Christian Sonic

Chris Sligh – The Anatomy Of Broken (2010)

Matthew — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:13:09 +0000

Artist: Chris Sligh
Album: The Anatomy Of Broken
Release Date: September 14th, 2010
Style: Pop / Rock / Contemporary
Label: Word Records / Moose Management / Fervent Records
Location: Franklin, TN

About:

Word Records recording artist and American Idol Top 10 Finalist Chris Sligh finds beauty in brokenness with the release of his new album The Anatomy Of Broken on September 14. Two years in the making, this release is a set of songs echoing the grand pop stylings of his debut album loaded with a challenging message.

Chris Sligh’s Word Records’ debut, ‘The Anatomy of Broken,’ is an aptly titled collection of 14 songs that delves deep into the human condition and our profound need for a Savior. Co-produced with respected recording engineer, Steve Bishir, each song, written or co-written by Sligh, carries with it a different picture of brokenness and the resulting importance of extending compassion, mercy, and forgiveness to each other as people. ‘The goal of what I wanted to do with this record is to communicate that it’s okay to admit that we’re fallen and broken, and if we weren’t broken, we wouldn’t need Christ,’ Sligh explains. Standout tracks are ‘Only You Can Save,’ ‘One,’ and ‘In the Weak’ (with Meredith Andrews).

Track Listing:
1. Only You Can Save
2. In the Weak
3. Our Love
4. One
5. Scars
6. Taking It Back
7. Catching Up
8. Naïve
9. Chasing Down a Name
10. Beginning (Not the End)
11. Sunny
12. Still You Love Me
13. Love is the Answer
14. Broken (Beautiful)

Deluge – Unshakable (2010)

Devotion — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:39:50 +0000

I am very excited as This is my very first post on Christian Sonic.

I am reviewing Deluge (Jonathan Stockstill) latest release “Unshakable”

In my personal opinion this is one of the best albums of the year because of the worship songs. I am a worship leader for the youth group in my local Church so i am constantly listening to worship music, this album broke me and mended back together again with rich sounds great melody and most importantly a sincere worship experience. From the happy melody of “Lamb of God”, to the exaltation of the blood through “Sing of the Blood” this album was refreshing for me a worship leader. The album is built off of experiences and trails that individuals have faced. One of my favourites songs on the album is Refuge it brings remembrance to who hold your world and reminds you of how comforting our God is. I suggest to every to add this album to your library you will not be disappointed.

- Daniel (London, England)

Jon Bauer – Light of Another World (EP)’2010

solomon — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:55:14 +0000

Artist: Jon Bauer
Album: Light of Another World (EP)
Release Date: July 13, 2010
Style: Pop / Rock
Label: Chrematizo Label Group

About:

The heart and message of Jon Bauer, Canada’s Gospel Music Association’s 2008 Male Vocalist of the Year has found favor with a wide audience; that worship is more than music…it’s a lifestyle. With over 12 years experience as a worship leader, artist, speaker, and teacher, Jon now tours internationally as a full time artist. From services and concerts, to seminars and schools Jon permeates borders between the church and classroom. His teaching background has given Jon the unique gift to train and equip both in the church and school setting. Whether singing to thousands or sharing in an intimate seminar setting, Jon’s authentic nature draws people in to worship God.

With three popular worship CD’s that have garnered numerous nominations and awards from Worship Album of the Year to Artist of the Year, Jon’s passion is to help all generations know God and make Him known.

Not new to the industry, Jon’s U.S. debut entitled Light of Another World marks his 4th collection of original music and is being produced by Rusty Varenkamp (co-producer for Rush of Fools, Bebo Norman, 10th Avenue North, Meredith Andrews and more) and includes passionate lyrics directed towards the church including standout tracks “Forevermore,” “Come & Save Us,” and the title track “Light of Another World.”

Track Listing:

01. Forevermore
02. Come and Save Us
03. Fall Over Me
04. Light of Another World

Brett Younker – The New Has Come’2010

solomon — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:41:38 +0000

Artist: Brett Younker
Album: The New Has Come
Release Date: 2010
Style: Pop / Rock / Indie

Location: Atlanta, GA

About:

Brett Younker is a Christian worship leader and songwriter, based in Atlanta, Georgia. Through his songs and worship leading, Brett’s heart is for people to see and experience the fullness of God in their lives. Inspired by the A.W. Tozer quote, “Whatever comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us,” he hopes to lead people to know God and respond to the greatness of who God is and what He has done.

