Blog Archive for March 2026
Album Of The Day: The Noise We Make by Chris Tomlin
Released 25 years ago this month on a major Christian music label after an independent release the year before, this is the first major album from worship leader and now Christian pop/country artist Chris Tomlin. Surprising to me, I thought I knew this album, but I only bought it on CD a few years ago and have really only given it a listen once or twice before today, though I somehow had copies of songs like "The Wonderful Cross" and "This Is Our God" on my computer from somewhere and must be more familiar with the Michael W. Smith performance of "Forever". I do love the 7-minute rock/worship version of the hymn-plus-a-new-chorus of "The Wonderful Cross" featuring Matt Redman. And I'm familiar with live versions of many of the other songs from Passion live albums from the previous years. I was surprised to find in this most recent listen a song with country twang, "Captured", and a cover of the delirious? classic "The Happy Song" among the songs I've only recently heard. It's pretty country like the original though with some great rock drums, and fits well on this Texan worship leader's album. In this era, Tomlin was definitely a new artist trying to write new songs for churches to use for praise and worship, and I like his early work like this debut much more than his more recent work.
Release Year: 2000/2001
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Album Of The Day: Business Up Front/Party In The Back by Family Force 5
Released 20 years ago today, this is the debut album from the band that called themselves "crunk rock", Family Force 5. This album is a fusion of rap, rock and dance music with southern American, red-neck vibes, and the band seems to be a party-loving band, though a few songs have a Christian message to them. It's a whirlwind of spoken word and screamed lyrics about partying and love over walls of guitars and electronica. Family Force 5 is not my favorite band by any means, but I do on occasion like their in-your-face, pump-me-up sounds. They were doing something pretty unique musically, and plus it was very catchy. It is probably still their best album to date, though I honestly didn't listen to their last few albums before the band disbanded in 2018. The band announced they will play a reunion show this summer on a date of the Vans Warped Tour.
Release Year: 2006
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Album Of The Day: What A Time To Be Alive by The Lone Bellow
Released just over a month ago, this is the sixth album from this folk rock, alt-country band. Originally from New York City and now based out of Nashville, this band continues to keep their sound a bit different than your normal Nashville country through their rock and folk influences. This is an excellent collection of new songs, and I especially liked the rollickin' opening song, "After The Rain". "I Did It For Love" and a cover of "Islands In The Stream" also feature their excellent harmonies of this three-piece group. Some of their earlier albums were a bit sleepy in my opinion, and songs like "Say" on this album are the quieter songs, but I like these too. The album is all about friendship and love, and I'm glad to hear the band continues to make solid music.
Release Year: 2026
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Concert Film Of The Day: Burn The Fields by The Elms
Released 21 years ago today, this is the first concert DVD released by rock band The Elms and has been long out-of-print, though you can watch it on YouTube for free. After two records, The Elms were between record contracts and released this concert film independently, and it captures really well the unbridled energy and infectious rock 'n' roll spirit of this band. They play 9 of their songs previously released, 3 new songs, and a few covers. My favorite part is their epic, 7+ minute version of "Come To Me", and then goes into an excellent cover of "My Generation" by The Who complete with lots of guitar solos. The video of this film has a frenetic energy and tries to cover everything at once with the very fast cuts, and it captures well a bit of the crazy of brothers Owen Thomas, lead singer, and Chris Thomas, the drummer. In this show, too, they had someone playing keyboard with them, which brought a bit more to the sound. By modern day standards, the video quality is pretty terrible, but it was not easy back then to make a good, quality video and it adds to the indie vibe. The band sounds excellent, and it's fun to see The Elms captured for posterity in the middle of their career. This is one of my all-time favorite bands, and I've had the pleasure of being at their reunion concerts in both 2015 and 2025.
Release Year: 2005
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Album Of The Day: New Jerusalem by Kenny Meeks
Released 10 years ago this past Wednesday, this is the fourth album from Kenny Meeks, an independent folk/country/rock artist who has also appeared as a session musician on dozens of Nashville-based recordings. I would say his music is country/roots music with a bit of a rock and Gospel flair. With his deep voice and classic styling, Kenny sounds a bit like Johnny Cash at points. "Jesus Knows" brings a definite three minutes of Gospel music in its latter half of the song, but most of the rest of the album is Gospel-infused lyrics on classic Americana-style songs. His guitar playing is excellent, and he's one of those artists where I give them a listen and am reminded that I need to listen to their music more. I don't really care for country music on the radio much, but I do like Kenny's work here and on his other albums.
