Abandon: Control

Abandon: Control

Abandon’s newest CD Control is a bit different that their first album Searchlights. Though both have the same main focus, Christ, Control has a more tech-ish feeling to it but not so that it seems like it’s a different band, the changes are more subtle, it’s still 100% Abandon. One thing I love about the hard copy that you don’t get through digital download is on their artwork when you first open the CD it had the definition on control which sheds some light why they named their CD that. CON-TROL –noun – the power to influence or direct people’s behavior or the course of events: Who’s in control here?
Abandon is a rock band from San Antonio, Texas. Their success has grown substantially since their release of Searchlights. They’ve been nominated for a Dove award and have had a few of their tracks featured on TV spots, including a commercial for Food Network and EPSNs ESPY awards. But it’s not about their track record it’s about the music. This five person band includes Drums. Piano, Guitars, and Bass in their music and uses each of those God given talents and more to create catchy beats and songs that can stay stuck inside your head. And I have to encourage you, if you have the chance to see these guys in concert then go! They put on such an amazing show! I thought one of the coolest things about their live show was how everyone got a chance to be “showcased.” It’s easy for the singer and guitar players to jump around and draw attention to their part of the stage but the drummer is always stuck in the back and maybe trying to do a few drum stick flips here and there. But when I saw Abandon, during one of their songs the drummer and the guitar switched places and Dave the drummer grabbed a snare drum and played an intense little piece at the front of the stage. I liked it, it was unexpected.

Anyway, back to Control. This CD consists of 13 songs one of which was on their last CD. “Hero” has become a pretty popular worship song especially in youth groups. I love when it’s played at my youth group. So the CD features 12 new songs including the song they named their tour after, Feel It In Your Heart. This song is the one that introduces their slightly new vibe and it’s really catchy, I caught myself singing the chorus after the first time I heard it. It’s a really interesting song talking about knowing Christ truly and not just going through the motions. I think the best part that really gets you thinking is when he sings: You can say, say all the right things, But in the end what does it all mean? Yeah, you can say, say all the right things, But in the end what does it mean? It kinda reminds me of Matthew West’s “The Motions” where he talks about going through the motions of a Christians life but it doesn’t mean anything when all you do is wear the mask. We can say “good” things and do “good” things but God doesn’t just want that. He wants you to dedicate your life to Him and those good things will come out because you give your life to Him. That last two lines sung go: All the world listening. It’s a great reminder for me, all the world is listening, even if they don’t want to they will notice so I need to live my life daily as Christ would have me to.
Your Love Goes On is one of my favorites just because it reminds me how even though I screw up He is there and won’t leave and His love is unconditional! Who else could ever love like that? We try to fill our lives with stuff we “love” and people we “love” but can that stuff love us back? Do those people always love us back? Unconditionally? We can never fill that void with anything or anybody but Him. And He’s deperate to show us that, He loves us unconditionally and it wait for us to love Him back. Though we’re not perfect and won’t be able to love Him like He loves us (which is crazy to think about because people have a desire to be loved how they love or more or else why waste time on them) we can be desperate to be near Him. I encourage you to really listen to this song and even look up the lyrics to it, it’s so good!
I could go on and on about every single song but you probably don’t have time to read all that and I have to go make dinner now. But I encourage you to listen to the entire CD, the lyrics make to message so clear just take the time to really listen to them.

My Epic: Yet

My Epic: Yet

My Epic is another one of those bands that really focuses on the lyrics and the message that they are trying to get across. Substance over style. I love that because they choose substance of what they’re telling people about, which is something positive, something worth singing about, over the style of their music (which also happens to be amazing). I’ve seen that the world likes to choose style over substance; I’ve heard many songs (especially hit singles) where the music is good or has good beat but the lyrics mean nothing, are depressing (many songs are about brake ups & anger), or just don’t help your thought life (they influence thoughts that can affect you negatively. Many of which have sexual implications). That’s why I encourage you to support My Epic through purchasing their music.

My Epic is a rock band from Charlotte, NC. My Epic consists of Aaron Stone who plays the guitar, Matt Doran who rocks the drums, and Jeremiah Austin who owns bass. What they had to say about their newest album: Yet (excerpt from bandsonfire.com):  "YET is about the distance between that which has already been traveled, overcome, and discarded, and the journey still to come. It is about the evidence, even now, of what will be. It is about a God who is so brilliantly and blindingly big that our rational minds can only be left to cower at His depths. He is so magnificent that we cannot yet look Him in the eye and yet He desires to live within us. It is about the hope that arises when one truly realizes that we will be completely undone when we stand before Him and yet He loves us still and makes us what we could never be on our own.”  

