Audrey Assad's The House You're Building - First Impressions!

Audrey Assad's debut album is an amazing and delightful effort that will undoubtedly please fans of indie pop/rock singers like Colbie Calliat and Corrine Bailey Rae.

Another notable comparison that's made is of her to Brooke Fraser (still trying to get that new album!).

But where Fraser's lyrics are usually more contemporary and only subtly religious, Assad's writing tends towards overt spirituality (You say I am blessed because of this / So I choose to believe / As I carry this cross / You'll carry me - from the song Carry Me) and in my opinion, that makes for better listening because I don't have to spend time trying to decipher what she's actually trying to say in the midst of all the metaphors and other obscure literary devices.

She wields her pen like a paintbrush, drawing pictures that inexorably materialize in your head as backdrops for a story or message that she's telling. See specimen A - Show Me - the beautifully emotional song that marks the end of the album:

You could plant me like a tree beside a river

You could tangle me in soil and let my roots run wild

And I would blossom like a flower in the desert

But for now just let me cry

You could raise me like a banner in a battle

Put victory like a fire behind my shining eyes

I would drift like falling snow over the embers

But for now just let me lie

Bind up these broken bones

Mercy, bend and breathe me back to life

But not before You show me how to die

Set me like a star before the morning

Like a song that steals the darkness from a world asleep

And I'll illuminate the path You've laid before me

But for now just let me be

Let me go like a leaf upon the water

let me brave the wild currents flowing to the sea

And I will disappear into a deeper beauty

But for now just stay with me

God for now just stay with me

Couple amazing lyrics like that with a myriad of brilliant arrangements - ranging from driving rock to quiet piano and strings - not forgetting her amazing range and rich vocal tones, and you have an album you're not going to tire of easily.

In sum, this album sounds like a debut album should - carefully crafted, meticulously recorded and presented as a labour of love. While I work on my final thoughts about this album, check out another of the standout tracks from the album, Restless.