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Album Of The Day: Get In, I'm Drivin' by Ginny Owens
Released 15 years ago earlier this month, this is the seventh studio album by pop singer Ginny Owens. The album name and cover art is funny to me as I know Ginny Owens is blind and therefore probably does not drive, but that's really not what she's talking about. After four albums with Rocketown Records from 1999 to 2005, Ginny recorded a Christmas album and a hymns album, and then this album of original songs in 2011. I kinda lost track of Ginny Owens for a bunch of years there and only recently picked up this album on CD, and I gotta say I'm glad I circled back to her music; this is the kind of stuff I love from her. The music is mostly piano-based and very poppy, but has a bit of a jazz/blues bent to it. The lyrics are definitely based on her life experiences and talk a lot about her Christian faith. It's clear she wanted to keep making music and worked hard to make this happen, and the lyrics are often about her power to get things done through God's grace and her own determination. I also love the slow, chilled-out cover of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" that fits well with her own songs here. Unfortunately, this album is not on streaming currently so you might have to find a copy on CD somewhere to give this a listen.
Release Year: 2026
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Album Of The Day: Target And The Arrow by PFR
Released today, this is the sixth album by rock band PFR and their first album of all-new songs in 25 years. These three guys were known throughout the '90s Christian rock/pop scene for catchy tunes asking questions about life with a religious slant but also pretty universal themes. Despite the band members being much older, they really pick it up like they never left. Their voices sound great, the music is excellent and the songs are still interesting and growing on me after a few listens. The guitars are a bit spacey still—which I love—and the band still has solid harmonies just like always. One song even has a verse sung by Leigh Nash (Sixpence None The Richer). A few of the lyrics use words and have topics that they would not have been able to release on a Christian record label, maybe, but it's just them being honest so I have no problem with it at all. More often, the lyrics are about life's changes over time as well as love. It's worth checking out whether you're an old fan or not. I hope this album gets a release on CD or vinyl at some point!
Release Year: 2026
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Album Of The Day: Satellite by P.O.D.
"This I pledge and I'm taking to my death / I'll lay my life down for you and die over again / I and I, I'm not ashamed of the Most High" Released 25 years ago earlier this month, this is the fourth studio album by nu-metal band P.O.D. Starting as an underground metal group in Southern California in the early '90s, the band hit the big time in 1999 with their major-label The Fundamental Elements Of Southtown album and in fall 2000 a new band called Linkin Park was an opening band on P.O.D.'s tour. Then on September 11, 2001, this album was released and it quickly outsold all their other albums combined. For a few years, "Alive" and "Youth Of The Nation" were all over mainstream rock radio, and their metal with slick production, catchy hooks, and infusion of hip-hop/reggae into their sound made for a powerful combination. "Boom" was on a list of songs that Clear Channel Communications asked not to be played on their radio stations after September 11th as it could have evoked the idea of bombs. The first half of the album is definitely the best songs, but I do like the lesser known parts of the album too. They don't shy away from their Christianity, for sure, on songs like "The Messenjah", "Without Jah, Nothin'" and "Portrait". "Without Jah..." and "Ridiculous" have guest spots from reggae artists, while "Anything Right" features vocals from Blindside's lead singer for the hardest metal song on this album. And even "Thinking About Forever" and "Portrait" are excellent songs to close the album. P.O.D. might be known for just a few songs, but Satellite is also a top-notch album of reggae-infused nu-metal with heart.
Release Year: 2001
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Album Of The Day: Ghosts Upon The Earth by Gungor
Released 15 years ago today, this is the second album by experimental folk-rock band Gungor. This is husband-and-wife duo Michael and Lisa Gungor, often with a few musician friends to fill out the band. Musically, this album reminds me of something like Sufjan Stevens, with a good amount of mandolin and other acoustic instruments, but also a lot of rock experimentation and even a few appearances by a choir. The lyrics are heavily religious in nature, often riffing on The Bible's passages and other Christian sources. I would not really call this "modern worship", though, as it's not really something that can be sung in a church service; it's more of an artistic performance with Christian themes. This is not a band I listen to often, but they certainly provide an interesting listen that you won't find much anywhere else.
Release Year: 2011
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Album Of The Day: Good Monsters by Jars Of Clay
"Do you know what I mean / When I say I don't want to be alone?" Released 20 years ago earlier this month, this is the seventh album by alternative rock band Jars Of Clay. About 5 months before, I heard that Jars Of Clay was releasing a more rock 'n' roll album and I was definitely stoked, as their last few albums had been great, but more in the Americana genre. Giving this a listen, this is definitely rock with more prominent electric guitar and top-notch bass and drums too. Lyrically, the band is struggling with personal insecurities and larger cultural issues, especially among Christianity and how it relates to the rest of the world. Though the lyrics are delivered in such fun rock/pop sounds, you might miss the depth of the lyrics on the first few listens. "Work", "Dead Man (Carry Me)" and the Julie Miller cover "All My Tears" give the album a strong, rock 'n' roll start, and the title track and the six-minute "Oh My God" make the middle of the album some of the best on this release. Though don't miss the end, either, as the whole album really is good songs from this experienced band. I love pretty much all of Jars Of Clay's albums, and as a fan of rock, I really love this one. It gives me a chance to rock out, plus it has some great lyrics and catchy songs.
