Chris & Jennie Orange are worship leaders at Ichthus Christian Fellowship in London and their debut album is made up of six original worship songs, written for their congregation. It is a meditative record with a mellow feel to the songs, evident in lack of a drummer or bass player on the recording.

The opening two tracks, “See Him High Upon The Cross” and “Wonder Of The Cross” are some of the stronger ones here. The tempo picks up a little on the “Behold The Lamb Of God”, which closes out the album. The harmonies present here are nicely interwoven and create an anthemic feel.

It may not be the most groundbreaking record but the songs flow nicely enough and the lyrics are honest and accessible, without being particularly original. It is conceivable that this could be used as a tool to aid quiet prayer and meditation or to have as background music. This is a good effort, which appears to achieve what it sets out to do. For this reason it has to be considered a decent album

Newday’s 2011 offering unsurprisingly features two tracks from Matt Redman’s latest album. “Here For You” is a great opener and “10,000 Reasons” is fast becoming a classic: both are well executed here. Bethel’s “One Thing Remains” makes an appearance, cementing its place in the collective consciousness of UK worshippers. Of the new songs, “No One Better” stands out as a highlight: its soaring melody is backed by a refreshingly strong and edgy guitar part. “We Are Yours” is also a cut above the average worship fare, as is “Devotion” whose intro sounds disconcertingly like the start of Scissor Sisters “Don’t Feel Like Dancing”. The only real weak point is “Christus Victor” – a football chant style chorus of “who are ya, who are ya…” is a little too much.

The parallels with Soul Survivor are obvious – this festival is essentially New Frontiers’ interpretation of the same format. This album shares two tracks with Soul Survivor’s 2011 live compilation and borrows a lot from it musically. It doesn’t quite reach the heights of “We Are The Free” but all in all this is a great album, with catchy melodies and hooks and a high degree of musicality from those involved. In future releases it would be good to see Newday develop a more unique sound that could set it apart from other festivals.

Samestate are Sparrow Records latest signing and have produced this debut album due for release in early 2012. The driving rock vibe that permeates this recording is evident from the first bar of the opening track, “Realign”. This is probably one of the strongest on the album, along with “Sons And Daughters” and the more mellow closing number, “Symphonies”.

In one sense it all sounds fairly familiar: the songs are fairly standard driving rock numbers that are pleasantly anthemic without being outstanding, but while Samestate don’t bring much that is completely new, they seem to do the anthemic rock thing better than most. The musicianship here is excellent and the production is of a high standard. Singer Dalton Diehl has a distinctive quality to his voice, reminiscent of Marcus Mumford, which lends credence to the well put-together lyrics.

This then is a band that merits further attention, it remains to be seen whether they will rise above the rest of the modern rock crowd or simply fizzle out as so many have done before. They certainly seem to have potential, and this solid first attempt offers much promise.

Digital Pilgrimz are a trio of London based DJs who started working together on a regular garage night in the 90s. Having produced for many other artists, this is their first release as a group in their own right. This EP is comprised of four extended mixes which follow a contiguous theme and blend well into each other.

This certainly lies at the more laid back end of the Dubstep spectrum, with none of the frantic drum and bass that is typical of so many other records in the genre. “Let It Go” is a standout track, with its haunting looped groove and trippy bass line, and “Peace And Unity” is reminiscent of the likes of Nero. “Open Your Mind” picks up the pace a little and closes off the album nicely.

The intricate layered textures of the tracks are impressive and well executed. The sound design is top notch and contributes to a very professional overall finish. All in all this is an impressive debut from a group who are certainly worth watching.

Icon For Hire are a four piece punk combo from the Midwest whose debut album is already receiving much critical acclaim. With a female lead singer, the obvious acts they could be compared to would be Paramore, Evanescence and Avril Lavigne, but the electronic influence evident in some of their tracks is a definite nod to the likes of Linkin Park and others in the Nu-Metal mould.

What is most notable, and most commendable, about this album is the sheer force with which singer Ariel delivers her vocal. This is reflected in the guitar lines and it all combines to form a sound which packs more of a punch than pretty much anything else on the scene.

