NEW MUSIC
SELECTIVE HEARING | Robert Berman
NEEDTOBREATHE Out of Body
CHRISTA WELLS Pacific
THE OH HELLOS Boreas
Consistency can be a curse . Take NEEDTOBREATHE . Twenty years , six albums , thirteen Doves , and a Grammy nomination . If you don ’ t know this band , you should . They ’ re good ! And if you do know them , you ’ ll expect “ Out of Body ” to be another solid set of acoustictinged pop along the lines of Mumford & Sons , The Last Bison , or Rend Collective . And you ’ ll be right . The biggest changes this time around are under the hood : The departure of founding brother Bo Rinehart , and the decision for lead vocalist “ Bear ” Rinehart to go by his given name , William . But the essential song remains the same . Drew and Ellie Holcomb drop in to complete a neighborly vocal trio on “ Survival .” “ Who Am I ” works as a song of confession and appreciation toward either Christ or an understanding spouse . “ Banks ” flows like early Ed Sheeran , but with Rinehart ’ s trademark vocal creak expressing every parent ’ s wish for their children : “ I want to hold you close , but never hold you back .” “ Riding High ” breaks up the anthems with a delightful country-rock romance loaded with Skynyrd-esque slide guitar and piano . With “ Seasons ,” the album ends on a surprising cliffhanger , though : “ We ’ re in for nasty weather .” Ominous ! Stay tuned for more .
Anyone need a change of pace ? Christa Wells did last year , so she took in the natural sights of the West Coast , recharging her creative juices for this semi-concept album . “ Western Shoreline ,” “ Meet Me at the Water ,” and the title track describe the wonder of the ocean from the perspective of a landlocked Tennessee native . It ’ s glorious in its own right but also makes an ideal spot for devotional thoughts or meeting a friend for a frank discussion . The waltzing “ Let It Out ” uses arboreal language instead but arrives at the same conclusion : “ Sometimes it ’ s only beauty that breaks us open .” Don ’ t let the low track count fool you ; Wells makes the seven tracks here far more than many artists do with fifteen . Waterdeep ’ s Don and Lori Chaffer , fresh off their own stellar “ Tandem ” album , provide mixing and production here , juicing Wells ’ thoughtful compositions with their own river of creativity . Lori adds vocals to the funky “ Falling Up ,” while Philip LaRue joins him for the hemiola-rolling “ Pacific .” Relational themes suffuse the lyrics , a shift from the more explicit spiritual themes of Well ’ s other work . “ I Can Do Better ” uses the language of a failed romance to describe the escape from depression . “ Don ’ t let me love what will not love me back .” “ I ’ m not afraid of dying , but I ’ m dead-set on being alive .” Amen .
Wonder Twins , activate ! Texas siblings Tyler and Maggie Heath return with another heaping helping of unconventional , large-ensemble progressive folk , the third in a series of EPs themed after the four winds . Boreas is the North Wind , but this EP is anything but chilling . As before , a prelude sets the stage . “ A Kindling , of Sorts ” opens with pentatonic Eastern sounding strings , a gradually intensifying cacophony that gives way to “ Cold .” Tyler takes the lead on “ Lapis Lazuli ,” pondering the challenges of evangelism with language drawn from Ezekiel 28 and Hans Christian Andersen . The quiet ” Rose ” sees the Christian life as sacrifice rather than a quest for riches , again using an Andersen fairy tale as a touchstone . Title track “ Boreas ” deals wryly with the drudgery of familiar and endless domestic tasks like dishwashing (“ I ’ m one spoon away from setting the ends of my hair on fire ”) while “ Glowing ” describes the unsettling feeling of venturing into the unfamiliar (“ When you can ’ t find an edge by a map halfwritten , it could feel like the end to have to keep going .”) Flute vies with violin , banjo and chorale , one track segueing into the next in a seamless medley of surprises and delights .
Robert Berman Robert is a Sunday School teacher , music nerd , and acoustic guitar enthusiast . He lives in rural Tennessee with his wife and three boys .