NEW MUSIC
NOW HEAR THIS | Gerod Bass
PAT BARRETT
Act Justly , Love Mercy , Walk Humbly us in the valleys and mountaintops we face in life . The galloping instrumentation of driving electric guitars and pushing drums help paint the musical picture of the up and downs we all experience in our faith journey .
RIVER VALLEY WORSHIP The Ensemble Project EP
1 . Long Way Home 2 . Act Justly , Love Mercy , Walk Humbly 3 . So Real 4 . Morning By Morning 5 . As For Me ( Feat . Chris Tomlin ) 6 . Heavenly 7 . Slow and Steady 8 . By The Spirit 9 . No Weapon 10 . Sudden Awakening ( Prelude ) 11 . Strike Your Harp 12 . To Have and To Hold 13 . Lightning ( Feat . Harolddd ) 14 . When I Look At The Blood 15 . This Is The Day 16 . Praise Upon Praise 17 . Canvas and Clay
Pat Barrett ’ s sophomore release , Act Justly , Love Mercy , Walk Humbly is a treasure of 17 congregationally friendly songs from the writer who brought the church such well-loved favorites as “ Good Good Father ,” “ The Way ” and “ Build My Life .” Barrett ’ s campy style , creative lyrical approach and throaty tenor connect with a wide range of worshipers and make him one of the more popular worship artists today .
One does not have to venture far into this big collection of songs to find a winner as the opening track , Long Way Home speaks of how God is with
The title track follows as Barrett builds the entire foundation of the album on Micah 6:8 . Here , he points out appropriately that everything we do should boil down to these three things ; to act with justice , to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God . It is a compelling message that Christendom needs to hear these days to draw us back to our purpose as the church continues to move further and further from the center of culture .
" No Weapon ," is probably one of the best moments on the album . Melodically simple and memorable , this vertically directed anthem will engage young and old both in theme and instrumentation .
The biggest surprise on the album is “ Lightning ” which features the combination of Barrett and up and coming Christian reggae artist , Harolddd . The song was written weeks after the George Floyd killing that sparked protests across the nation last summer and serves as a beautiful reminder that to spark change and to show mercy , we have to unite as brothers and sisters in Christ despite our differences .
Barrett ’ s duet with Chris Tomlin on “ As For Me And My House ” and the album closer , “ Canvas and Clay ” also serve as nice moments worthy of multiple spins .
Pat Barrett is becoming one of the most influential writers of the modern worship era . His love for Jesus and passion for connecting people with the heart of God are obvious both in his writing and in his authentic delivery of his songs . There are lots of great tracks here just waiting for the people of your congregation to fall in love with .
1 . A Wild Chorus 2 . Shadows / Spotlights 3 . Fade 4 . Real Thing 5 . Hallways
Too often , modern worship albums have so many instruments and over-mixed recordings , that the message of the Gospel can sometimes be lost in the minutia of sound we are forced to endure track after track after track . Enter Twin Cities , MN based River Valley Worship ’ s latest EP , The Ensemble Project , which thumbs its nose at this idea and gives us completely different arrangements from some of the standout songs off their 2020 Altars album .
Known for such chart toppers as “ Hope Has A Name ” and “ World Needs Jesus ”, River Valley Worship is the worship collective of River Valley Church and is led by Worship Pastor , Ryan Williams .
The 5 song collection features acoustic adaptations with pianos , guitars , cellos and violins alongside multiple part vocals in an attempt to focus the listener on the content and theme of each track rather than big keyboards and driving guitars or drums .
“ A Wild Chorus ” leads the album off and quickly