Encouraged by his youth pastor to use his gifting to change the world, Brett started leading worship in high school. He continued to lead in various places and after graduating college he moved to New York City to be a full-time worship leader in a local church. In the last 2 years, Brett has been leading for a variety of churches, student ministries, and conferences such as North Point Ministries, North Metro Church, and Student Life Camps. Currently, Brett and his wife, Aynsley, are a part of passioncitychurch, in Atlanta.

Brett’s debut record, This is Life, was produced by Jason Hoard, who also produced We Shine by Fee. Steve Fee says, “Brett is a trustworthy worship leader to place before students. He has a passion for worship and is able to lead others to experience Christ.”

Track Listing:

01. King Forever
02. Bless Your Name
03. All Things New
04. Our God
05. New Creation
06. Alive and Running
07. Yes to You
08. Holiness
09. Arms Open Wide
10. Rise and Sing

Chris Sligh – Only You Can Save ‘2010 (Single)

solomon — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:34:06 +0000

Artist: Chris Sligh
Album: Only You Can Save (Single)
Release Date: July 20, 2010
Style: Pop / Rock / Contemporary
Label: Word Records / Moose Management

Location: Franklin, TN

Track Listing:

01. Only You Can Save (Single)

Athlete – Vehicles & Animals ‘2004

solomon — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:24:25 +0000

Artist: Athlete
Album: Vehicles & Animals
Release Date: May 18, 2004
Style: Indie / Soft Rock
Label: Astralwerks Records

Location: Deptford, London

About:

Since bouncing to prominence seven years ago with the spirited, electro-tinged, indie-pop of their Mercury-nominated debut, ‘Vehicles And Animals’, Athlete have established themselves among the UK’s finest songsmiths. The south east Londoners have sold more than a million copies of their three hit albums (the other two being 2005’s ‘Tourist’ and 2007’s ‘Beyond The Neighbourhood’); packed out venues across the land; picked up an Ivor Novello award; and topped both the UK’s album and airplay charts.

‘Black Swan’, their fourth album, is a musical summary of everything Athlete have been through; the good, the bad and the ugly. But although its songs burn with literate emotion, this certainly isn’t a downbeat record. In fact, the album begins with the hurtling FM rush of glorious first single, ‘Superhuman Touch’, which catapults the album into life with the opening line, “I’m on fire and nothing’s gonna hold me back”.

The album reaches its climax with ‘The Awkward Goodbye’, an intensely personal tale of love slipping away; the snappy ‘Magical Mistakes’, a giddy gush of proud, parental love; and ‘Rubik’s Cube’ which, according to Joel, “Sums everything up. It’s about puzzling through life, working it out as you go along and having to deal with its uncertainties. That’s the magic of life, really.”

Track Listing:

01. El Salvador
02. Westside
03. One Million
04. Shake Those Windows
05. Beautiful
06. New Project
07. You Got the Style
08. Vehicles & Animals
09. Out of Nowhere
10. Dungeness
11. You Know
12. Le Casio

Marty Goetz – He Is My Defense’2005

solomon — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:07:40 +0000

Artist: Marty Goetz
Album: He Is My Defense
Release Date: June 7, 2005
Style: Messianic
Label: GOTN/Integirty Music

Track Listing:

01. He Is My Defense (Psalm 62)
02. Lamb Of God (John 1:29; Rev 5:12, Gen 22:8)
03. Ana Adonai (Psalm 118; Matthew 21)
04. Blessed Is The Man (Psalm 112)
05. Who Has Believed (Isaiah 61)
06. Hebrew Chant
07. O Lord Our Lord (Psalm 8; Hebrews 2)
08. For Zion’s Sake (Isaiah 62)
09. The Spirit Of The Lord (Isaiah 61)
10. O Holy One (Psalm 40)
11. V’Ahavta (Deut 6:5; Matt 22:37-40; Mk 12:30-31)
12. One Thing I Have Asked Of The Lord (Psalm 27)
13. Hineni (Instrumental Introduction)
14. Hineni (Here I Am) (Isaiah 6; Mathew 28)

Daily Updates

Matthew — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 23:21:28 +0000

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September 8 – Christian Sonic has moved to a better host. We’re on a CentOS (x86) VPS 512Mb of Ram and 1.2 GHz Processor. Hope this will hold everybody now. No downtime is expected anymore. Enjoy your stay! If you happen to notice anything out of the ordinary please hit the contact button t the bottom. We can only know if you write us.

