Imagine if you will, a jam session with Coldplay, Five Iron Frenzy, Michael W. Smith, The Benjamin Gate and Jeremy Camp. And out of this session, a new album is born. Speaking Louder Than Before is that album. And with such disparate influences, it lacks a much-needed cohesiveness. The album swings [...]

JJ Heller’s sweet, soft voice gives life to the twelve songs on her new release, Painted Red. Upon first listen, her simple guitar-driven arrangements and lyrics meld together nicely, but rarely does anything stand out. These are the songs you might hear as background music from a girl with her guitar in a [...]

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 [...]

Sara Groves’ O Holy Night is definitely not your mother’s Christmas album. Even the “traditional” Christmas songs found here are given a makeover with new arrangements and even new melodies, but the effect is surprisingly beautiful. On her first full Christmas release (she’s recorded a few other Christmas songs here and there over [...]

Bebo Norman’s self-titled album is very different from what Norman has shared on his previous albums. He has always been one to write thoughtful, intense songs, but this time, the album is full of songs looking outward into the world and mourning the brokenness found there. Yet in the midst of that [...]

The Bright Sadness, Charlie Hall’s fourth release, is one of the most intense and passionate albums of the year. Hall is well-known to many listeners, as much for his involvement with the Passion conferences as his previous three albums. In those prior efforts, the artist has shown himself to be a superior worship [...]

Meredith Andrews is the worship leader for Chicago’s 12,000-member Harvest Bible Chapel, and her Word Records debut, The Invitation, clearly draws on her experiences as a worship leader to create an album of worshipful and hopeful songs. Singing with a confidence rarely seen in a debut artist and in possession of a sweet yet strong [...]