Various Artists

Your Name brings together four of the most well-known songwriters in Christian music today (Ian Eskelin, Brian White, Tony Wood and Glen Packiam) to create an engaging album focusing on many of the names of God.

The album begins with “Life” (performed by Leeland Mooring and Joel Auge), a song so full of energy it’s difficult to not get up and dance along. Stylistically and lyrically, it would be equally at home on a Hillsong release. One of the most welcome surprises in this song is that it does not fall prey to simplistic, cliché lyrics, instead bringing a breath of fresh creativity to what could easily have been a song we’ve already heard a hundred times before. With lyrics like “You’re the elements / The wind, the fire, the rain / That thirsty souls require / The sun that shines, the air I breathe / I’m captured by your gravity… You’ve given me life,” the song goes beyond an austere, sterile picture and shows God as so powerful and yet so full of life and passion and grace.

“Your Name,” the album’s title cut (performed by Phil Wickham and Paul Baloche) is a worshipful, if slightly less intense track that shares the heart behind the entire album, that “nothing has the power to save but Your name”.

“Almighty” begins as a mellow, gospel-tinged Josh Reedy solo. His voice is much more rock than gospel, so he seems like a strange choice for this song. At least at first. As the song rounds the first chorus, it becomes a full-fledged gospel song, thanks in part to the appearance of the amazingly talented Ayiesha Woods. And it flies onward from there, with Reedy pulling out some vocal work that could put a lot of gospel singers to shame, accopanied by some of the most complicated piano arrangements ever to grace a gospel song. Definitely one of the album’s highlights.

“Lord” features Ian Eskelin, Vicky Beeching and the ever-identifiable Mark Stuart (of Audio Adrenaline fame). Musically, it is another beautifully crafted song, but the melodies are wrapped around somewhat bland lyrics. This song feels like it is missing the depth shown in some of the previous tracks. And unfortunately, the lyrics set the tone for the remainder of the album, including songs “Jesus,” (performed by Joel Auge and Aaron Boyd), “Father” (performed by Jason Roy and Wes Willis), and “Rock” (performed by Adam Agee and Lincoln Brewster).

Stylistically, these last three songs on the album are the weakest on the album. The creativity exploding from the earlier songs seems to somehow run out by the time the album finishes. Even the lyrics seem content to rest in mediocrity rather than reach forward to show a new facet of God’s heart for us. It’s a disappointing finish to what could have been such a wonderful album.

Your Name has an organic, almost live feel to it, which fits its worship service-ready songs perfectly. In fact, some of the tracks were recorded in a hotel room during GMA’s Gospel Music Week, lending to the unique sounds on several of the songs. But the album suffers from a pronounced unevenness. Some songs brilliantly capture the meanings and heart behind the names of God, while others fail, drowning in lackluster lyrics. And with so many names of God to choose from (a quick internet search came up with hundreds), it would have been interesting to see an album that took risks and focused on the lesser-known choices rather than the most well-known options. Perhaps that is a strange thing to notice, but it is definitely something to consider.

At the end of the day, Your Name is worth a listen, particularly for worship leaders across the world, but only a few songs will ultimately get noticed.

Tagged as: Ian Eskelin, Your Name

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