New Life Church in Colorado Springs has been through some of the darkest and most difficult times a church could ever face. In Nov 2006, Pastor and church founder Ted Haggard was accused of paying a male escort for sex and also for using methamphetamine. He was dismissed from the role. In Dec 2007, a gunman opened fire in church while a service was going on, hitting four and killing two before committing suicide.
And yet, in the midst of such gruelling times, the church put out two excellent albums - My Saviour Lives and Counting On God - filled with faith-filled and faith-fuelled songs that declared their dependence on a never failing God.
You Hold It All is New Life Worship's latest offering, and while it doesn't quite pack the emotional punch that MSL and CoG did, it still retains the strong sense of faith that percolated the previous albums, and then some.
In addition to the insta-classic praise and worship anthems that New Life Worship is known for, several songs in this album have a distinctly prophetic edge - perhaps in tandem with the spiritual direction that the church is taking. Dry Bones takes reference from Ezekiel 37:1-14, where God places the prophet Ezekiel in a valley full of dry bones and commands him to prophesy life into them, and Captives Free begins with a reading of Luke 4:17-21.
There is no lack of great, congregational songs in this album - from the fiercely declarative This I Know, to the insanely catchy Lift The Name, to the quietly introspective Be Thou Exalted - these are songs that you'll find easy to worship along to.
What I really enjoy about New Life albums is how they just flow - not just in terms of arrangement, but in terms of the heart and the spirit of worship that is so tangible even in a recording. You get the sense that the team and the congregation are simply there to worship God - and not to put on a performance.
Brad Parsley (replacing his brother Ross Parsley, who went to start a new church - if I didn't tell you you wouldn't know the difference anyway, they sound and look that much alike) and the Desperation Band (Jon Egan, Jared Anderson and Glenn Packiam) are some of the best worship leaders and songwriters of our generation. I just can't emphasize enough how these worship leaders facilitate worship well - there's never a moment where it just sounds like karaoke - and I can think of quite a few other P&W albums where I got that feeling.
Here are a couple of standout tracks from the album - my favourite in particular being the supremely super awesome God Be Praised, which segues brilliantly into an old song Our God Reigns (if you're old enough to know the song, you're old).
Here's the link for God be Praised - unfortunately I can't embed the video here: http://youtu.be/Fd-JBnU5q5U?hd=1. Please do yourself a favour and go listen to the song!
In short, this is an album that you'll have no trouble worshipping along too. The CD went through at least 6 consecutive listens in my car, and even then, it felt fresh every single time.
If you're looking for an album that you'll not only enjoy musically, but will also challenge and stir you spiritually, then look no further than You Hold It All. Well-written songs that are beautifully arranged, and a pervasive sense of worship - these come together in a perfect package that you really shouldn't miss.
I feel like I'm rambling a bit - how do you distill such a powerful album into words? If you've got stories of how this album has affected you personally, drop us a mail and we'll post them on the site!
More reviews coming soon - I promise! =)
