About 15 years ago, I heard about a singer-songwriter from North Carolina named John Mark McMillan. He was then known for making his unique brand of "modern worship"—a more contemporary style of music designed for church instead of traditional hymns. But I never thought McMillan was doing that primarily; most of his songs were a lot more artistic and personal than most music written for congregations to sing together. Over the last 10+ years, John Mark McMillan still had religious themes in his lyrics, but the songs were not what would be called "worship". But with Cosmic Supreme, released today, John Mark McMillan is returning to make more worship-oriented music. It still sounds very similar musically to his recent albums—what I might call soft rock or I saw listed as "alternative folk" recently—but more of the lyrics are written directly in praise and worship to God. It's beautiful musical poetry about the creator of the universe, and I really like it. Time will tell if churches decide to sing some of these songs together, but this album has some impeccable production that your church service will probably not have and is a great listen.

Release Year: 2025
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