Casting Crowns - Until The Whole World Hears
Artist:
Title:
Until The Whole World Hears
Type:
Album
Released:
17 Nov 2009
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Review
First impressions are important. We all know that. When I first met my wife, I was standing next to a tall friend of mine. She instantly decided that - although my good looks were clearly over-whelming - I was too short for her. It took me a few meetings to get her to recognise that I'm just shy of six foot and that all her doubts were therefore null and void. She eventually gave way to the inevitable.
Casting Crowns with this album give a very earnest, hard working sort of first impression. ...
Read More First impressions are important. We all know that. When I first met my wife, I was standing next to a tall friend of mine. She instantly decided that - although my good looks were clearly over-whelming - I was too short for her. It took me a few meetings to get her to recognise that I'm just shy of six foot and that all her doubts were therefore null and void. She eventually gave way to the inevitable.
Casting Crowns with this album give a very earnest, hard working sort of first impression. It kicks in with a steady rock rhythm and a chunky guitar riff to announce the start of the title track. Until The Whole World Hears is a good song, packing a great theme: reminding the Church of its task to worship until Jesus' return; a great riff: the guitar is powerful and distorted throughout; and a great lyrical hook: I woke several times in the night singing this song, forcing me to resent it a bit. Despite this, I still enjoy the track.
As the album continues, things get a little more balladic, for example Always Enough is piano-led and is one of several tracks to see the vocal duties shared (I also believed this song contained a reference to God's provision of 'strength to the weirdo' until I realise it was the more Biblical 'widow'). However, there's always a very full sound behind the vocals, with the rhythm section bringing a particularly powerful aspect and strings featured prominently on most tracks.
So it turns out that, in the case of this album, my first impressions were correct. The whole album is remarkably consistent in quality and style. Pretty good. Great then.
Certainly worth a listen.
These guys are, after all, one of the most popular and successful Christian bands in the US, so it is worth being familiar. But if you're anything like me, this picture I'm trying to paint might begin to look a little too familiar - this is for a good reason.
As well as what has already been reported - and apart from my cringes as I realised the lead singer (Mark Hall) reminded me strongly of Chad Kroeger from Nickelback - my first impression was also that I had actually heard this album many times before. The whole thing feels very familiar to me as an album. It is generic, white-bread, modern rock - with added worship. It feels like Casting Crowns have found a popular, rich vein in middle-of-the-road rock and they stick to it.
Loses them credibility in my eyes. As the singers reach a powerful pitch, I'm trying to force the image of Chad Kroeger with his emphatic, air-punching fist and faux-emotional face from my mind.
And that's not fair, because these lyrics are emphatic and full of real passion. They contain the sort of realism that a young Christian could listen to and know they aren't alone in their difficulties and their joys. The lyrics deserve better.
As the hidden track kicks in, it seems that the band have suddenly found it within themselves to come to life. It's a punky track where Hall's vocals seem at home - more Foo Fighters than Nickelback. But this is over too soon. All it does is show how brilliant the rest of the album could have been.
So those first impressions were right. This continues to feel like a consistently passable album by an artistically under-performing, very highly talented band that produces songs to encourage Christians in their walk with God. I wonder if they let themselves lose their artistic direction a bit, the benefits could be immense.
Review by Jonp
LTTM Rating 3 out of 5 Stars
Standout Tracks
Until the Whole World Hears
Jesus, Hold Me Now
Shadow of Your Wings