Release Year: 2006
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Album Of The Day: Back To Bellsburg: The Songs Of Rich Mullins by Various Artists
Released today, this is the second album of various artists singing covers of Rich Mullins songs. If you're not familiar with Rich Mullins, he was a Christian pop/rock artist in the '80s and '90s. Tragically, in 1997 he passed away in a motor vehicle accident, well before his time to go. But despite his short music career, he wrote some of the most poignant, honest and well-made songs ever made by a Christian. Like the previous Bellsburg album that released a few years ago, these are not star-studded Nashville studio tributes to the artist. Instead, today's new artists and some friends of Rich's honor him by recording these albums in a more stripped-down, acoustic format. Actually, the songs are recorded in Rich's former home in the unincorporated area of Bellsburg, Tennessee a bit outside of Nashville. You can sometimes even hear a faint car rolling by the house and the artists chatting before or after, which adds to the homespun vibe of the album. The artists covering Rich Mullins songs are newer artists such as Cory Asbury, John Van Duesen and Luke Bower, as well as older artists including Tommy Sims, Carolyn Arends, Brandon Heath, Jill Phillips and Andrew Peterson. There's also a cover by Rich's brother, David Mullins, as well as the album ends with an early demo of a Rich Mullins song I'd not heard before. It's beautiful to hear these newer artists still singing the old songs that Rich Mullins made. I don't have my vinyl and CD of this album yet but I'm looking forward to it getting delivered, though I certainly have a digital copy already.
Release Year: 2026
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Album Of The Day: The Wonderlands: Darkness by Jon Foreman
Released 11 years ago earlier this month, this is the seventh EP from Jon Foreman, the lead singer of long-time rock band Switchfoot. In 2015, he released 4 EPs in The Wonderlands series, each of the 25 songs written about a certain time of day, to some extent. This EP has 7 songs from 1pm to 4am and each song is co-produced with a different Producer. Since this is a middle of the night, many of the songs are pretty slow and chill, with beautiful strings. On most of the songs here, Jon is looking for answers and asking the big questions about life's meaning and purpose. "June And Johnny" is a love song whose title references one of the most well-known couples in American music and features guest vocals from Sara Watkins of NIckel Creek. This EP is an excellent listen for a quiet night or really anytime, but I'm enjoying it as the nights are getting longer here in the fall and the air gets cooler.
Release Year: 2015
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Album Of The Day: A Mirror Dimly by Citizens
Released 10 years ago today, this is the third album by Christian alternative rock band Citizens. Around the time this was released they were also known as Citizens & Saints, though they were known by the shorter name both before and after. They make epic rock songs about the Christian life, the glorious and mundane. Their lyrics are fresh but also draw heavily on hymns and the Bible. Zach Bolen and his band do a good job at making quality, inventive music, and I really only recently clued into this band after they opened for John Mark McMillan last year. They put on a great show, and I bought all their albums that I could get my hands on after that.
Release Year: 2016
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Album Of The Day: Clear To Venus by Andrew Peterson
Released 25 years ago this past Friday, this is the second album by Christian singer-songwriter Andrew Peterson. At this time signed to Caedmon's Call's label imprint, these songs are firmly in the acoustic folk style, with Mr. Peterson mixing contemporary stories of lives of friends and himself with stories and concepts from the Bible. In one song, he tells his wife Jamie that he will fail in life and, like Moses, he may need the support of holding up his arms in the day to day. And a story of a couple who always wanted to drive all the way to Alaska. There's even a song about a copper penny being thrown around but in the end treasured. The songs are maybe a bit more simple and less poignant than some of his later works, but it's beautiful and well worth a listen. I became a fan of Andrew Peterson an album later, so I don't listen to these early albums as often as I should, but I'm glad I listened to this today. Also, until recently, I didn't realize that this album was released on the momentous date September 11, 2001, but I guess it was.
Release Year: 2001
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Album Of The Day: His + Hers by The Hawk In Paris
Released 15 years ago yesterday, this is the debut EP from synth-pop group The Hawk In Paris. Vocals are sung by Dan Haseltine (Jars Of Clay), and Dan works with Jeremy Bose and Matt Bronleewe, most well-known as producers of many other artists, for the music and songwriting. It's a solid 30-plus minutes of love songs and love lost as well with fun electronic, synth beds of music over Dan's soothing vocals. Though all the songs also appear on their 2013 full-length album Freaks, some of the mixes are a bit different and the EP has two different versions of "The New Hello". It's a promising debut from this side band for these excellent musicians. This was first given away on NoiseTrade and then sold digitally, but now seems to be unavailable on streaming and online stores, so if you don't have your own copy, give the album a listen.
Release Year: 2011