We like to pigeonhole music. It makes it easier to get our opinions across.
But the problem is this: music just keeps on changing.
A seismic shift comes along every ten years or so, but in between times the changes are, gradual, incremental. Some bands (or their producer) are tuned in to the subtleties of these changes.
And so it is with new Christian Rock band on the block,
Fireflight and their second major label release, '
Unbreakable', produced by Rob Hawkins.
The production is loud, cutting edge. It punches through your speakers and it swoops and it soars, seemingly restless to break free of the earth's gravitational pull. The sonics are sharp, separated. Clanging guitars, neo Gothic strings and a hard hitting rhythm section all sound larger than life, three dimensional.
The tracks are lyrically fresh and provocative. The pro Christian message is subtle and challenging.
The message is big on moral and spiritual strength. Presenting these as the only effective antidotes to a corrupt and misogynistic society.
Female vocalist, Dawn Richardson's voice gives the band's sound a certain rockchick, sensual flavour. It's edgy, piercing and right on the money. It nails the band's contemporary rock colours to the mast, loud and proud.
On
'Brand New Day' it reveals a vulnerability that spins a melancholy lyric into something eminently believable.
Equally, on tracks like
'The Hunger' and
'Stand Up', it struts and swaggers, grabbing you by the scruff of the neck and squeezing till you're begging for mercy.
There's the occasional feeling of déjà vu as the album skirts around the edges of Evanescence and Anberlin, flirting dangerously with an homogenous contemporary rock sound, but for the most part it ploughs its own lone furrow.
'Forever' and the title track
'Unbreakable' prove that the band can aspire to greatness, even if for now, it's just beyond their grasp.
One to watch.
Written by
Brian Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Show all reviews by BrianRatingsBrian: 7/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
This article has been shown 1858 times. Go to the
complete list.