This epic CD starts out with the song Author that basically talks about giving it all to Christ. I was first introduced to My Epic through this song that my local radio station, Static Radio, was playing as a culture shock. I remember that the chorus really stuck out to me “Every good thing, every true thing, beautiful in me is You, beautiful in me is You.” I loved that because they didn’t beat around the bush or imply anything for you to figure out on your own, they stated it plain and clear. We are sinful people by nature and the only pure, good or beautiful thing can only come from Christ. I think those lyrics speak for themselves.
Lower Still, that is an intense song. It basically covers all of Jesus’ life from his birth in a manger to his death and resurrection for us. It talks about how low Christ had to go to pay the price for our wrongs. And even when it seems he couldn’t go any lower, after his death on the cross, he has to go lower still. He’s buried, just like anybody else would be buried after they die. But death couldn’t hold Him and He rose again just as He said He would. And death can no longer have power over us as long as we’re His. Basically it’s the gospel message in 5:47 J
The entire CD is amazing both musically and lyrically. This three person band does an amazing job of organizing their instruments to produce sounds that are enjoyable to listen to. I love the lyrics that they chose to write, they are wholesome and worthy to listen to. I could keep going on about all their songs but I think I would probably lose some of you in the length of this post so I’ll just choose one more to elaborate on. After going through the remaining 8 songs my mind kept going back to Ashes. The first verse is referring to Moses and his encounter with the burning bush (Exodus 3). The second verse which talks about the houses (Matthew 7:24-28) gives the glory to the Builder. This is something we need to strive to do every day. Because we, the structure, if His are greater than the others but not because of anything we have done but because of how the Builder made us new, made us greater, it’s because of what He did. And we’re not going to make it through the storms unless we allow Him to remake us, to come into our life and make us new. We’ll be that house upon the sand that will be washed away. “I'm not gonna make it if You don't remake me. No, I won't ever make it unless You remake me.” The last part of the song is a cry out to God to help refine and make us perfect, to burn bright. I love that last part, “to burn bright but not away.” It’s easy to let that flame dwindle, but with His help we can burn bright every day and keep it constant so that it won’t burn into nothing.

Thanks for reading!

Lyrics

Download Lower Still from Facedown Record's sampler FREE!

Showbread: Who Can Know It?

Showbread

Who Can Know It?

show·bread [shoh-bred] 

noun Judaism.

— n
	Old Testament  the loaves of bread placed every Sabbath onthe table beside the  altar of incense in the tabernacle or templeof ancient Israel (Exodus 25:30; Leviticus  24:5--9)
[on the model of German Schaubrot,  a translation of the Greekartoi enōpioi, a  translation of the Hebrew lechem pānīm, literally: bread of the presence]

I first was introduced to Showbread through TVU back in 2008 and honestly they freaked me out. I don’t remember if “The Pig” was the first music video of theirs I watched but it was one of the first. And back in 2008 I was wasn’t into much beyond pop, pop/rock, and the softer side of rock so I was turned off about 10 seconds in when they started scream singing. It also didn’t help that they were thrashing themselves around the room and wearing blue makeup masks, I just didn’t get that. As the video went on (while the mute was on) it shows girls in a butcher shop where there are pools of blood (and if you don’t know me, I have a huge phobia of blood) and are putting makeup on as pig faces flash across their faces. It all seemed rather creepy to me and when I finally thought it was over and I unmuted it horrible squealing pig sounds were at the end. Needless to say Showbread was one of those bands that I had labeled as likely never to listen to.

When they released their next music video “The Pig (Anorexia)” it was premiered on TVU’s Ten Most Wanted (and if I wanted to see who got the number 1 spot I’d have to watch Showbread’s video). I thought it was cool how they did doubles of themselves to play each part (you’d have to watch it to understand) and I liked how there wasn’t any screaming…so far. Bout a minute in the screaming started. Not to mention the piano player showed his busted eye to camera (why did their videos have to have blood in it?). Well because of the first experience I had with them I automatically judged them/it. But as it kept playing week after week I gave it a chance and watched it with the volume on and really paid attention to it. It actually is a really cool video, throughout it this girl is trying to strangle out “the pig” part of her life (and when you watch both videos it makes more sense). All in all, since then I have become a fan of Showbread and now own (probably one of their calmest albums): Who Can Know It?