The only slight weak point is “Only A Memory” which just doesn’t seem to flow like the rest of the album, but really this is nitpicking in the extreme.

Lyrically there is a real honesty and originality here despite their punk-caricature image. Like so many bands, they straddle that fine line of credibility between an honest, edgy statement and an embarrassing copycat act. Only time will tell, but I’m fairly satisfied that Icon For Hire manage the former, and they manage it better than the vast majority of secular artists, let alone those in the Christian music scene.

Hillsong’s live series has always been a Premier League worship institution, and ‘God Is Able’ continues the tradition of stadium-filling anthems, high quality visuals and seamless production. This, the 20th album in the series, has more impact than the slightly bland ‘A Beautiful Exchange’ but doesn’t reach the heights of ‘This Is Our God’.

Melodically there are some delicious moments: the solid, building verse and soaring chorus of “Unending Love” stands out as a high point. The title track is also very strong and will doubtless become a staple in many worship leaders’ repertoire. However there is a certain amount of filler, and after the anthemic “Alive In Us” there is little of note to report.

This is a decent worship album, but in truth sometimes feels like a well oiled machine simply going through the motions. One can’t help feeling that the series is in need of a fresh injection of inspiration. For a truly great live worship album, look instead to Worship Central’s ‘Spirit Break Out’.

The annual Worship Central conferences are always great events and this year’s lineup was particularly impressive. The names on the bill included Matt Redman, Martin Smith, Alistair McGrath, J John and Vicky Beeching whose seminar I had promised to go to, although in the end I actually went to the one on the Worship Central course instead. Sorry.

The idea behind the course is really exciting. It gives worship teams the opportunity to meet together and learn about the spiritual aspects of leading worship, as well as practical things like band dynamics. I reckon there is huge benefit to be had from running something like this and I’m planning to start doing it in the new year.

Unsurprisingly there was plenty of time for worship during the event –I counted eight separate times of worship which is pretty good going for a one-and-a-half day conference. The multi-site nature of the event means that I can only report on half of it, but what I saw on Friday at Onslow Square and on Saturday at Brompton Road was really impressive. A particular highlight was Rend Collective Experiment whose genre-defying music is hard to describe and whose album does not do justice to their live show. Think U2/Mumford & Sons and you’re somewhere near…

Seminar-wise, the worship leader Q&A was a stand-out from my point of view. There were some hilarious worship leading horror stories and some helpful insights which we could all relate to. Nick Herbert’s seminar on bringing a new and fresh approach to musical worship was also great, and I found myself agreeing with a lot of what he was saying.

A great couple of days then, which left us all buzzing and fired up for leading worship the following morning. The only thing I would say is that there was almost too much to take in – you would need a time machine to see more than about 25% of what was on offer. I’ll have to get the DVD.

I was there at the recording and I have to say that there was a sense there that this could be the start of a new movement in worship. A few months later, and the resulting album was in the charts and receiving national radio play. One wonders what those who heard Aled Jones play it on Radio 2 made of it all, but I’d like to think they would be pleasantly surprised. And it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that some of them might have made it to HTB to see what all the fuss was about. After all, there aren’t that many opportunities to hear live music of that quality for free.

Apart from anything else this is one of the best worship albums I’ve ever heard. Obviously it’s a subjective preference but personally I think the biting guitar sounds of songs like “New Day” and the new version of “For Your Glory” are exactly where worship music needs to go. The world needs to see what Christianity is really about and call me old fashioned, but I still think that one of the best ways to let them know has to be releasing credible, high quality music that can stand up to the best of what you hear in the charts.

Each summer I fill a substantial chunk of my precious holiday allowance sleeping in a muddy field, having cold showers and catching illnesses previously thought to have been eradicated from the human population. This year was no exception: as usual I made my annual pilgrimage to the distant shores of Shepton Mallet, but this time it was preceded by a week in Lincolnshire at HTB’s “Focus” which was a new experience for me.

Focus

I was properly impressed with the quality of the teaching and seminars at Focus but obviously I’m going to talk mainly about the worship. It was led by the team at HTB for the most part, with Matt Redman leading for two of the sessions. He played quite a few songs from his new album ”10,000 Reasons” which is brilliant and which I reviewed for Crossrhythms here. The whole thing was musically and visually very impressive and from my point of view it was great to have worship at a proper volume (ie. very, very loud).

