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Album Of The Day: Memory Bank by Drew & Ellie Holcomb
It's Friday, so let's listen to some music that is released today! Drew Holcomb has been making music with his backing band "The Neighbors" for nearly 20 years, and early versions of Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors had Ellie Holcomb providing vocals. For the last 10 years, though, Ellie Holcomb has also been recording her own solo albums and maybe not touring with Drew all the time. This married couple has been recording music for years, but this is the first full-length album released as just the two of them. Musically, it's mostly Americana/country, but there's definitely some rock, folk and other influences in here. Drew's deep voice works great with Ellie's and it's clear they've got lots of chemistry from these songs. Lyrically, it's a bunch of well-crafted songs about relationships, love, and sharing life together, plus just having fun. It's a good listen and even though I've not been a huge fan of either artist, I'm thinking I'll probably listen to this more.
Release Year: 2025
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Album Of The Day: Chagall Guevara by Chagall Guevara
Released this week 34 years ago, this is one of the coolest early '90s rock bands you have probably never heard of. Lead vocalist Steve Taylor and his bandmates had been performing for 10-15 years in other bands and then formed a rock band with a very weird, artsy name: Chagall Guevara. The guitars, bass and drums are on point and Taylor provides somewhat raspy vocals struggling to be heard above the band. Like the band's name, the lyrics on the album are a bit of a puzzle, containing some spiritual language but not at all getting preachy, and at least a hint of sarcastic wit that was also present on Steve Taylor's solo albums. This album is an engaging listen all these years later, even though the band never gained notoriety or radio airplay for this album back in the day. The band split up not long after this release, though they did reunite a few years ago for a few shows, to release a live album as well as an album of rarities and new tracks.
Release Year: 1991
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Album Of The Day: Writing On The Wall by Jill Phillips
Jill Phillips is a beautiful songwriter and great singer. This is her third album, and in her career of over 25 years so far, she's released 10 albums and one EP (if I'm counting correctly), most of them released independently. Her style is simple singer-songwriter pop/folk, and her husband Andy Gullahorn writes some songs as well as plays guitars and mandolin. Some of my favorites are "The Way Of The Fire", "Wrecking Ball" and the Pierce Pettis cover "God Believes In You". This album speaks to God's grace and love but also life's uncertainties and hardships, and I turn to her music often when I'm looking for something a bit softer but full of passion.
Release Year: 2003
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Album Of The Day: The Narrative by Sho Baraka
"Love over hate / I'm here for that" is a lyric from "Here". On this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I think it's a good idea to listen to what our black brothers and sisters have to say on life, Christianity and America. I've got a lot to learn in these areas and I like this album from Sho Baraka as the artist shares his views through engaging hip-hop. In "Maybe Both", Baraka and crew talk about America's and Christianity's shortcomings with lyrics like, "Are they killing with a pistol or a vote? / Or, maybe, it is both?" as well as "So, are there two Christs totally unrelated / Or, maybe there's one Christ, and he's pretty complicated / Huh? Pretty complicated / Or, maybe it is both?" Beautiful instrumentation is beneath the fast-paced rap that encourages us to love our neighbor and be aware of our differences while embracing our similarities. I've gotta check out more of Sho Baraka's music as I'm really only familiar with this album, which I like a lot.
Release Year: 2016
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Album Of The Day: Alive & Breathing by Matt Maher
I'll be honest: Many of my friends said that they liked Matt Maher for years, but I could not really get into him. His albums were a bit too soft and didn't have enough of a rock edge to them for me, despite him being an experienced songwriter with good, spiritually-focused lyrics. But in the last few years, I gave him another chance. This album was my entry into his work, really. It's half new studio tracks and half new live recordings of Maher playing some of his most successful songs (often co-written with other artists) in an energetic night of music. This music is definitely modern worship for today's churches and it's also engaging, well-sung contemporary pop with a bit of a rock edge.
Release Year: 2020
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Album Of The Day: Tales Of The Knife by Lucerin Blue
This album came out when I was in college and I remember listening to this a lot when working out at the gym back then. Lucerin Blue was one of my favorite new bands in 2003-2004, and this album is still a fun listen. Lyrics are sometimes sung, sometimes more like spoken word/rap, and sometimes screamed over a bed of guitars, bass and drums that critics describe as "nu-metal" or "post-grunge". In a number of these songs, it's hard to tell if they're speaking to a lover or God or something, but there's definitely a bit of spiritual language here. I really liked this album and hoped for more albums from this Canadian band, but they broke up before they could release a second album, unfortunately.
Release Year: 2003
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Album Of The Day: Until This Shakes Apart by Five Iron Frenzy
This year, Five Iron Frenzy celebrates 30 years as a band, though there is at least one major hiatus in that time. Still, that's an impressive amount of time for a band to be together. Released 4 years ago this week, this is their latest studio album, Until This Shakes Apart. Five Iron Frenzy has always been a member of the punk/ska scene, and in that great tradition, this music has got lots of guitars and at least a bit of horns, although maybe a bit less than their earlier albums. Also, the lyrics are definitely pointing out hypocrisy and corruption in many of today's institutions: capitalism, American government and patriotism, and even Christianity and the music industry as well. I like to listen to music that challenges me in my thinking, at least sometimes, and Five Iron Frenzy delivers on that promise with a lot of style, a bit of humor, and a unique turn of phrase throughout. I'll be honest, I've never really listened to Five iron Frenzy much even though a number of friends were big fans, but maybe I need to listen to them more.
Release Year: 2021
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Album Of The Day: Winter by Jon Foreman
Released on this day 17 years ago, this is the second of Jon Foreman's four EPs titled after the four seasons. It is slower, mostly acoustic guitar-based songs that go well with a cold, winter evening. The first half has a few songs about death ("Learning How To Die" and "Somebody's Baby"), but then the latter half goes to themes of redemption in God and God's love for us. Jon also explores various musical styles, as the last song "In Love" has an east Asian feel. Give it a listen to celebrate it's release.
Release Year: 2008
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Album Of The Day: At Folsom Prison by Johnny Cash
Recorded on this day 57 years ago, this album is the first ever live recording released by Johnny Cash. Recorded at the state prison in Folsom, California, it's an interesting look into the time period and the early days of Johnny Cash's career. Cash's songs are relatively simple and his band pretty small. Cash performs some stories of blue collar men and convicts, sings some slightly dirty joke songs, and also includes a few songs with religious overtones at the end. Included in the recording are announcements for the men of the prison, which are an interesting slice of life. June Carter sings "Jackson", "Give My Love To Rose" and "Orange Blossom Special" with Cash just months before they got married. It's a time capsule of country music and a fun recording, even though it does not have the polish of a studio recording.
Release Year: 1968
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Album Of The Day: Faith & Devotions Of A Satellite Heart by The Violet Burning
The Violet Burning has existed since the late '80s, and over the years they've been done modern worship as well as alternative rock. This is one of their more worshipful albums that they released this year 25 years ago. Many of the songs are 5-6 minutes long, so it's an hour of lingering in praise and worship to God. It's a good collection of rock songs about Jesus with a laid-back, chill vibe played by top-notch musicians. Unfortunately, for unknown reasons, this album is not available on streaming services, so you might have to track down a used CD or hit up the band's online store to buy a download if you want to give it a listen.
Release Year: 2000