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September 7 - We are sorry for the downtime… It usually happens when there are more than 50 instant visitors on the website. We’re going to move to a better server and hopefully end with this stressful daily downtime. Just to let you people know… we’re working on it.

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September 6 – The first contest is over! We have a winner!! – See who won…

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Young Joshua – Thinking Out Loud (2010)

Matthew — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:27:07 +0000

Artist: Young Joshua
Album: Thinking Out Loud
Release Date: September 7th, 2010
Style: Hip-Hop / Rap
Label: Provident Records / Cross Movement Records
Location: Illa Delph, Philadelphia

About:

“Sometimes it’s good to listen to a non-concept album. What better way for a debut album on a major label than to just speak from the heart on what needs to be said? With Cross Movement Records’ recent signing of K-Drama and Young Joshua, it seems as though things are starting to pick up for the label (after the recent issues w/ Ambassador and Da T.R.U.T.H.). While I’m a longtime fan of K-Drama, I was reluctant to hear the east-coast style of Young Joshua, who I’ve only heard from collaborations with other artists. One of those was last year’s free download of “Mad World”.

Musically and lyrically, “Thinking Out Loud” is top-notch and is almost expected from a label such as CM. Young Joshua’s east coast approach is a refreshing in a market saturated with Midwest or Southern hip-hop. While a majority of the tracks are flawless, there are some hiccups. Such as the intro of “ArtOfficial,” the beat on 3/4th of the track “HomeComing,” and the background vocals during the spoken word of “Well Done.” However, a flawless debut album is hard to come by, and I am fairly impressed again with this second debut album this year from Cross Movement.

Similar to label owner The Tonic’s “The Dash,” style and quality-wise, this album has a strong and diverse east coast sound. Some personal favorites include “Old Me,” “Cherish,” and “Where You At.” This is another good signing by CM and hopefully a indication that more artists are to come.” - Anthony Peronto

Track Listing:
1. All In
2. ArtOfficial
3. My Life (feat. J.R.)
4. Where You At
5. Old Me
6. HomeComing (feat. Techniq & R-Swift)
7. Disaster (feat. Eddie Nigma & Magellan)
8. Journey (feat. J. Johnson, Powerfulmind, & Eshon Burgundy)
9. Ride
10. So In Love (feat. Sarah Rodriguez)
11. Don’t Do It
12. Perfect Storm
13. What Happened? (feat. Ryan Post)
14. To Whom It May Concern
15. Cherish (feat. David James of Ndelible)
16. Watch (feat. Juan Love of Rhema Soul & Braille)
17. Label Me
18. Well Done

Sarah Kelly – Midnight Sun (2010)

Matthew — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:48:30 +0000

Artist: Sarah Kelly
Album: Midnight Sun
Release Date: Sepember 7th, 2010
Style: Pop / Folk / Indie / Rock
Label: Sweekman Records
Location: The Woodlands, TX

About:

Since the release of her debut, Take Me Away, on Gotee Records, Sarah Kelly has been a sort of hidden treasure in the worship music circle. Her sophomore record leaned more towards a classic rock record with less of a focus on vertical worship, but all that changed again with 2008’s more accessible pop worship approach, Born To Worship. Now, Kelly is without the label support from Gotee as she releases her fourth album, Midnight Sun, carrying on the heart to worship, but returning more to the sound established on her debut as well.