Release Year: 2016
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Album Of The Day: Live From The Woods Vol. 2 by Needtobreathe
Recorded 5 years ago today (and the few days before as well), this is the third live album by southern rock band Needtobreathe, a band which has been mixing rock, country, and occasionally some religious messages for around 20 years now. This was recorded just as some parts of the USA were reopening from the COVID-19 pandemic, and was one of the first times the band got to perform the songs from their latest album at the time, Out Of Body, which is one of my favorite albums of theirs. They play a lot of the songs from that album, though they definitely include a bunch of other songs as well in this 93-minute live recording. Needtobreathe is one of those bands that I never really got their appeal until I saw them play live; their live show just has so much energy, so much showmanship, and they're all great musicians. They also throw in a bit of songs you've maybe heard before even if you're not a Needtobreathe fan; there's brief bits of songs by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones on a few songs on this album. On a few occasions, singer Bear Rinehart tells a bit of a story or makes a joke before the next song, and that makes you feel like they're in your living room performing for you. And they definitely do a bit extra jamming on these live versions too. I think it's really fun to hear this band perform live versions of their songs, and I'm glad they've released these live recordings.
Release Year: 2021
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Album Of The Day: 77 (Pt. 2) by Colony House
Released 1 month ago today, this is the second half of Colony House's fifth studio album, simply entitled 77. The rock band has been making great music and performing top-notch shows for about a dozen years or so, and though I'm not sure this is their best work, it's definitely not bad either. I expect I will warm up to it more on future listens. This 7-track release is maybe a bit more laid-back than some of their other releases, with more mid-tempo songs like "Right Or Wrong", "Taking A Fall" and "You're Right Where You're Meant To Be". "Life Goes On" and "Hummingbird" were the early singles here and are probably the most energetic of this release and maybe the best lyrics too. Most of their songs are love songs or songs about the struggles of daily life. I also like their focus on the power of love and the importance of relationships with people. On streaming, the album is released as two 7-track parts, but I have the CD of the whole 14-track, 49-minute album. I think I like listening to these songs more that way, but I'm just an album listening person, I guess. Part 1 is a bit more energetic, but Part 2 is a good back half of an album with slower, more introspective songs. Colony House is one of my favorite bands of the last decade and I hope they keep on making music for us for many years to come.
Release Year: 2026
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Buy the complete album on CD or vinyl
Album Of The Day: Better Late Than Never by Arthur Alligood
"I see the notes on the page / But that's not what I'm gonna play." Released 4 years ago yesterday, this is the fifth album from independent singer/songwriter Arthur Alligood, though it's the first album from him I've heard. Produced by Mikal Blue and with half of Toad The Wet Sprocket being his studio band, it's a nice recording of new pop/rock songs from this artist. With songs like "I'll Be Alright", "Dark Days" and "Song For The Stubborn" he dwells on the struggles in life, but also keeps a pretty positive outlook on life. And on songs like "Here For Love" and "Marceline" he talks of love sought and found and in "My Love In A Love Song" he struggles for the right words to write about his love. It's a good 11 tracks of music from a nice, independent voice. I'm happy to have supported the Kickstarter to fund this album's recording and am glad a bunch of other artists I listen to recommended Arthur Alligood's music.
Release Year: 2022
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Album Of The Day: Scenic Routes by The Lost Dogs
Released 34 years ago today, this is the first album by The Lost Dogs, a supergroup of sorts from '90s rock/alternative band members. Terry Scott Taylor was in Daniel Amos and The Swrling Eddies, Gene Eugene was in Adam Again, Derri Daugherty from The Choir, and Mike Roe from The 77s. But instead of doing rock here, they are doing folk rock music—more country-tinged rock—and with a bit of blues and Gospel thrown in too. It's not the Nashville Sound, though, as these guys are mostly from Southern California. Most of the 17 tracks are original, but there's a few classic country songs, an adaptation of a blues song, and a fun arrangement of a classic Gospel song along with the originals. The original tracks talk about some religious themes, but also social issues such as racism and even some politics. Although I've heard of this band before and found their later albums a bit "too country" for my tastes, I'm liking this one on this first listen today. Yes, it is country music, but it's less twang and more rock than more recent country, and there's a large variety of musical styles here that intersect with the country sound. This album was recently remastered and re-released on CD and vinyl and the band (without Gene Eugene, RIP) also released a new album which I've not checked out yet.
Release Year: 1992
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Album Of The Day: Songs For The Late Night Drive Home by Anchor & Braille
Released 10 years ago last month, this is the third album from this side project band of songwriter and musician Stephen Christian. This was released less than 15 months after the band he was lead singer for, Anberlin, disbanded for the first time. It's definitely very different musically than Anberlin, except for Stephen's vocals, as the album is very much electronic and a bit more easy listening than Anberlin's in-your-face, guitar-heavy rock. As is often the case with Stephen Christian's lyrics, they're all about love and personal relationships. This album isn't one I've listened to much, but it's pretty good. Stephen is great at writing catchy melodies and somewhat sad song. His passionate vocals mix well with the electronic sounds and the occasional guest vocal. As the album title says, it's good for a late night time of listening to music.
Release Year: 2016
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