On the subject of songs, the quality of some of the new Worship Central stuff blew me a way. Lyrically they have clearly responded to the popular criticism of more “emotional” worship songs and have delivered a more declaratory vibe, speaking of God’s wonder and majesty. Interestingly this issue is not something I’ve been very outspoken about: I’m actually all for intimacy in worship, but a hearty slice of humble pie was certainly ingested with regard to my previous comments about the state of modern worship music. ”Sing Alleluia”, “New Day” and “Once In Darkness” were particular highlights.

Musically there was an impressive degree of variation: Hip hop is hard to pull off in worship without being appallingly cheesy, but HTB seem to be able to do it well. There was even a classical session at one of the main evening meetings, which was brilliantly done.

Soul Survivor/Momentum

Back in the south-west, the worship was actually spookily similar to that of Focus, with a lot of the same songs and Matt Redman again making an appearance. Tom Field and Jamie Rodwell contributed a number of songs, as of course did Beth Croft.

For the first time I went in a “Youth Worker” capacity, helping my good buddy Becca Dean with the youth from Carpenters Church in Chorleywood. This was an extremely good deal as i got to go for free and my responsibilities consisted mainly of putting up a few tents, and then standing around wearing a serious expression and pointing at things.

Although I was exhausted by the end of this, I was still looking forward to going to Momentum the following week. Sadly though I didn’t get to sample much of it as, true to form, I caught consumption* on the second day and had to go home. I did however manage to catch a seminar on how the church can relate to “Generation Y”. This got me thinking about how worship might fit into this new cultural movement, which will be the subject of my next blog.

Maxwell out.

*The less sympathetic among my friends described it as “a cold”

Opinions on what I said varied hugely but the ensuing discussion, supplemented by one of two glasses of wine, yielded a more interesting question: Is today’s worship music too focussed on the individual rather than on God? I’ve certainly been reminded on many fronts recently to think of worship as a way of joining in with the activity of God, rather than as a means to satisfy a need within myself. So should we be singing about God’s love for us, sometimes in a very intimate way? Or is it more important to sing about God’s greatness and majesty?

Again, it is not a new question and it’s something that I’m sure has been discussed to some extent in every church since the new breed of worship songs began to replace traditional hymns.  One of the big differences between those hymns and modern worship songs is where they place the worshipper in relation to God. To make a big generalisation, where once a hymn would put us looking up at God, declaring his power and majesty, a worship song speaking of his intimacy and friendship now fills its place. And before some people miss the point entirely: yes obviously there are many exceptions, etc etc etc…

It is however, still an interesting and unresolved question: have we lost the awe and wonder of who God is by speaking of him as we would of a friend? Maybe our corporate worship times should be focussing on praising God for who he is, and we should leave the intimate stuff for our personal quiet time.

Or would that mean losing the personal connection to God that we feel during a time of corporate worship? Would that important emotive response disappear? Are we then in danger of making God seem distant and detached? And are we risking alienating potential visitors to the church with songs full of unfamiliar language about a God who they feel unable to relate to?

Besides, these two approaches are not the only facets of the question to think about. There are plenty of scriptural references to musical worship but this one was pointed out to me recently:

“…speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – Ephesians 5:19-20

Here Paul appears to differentiate between different types of worship song and adds another dimension into the mix, implying that songs can also be used to encourage one another corporately, as well as being a way for individuals to connect and relate to God.

What is the most important thing then? Is it to express who God is? To describe our relationship to him? To thank him for what he has done? To praise him in unity as a congregation? In my opinion everything is the most important thing. To say that this is an either-or situation, where one aspect of God is more important than another, or even to try and categorise our worship in this way would be to limit God and reduce him to our level.  The fact is that God is powerful and awesome, he provides, he strengthens us, he restores us, he is intimate, he’s majestic… we can never fully describe him in a twenty minute slot of worship on a Sunday morning… but the beauty of it is that we are still called to try.