ryan Delmore, Darren Clarke and their band, who recorded this album live at a Vineyard Church in California. They mix some new songs they wrote with older Vineyard worship songs like "Holy Is The Lord" and even end the recording with '80s praise song "Hosanna". And they do their modern church worship music in a classic rock style, with electric guitars, great drums and bass, and vocals with a bit of a ragged edge to them. It's the imperfection of this recording that helps capture real, heartfelt emotion and love as the band and the congregation sing to God.

Release Year: 2001
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Album Of The Day: Flesh by Andrew Osenga

Album Art of Andrew Osenga's Flesh EP - On a white background, the middle 25% of the artwork is a photo of a white man's face looking off to the left with a bit of a neutral expression. Above, in the white space, a gold color rectangle has the words 'Flesh' printed in uppercase white. Below the photo, in bigger font is the artist's name in black text.

For the last 3 days, the Album of the Day has not been an album, but a shorter EP. Let's keep that going one more day. In the mid-2010s, Andrew Osenga, an artist who has worn many hats over the last 25+ years in the music industry, released four independent EPs, each a different style of music. Flesh is 6 tracks of electric guitar-driven rock written and performed by Andrew with some friends. The other EPs, Heart, Soul, and Bone are more pop, blues and instrumental, respectively. I like them all, but I was looking for some rock today and this EP keeps the energy high.

Release Year: 2015
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Album Of The Day: Every Christmas by Colony House

Album Art of Colony House's Every Christmas EP - Four white men are gathered in front of a fireplace with stones stretching up to the ceiling. Two are standing in the back, while one is playing an acoustic guitar and sitting on the box in front and the fourth is not facing toward the camera, but instead facing away and playing a piano. There is a small Christmas tree behind the piano and some wrapped presents on the piano.

Released today, this is a new Christmas-themed EP from my favorite band for the last 10+ years, Colony House. Caleb, Will, Parke and Scotty bring back classic pop/rock sounds for this EP; it feels like they were going for a Beach Boys vibe. There's a few Christmas love songs and a few songs about being with family and friends for the Christmas season. This isn't the electric guitar-fueled music like some other Colony House tracks, but it's 3 solid new songs celebrating the Christmas holiday. I love it and I'm sure I'll play it throughout the next month plenty!

Release Year: 2024
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Album Of The Day: Have You Heard by Stu G

Album Art of Stu G's Have You Heard EP - On a white background, a photo of a middle-aged man in black shirt and pants is playing a black electric guitar and wearing headphones. The photo has a shadow and is cut into three pieces. To the right, the artist name and album title is printed in green and red. In smaller letters, the words '20th Anniversary Remixed and Re-Mastered'.

In the early-to-mid 1990s, delirious? was a part-time worship band called "The Cutting Edge Band". During that era, guitarist Stuart Garrard (aka Stu G) released his own EP of rock/worship songs titled Have You Heard. The 6-track EP was remastered for it's 20th anniversary and is presented with some remixes and a new live-in-studio recording of some of the original songs, to make it more of a full album. It's a fun look at independent Christian rock from the mid-90s as we near its 30th anniversary. I only started listening to this EP on the 20th anniversary re-release, but I love the songs. It's a snapshot of early solo work from my favorite bands and one of my favorite guitarists.

Release Year: 1995 / 2015
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Album Of The Day: Mood by Social Club Misfits

Album Art of Social Club Misfit's Mood EP - On a gold background, the word 'mood.' is printed. Below, two pugs, one black and one brown, are sitting and looking up.

Social Club Misfits is a Miami-based hip-hop duo consisting of Fern and Marty Mar. These two guys do quality rap, mostly in English but sometimes in Spanish, and this is one of their many EPs. Like many rappers, they poke fun at other rappers and pop culture, establish their bonafides in the rap world, and occasionally get someone to sing with them too. It's a quick 5-song EP, but it's tons of fun and has some rapid-fire raps and solid beats. Enjoy!

Release Year: 2019
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Album Of The Day
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Album Of The Day: TRON: Legacy (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Daft Punk

Album Art of Daft Punk's TRON Legacy Soundtrack album - In the middle, the Disney logo is printed in blue above a bigger TRON logo, what looks like glowing shiny metal bits that form the letters. Below that, the words 'Legacy' are written. At the top, 'Original Motion Picture Soundtrack' and at the bottom, 'Music by Daft Punk' are written in blue.

Released on this day 14 years ago, this was the soundtrack to Disney's sci-fi sequel of the 1982 film TRON. Daft Punk is a secretive electronic/remix/pop duo, so not exactly the group you'd expect for a movie soundtrack, but it works really well here. Orchestral moments are mixed with pounding drums and bass, synths, and other sounds. It sounds as cinematic as many other big-budget films of the last few decades, but it also has a modern, electronic edge. It's not exactly Daft Punk's normal fare, but it turns wherever you are into a drama-filled movie at one moment and a dance club the next moment.

Release Year: 2010
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Album Of The Day
Music

Album Of The Day: Out Of Body by Apollo LTD

Album Art of Apollo LTD's Out Of Body album - In the middle, a picture of the moon. Around it, a starfield with galaxies in blue and purple is covered by circles sectioned by lines spreading out from the moon. On the top, hanging from the top, are upside-down snow-capped mountains. At the bottom are large rectangular stones with a few women sunbathing, one standing and looking down at another who is adjusting their hair. In the starfield on the left, a few women in bathing suits are swimming through the stars. Also on the right, some hot air balloons are floating through the starfield. On the top, the artist name and album name is printed in white no top of the artwork, and it's also printed on the bottom upside down, so that the artwork works either way.

Apollo LTD is a fairly new electronic pop-rock band, and Out Of Body is their first album. It's energetic sounds and smooth vocals that lyrically speak to a higher power and an improved life. Musically, it's more creative and engaging than most of Christian music made today and although the lyrics are not too inventive, it's not just the same worship lyrics that most Christian bands are writing today. This is a fun album from a new band that I hope sticks around and continues to get even better.

Release Year: 2019
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Album Of The Day
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Album Of The Day: You Are I Am by Darrell Evans

Album Art of Darrell Evans's You Are I Am album - On a bright green background, the title of the album is scribbled in rough, white letters from bottom left to top right. At the top, along a white line, is the artist's name and the 'Vertical Music' label logo in blue and orange with a white and black outline.

Darrell Evans is a Christian musician that became popular making long, sometimes spontaneous modern church music. His musical influences on his studio albums seem to be rockers like Bruce Springsteen and U2, but the lyrics are all about a personal relationship and praise to God. You Are I Am is his first studio album, which repeats some of the songs on his more acoustic live album from the previous year. I like these more rock-focused arrangements and how most of the songs are 5+ minutes long, musically expressing passion and thanks for God. Darrell Evans has continued to put out new music, but I still keep coming back to his 1997 and 1998 albums which are full of now-classic songs that inspired a whole generation of worship leaders in the years after, I imagine.

Release Year: 1998
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