If
Jared Anderson wanted his audience to figure out where his faith comes from by
listening to his latest project of that very title, he just might have fallen
short. While the album is filled with solid, positive songs of worship, it
suffers from a lack of depth, creativity and originality. Cliché lyrics are
rife throughout each track: “Your love is
better than life”; “I want to be with
You where You are”; “All I want is
you…,” for example. And where the lyrics do become somewhat less familiar,
they become somewhat stranger: “I’ve
slayed the dragons like immortal Frodo Baggins…”
That’s not to say that there are no
strong points to the album. It truly does deliver several statements of faith,
obedience and a desire to be in God’s presence. But the unfortunate lack of
contrast—from the real, tangible struggles of life to the more intangible
desires of the heart—makes it somewhat unconvincing.
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Musically, the album doesn’t break
any new ground. The chord patterns are largely predictable, and the production
is solid, yet underwhelming. On more than one track, listeners might find
themselves trying to place where they’ve heard that particular lick, rhythm or
melody before.
For sure, the faithful heart of
Jared Anderson comes through on this album. But the musical quality indelibly
suffers from a lack of serious soul-searching and risk-taking. Anderson may
know where his faith comes from, but he fails to relate it clearly on this
project.
- Caroline Lusk