Blog Archive for July 2026

Album Of The Day: Empty by Tait

Album Art of Tait's Empty album - A close-up photo of a female mannequin's head on a bright yellow background. The image is a bit blurry and printed above the mannequin's left eye is the word 'empty' in capital letters in white. The mannequin has a very defined cheekbone and seems to be looking above and beyond the camera.

Released 25 years ago today, this is the first album from Michael Tait's short-lived rock band after DC Talk went on indefinite hiatus. It was one of my favorite rock albums in 2001, though allegations of sexual misconduct by Michael Tait have recently required me to look at this music in a new light. Still, I do find this album an inspiring and fun rock album, and I think that's due to others involved and maybe only a bit to Michael Tait's excellent vocals. Produced with Pete Stewart (Grammatrain), who also plays guitar, this album leans hard into rock. And many of the DC Talk members and friends like TobyMac, Mark Heimermann, and others contribute to the recording in various ways too. Rock songs like "Spy", "American Tragedy" and the nearly 5-minute "Carried Away" speak of someone struggling with fame, racism and personal demons and are a lot of fun to listen to. Slower songs like "Talk About Jesus", "Looking For You" and "All You Got" speak more to a relationship with Jesus Christ. And I love an epic closing track, which "Unglued" provides—plus there's a hidden track with an instrumental jam after. I totally get why some may no longer want to listen to this album after these allegations. I do not support any of those actions being done by anyone. But this album was important to me and still has messages that speak to me despite the imperfect people involved in this recording, so I thought I would mention it for a few minutes.

Release Year: 2001
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Album Of The Day
Music

Album Of The Day: Colors by House Of Heroes

Album Art of House Of Heroes's Colors album - A photo of three people, two young men photographed from a profile facing each other, with a woman facing the camera between them. The man on the right has longer hair and short, facial hair, while the person on the left has no facial hair. The woman between them has curly brown-blonde hair, though the photo of all of them seems to be black-and-white with swatches of purple, red, and orange painted on top of the picture. In the top left, it has the band's name printed in orange to purple gradient, with the album title in the top right in more a blue-purple gradient.

"I like the way it makes me feel. I'm free." Released 10 years ago yesterday, this is the sixth album from Ohio-based alternative rock band House Of Heroes. This is one of my favorite bands, as they continuously make quality concept records with an epic rock sound. This, their latest and maybe final album, is no exception, as it tells the story of some youngsters finding their place in the world, mixing it up and discovering the good and the bad of the place they live in. I love how a number of songs have a riff that calls back to a previous song on the album to connect it all together. It's not their best album, but it's one of their most cohesive and uses rock music to tell a very honest, personal story. They've got such a great style: a mix of pop hooks, excellent harmonies, and rock swagger. This is one of many albums I helped crowd-fund over the years for many artists I like, and I love that they were able to make it for me and the other fans in a time when the music industry was not there to support them. I hope they continue to create new music, maybe, someday. And I hope one of these years I can attend one of their reunion shows, though it has not worked out yet for me to do so.

Release Year: 2016
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Categories: 
Album Of The Day
Music

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