We Shine (CD - 2007)

The layered T-shirts, the carefully unkempt hair, the distressed jeans -- these guys are cultivating a scruffy indie look, but their music is straight-up guitar rock and the lyrics are geared specifically to a context of worship -- "It's all because of Jesus I'm alive," etc. The chiming, echoey guitar sound owes royalties to U2, particularly on rockers like "All Because of Jesus" and "Burn for You," but there's certainly nothing wrong with that, nor is there anything wrong with lead singer Steve Fee's strong, clear voice. Where Fee falls down just a bit is in the lyrics department, where things tend to get just a bit artless even for a worship band. When some artists sing "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus" it sound like they're expressing something beyond words; when these guys sing "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus" it sounds like maybe they needed six syllables and had run out of ideas. And it's kind of hard not to snicker at a couplet like "When we dance we make it a little bit wild/'Cause we're the people of God, yeah, the people of God." But before you start snickering too loudly, check out the absolute perfection of "Faithful," and the near-perfection of "You Are the Light." Then go back and listen to the guitars again on "All Because of Jesus" -- you hear stuff the second time that you didn't catch the first time, don't you? All in all, this is a very promising debut. ~ Rick Anderson minimize