Midnight Sun gets off to a wonderfully strong start right out of the gate with “Live Every Love Song.” As the album continues the indie pop sound into “Standing On My Knees” and the beautiful title track, each song captures the artist’s worshipful heart and the introspective nature of her sophomore album Where The Past Meets Today in the process. “Stolen My Heart” may be the first straight forward worship track on Midnight Sun, with its personal, classic Kelly spin (“But the best came and left me / And I took a fall somehow but I’m standing taller now / You lift my head, re-move my heart / It’s You I needed from the start / You have stolen my heart”), but it’s after these songs that the album really begins to shift gears rather drastically. “Good Day” may be the ugly duckling of the ten tracks, opting for a more rock approach, but more in the same bubbly vein as “Brand New Day” and the title track from her last album, Born To Worship. Unfortunately, while it captures the genuine joy and optimism of God’s grace and redemption that Kelly so boldly embraces and wears on her delicate sleeves, it feels rather misplaced among the rest of the songs, which often bear a more serious tone. “Lift You Up” follows, also with an edgier rock vibe, but does a much better job capturing Sarah’s passion for rock with a tasty groove and vertical lyrics of thanks and praise (“I just want to thank You for all you’ve done for me / We lift You up / We lift You higher”). Kelly’s vocals soar here, using her talents better than on its preceding track, and the electronic elements are much more effective (ever so slightly bringing to mind the kind of delightfully fuzzy synths you might hear from Family Force 5).

After Kelly’s unashamed rock interlude, she heads into a series of worship originals for the masses, starting with “Day and Night.” Musically, again, it’s more of a mix of her debut and her previous effort, Born To Worship, capturing a more accessible worship sound. Kelly also softens her vocals from her usual, signature soulful approach. The songs still work, especially on a corporate worship level, and those who might not usually like her raspy rocker gal vocal style will likely find this latter half of the record more appealing. “Always Undeniable” and “Surely Goodness” follow suit and are catchy worship anthems that would sound great added into any Sunday morning service. To close, Sarah returns to the piano for the more soulful “How Much You Love,” ending Midnight Sun in a beautiful, intimate, and worshipful way (“Father and friend, with You I am safe in the same hands / That painted the stars when time began / Help me to understand / How much You love me / How You’re always thinking of me”).

In 2005, Kelly’s then label mate John Reuben sought out to create two different projects — one more cynical and dark, and one more upbeat and happy. The label decided to have Reuben combine the best tracks from both albums and The Boy Vs The Cynic was the end result. While I wouldn’t say that Kelly has such a broad spectrum of themes on Midnight Sun, the album does feel a little bit like two different projects that were combined into one ten-track journey. Kelly proves she can write songs for the church with the best of them, however, her greatest strength seems to lie with the songs that are personal, intimate, and out of the box. Midnight Sun represents the many layers and versatility of Sarah Kelly as an artist and worshipper, but simultaneously feels more like a compilation than a cohesive album.

Still, by the time her the strings fade out on the album’s piano ballad finale, Sarah Kelly has done it again. As she continues to bridge the gap between the over-saturated sameness that makes up the majority of what we consider “worship music” today with art and heart, Midnight Sun offers a little bit for everyone. Maybe Kelly’s fourth effort may have benefited from a more focused and consistent approach, it’s difficult to say, but anyone looking for something fresh and thought-provoking, with the likelyhood of stirring the heart towards worship, Midnight Sun is well worth giving a listen and sharing with the Church.

Review by jesusfreakhideout.com

Reviews & Opinions:

“My precious Sarah, when I listen to Live Every Love Song, it reaches into my soul and inspires me to rise to every occasion and to appreciate every gift of each new day, which leaves less room to complain and worry. God bless the release of your new album Midnight Sun! love you!” – her friend and sister, Kyle

“What a beautiful song, I love your voice. God is so good, His gifts are without repentance. Thank you for exercising your gift. I am interested in having you come to our little area. email me with info . My husband and I organize retreats which I would like you for a womans retreat, we also organize concerts anyway please let me know.” - Rebecca

“Just listening to the short clip, I can already tell this song speaks to my heart, right where I’m at. I lost my dad, my best friend, 3 days before Christmas ‘09 and it was sudden, tragic. I did not have the chance to reach him, to say goodbye…and the devastation, grief and loss surely felt like I was swept away… Eight months later…I can honestly say, I am beginning to let God breathe new life through this broken heart. Here I am…with some distance between now and then…the dust in some ways is settling…and those chorus words hit me strong…I’m still standing on my knees. Thank you JEsus for not giving up on me…for holding me quietly through this pain… And again, as always, thank you Sarah for your gutt honesty–it inspires me to hang on, to fight…” - Natalie

Track Listing:

1. Live Every Love Song
2. Standing On My Knees
3. Midnight Sun
4. Stolen My Heart
5. Good Day
6. Lift You Up
7. Day And Night
8. Always Undeniable
9. Surely Goodness
10. How Much You Love