The album is not as intense as their previous albums which might disappoint you, as it did my sister, or might make you more inclined to listen to them. I like their more intense stuff as well as this album, though Who Can Know It? is sadly the only album I actually own. Showbread really likes to make a point with their lyrics, which is something I really enjoy because the lyrics actually have wholesome meaning, and they have done an amazing job in doing that with this album. The first song on the album A Man With A Hammer is probably the boldest song on the album, so be prepared to be shocked. It goes through telling mini stories of people; a man murdering his family, a wife sleeping with another man, a woman getting an abortion, and a girl getting raped. But the song points out that anyone can be saved, even if you’ve done all those things listed above. And the end of the song the lyrics go like this:

Thieves and liars/Murderers and whores/Homosexuals, extortionists/Pedophiles, abortionists/Junkies and rapists/Adulterers and terrorists/Every woman, every man/All ransomed by your love for them
I love that part because it states clear as day that Christ loves everybody. He loves everyone no matter what you’ve done or why you think He could never love you, He does love you enough to die for you. It is so crazy to think about and it just blows my mind! This song, though bluntly shocking, is probably one of my favorites by them because I as reminded of Christ unconditional love.
Deliverance talks about how we need Christ to deliver us from sins that make its way into our everyday life. Some of which are selfishness, anger, trust we place in things other than Him, and pride. My favorite part in this song goes like: 

The Jesus that we're shouting in our neighbors' face/Looks nothing the Jesus that you are
Heavy is the soul that I've been carrying/So I am forever giving of my source/Take from me this weight that I could never bear/And I will follow you forevermore
That first part, which is found in the first verse, reminds me that every day, if we claim to be Christians, we are reflecting Christ to others. But are we reflecting Him truly or are people seeing us claiming to be Christians (which means little Christ’s) one minute but not acting like it the next minute (which happens at times because we’re not perfect, and that proves that we need the saving grace of God, but we should strive to mirror him truly every day). The chorus talks about how we can’t do it on our own, we need His help, daily we need him to fill us up with Him and take the heavy load that we try to carry on our own. But remember that He can’t take out load unless we give it to Him. If He takes our heavy load and we take His light load we can strive to follow Him continually.
You’re Like A Taxi is a song about death, but more for someone who has been saved through the blood of Jesus and it now going to heaven. The chorus: gone is not the word for someone who finally found his way back home is repeated 9 times and if something it repeated that many times I think they’re really trying to make a point. Back home. This earth is not our home, it’s more like our tent. We’re only here temporary and if you know Christ as your Lord and Savior then Heaven will become your eternal home! How awesome it that! I know I’m excited for it! I hope when I find my way home nobody will say I’m gone.
Time To Go, I could unpack a lot on that song but seeing as this review has already grown kinda long I’ll spare you and just focus on one little bit.
The world says that you are someone you are not/To know you better I've had to forget what I've been taught/And if the whole world decides to turn its back on you/I'll be right here/'cause they don't know you the way that I do
The world always has to pass off their opinion of what they think of God and almost everything else in the world but why should we trust what they have to say? They’re almost always contradicting themselves. But the Bible never contradicts its self and that’s where we should get our information on God and the things he says. I think those lyrics say it perfectly, if we want to learn more about God we need to forget what the world has taught us or else the two will continue to conflict with each other which could harm us spiritually. As a follower of Christ we need to stick to Him even if the world turns its back on Him and persecutes Him and those who follow Him. If we truly know Him and continually strive to learn more about Him we’ll be right there with Him (as He will be with us) through it all because we know Him and what he’s done for us better than the world does. The world might be a fan of Jesus because they want to see His miracles like magic tricks but when He lets them know what they’d have to go through the fans are weeded out and only the followers remain (read John 6, verse 66 tells of how His fans deserted Him).

I really enjoy this CD and I encourage you to add it to your collection also. 


You can download the album free here. 


Lyrics (external link)

Family Force 5’s “Get On Outta Here” single

Lyrics (will open external link)

So if you’ve ever listened to Family Force 5 this song is defiantly their style; different and crazy are probably the best words to describe it. This single “Get On Outta Outta Here” takes place in a street fighting setting. Someone is getting their face owned (probably by one of FF5’s members). This song has a good beat and is nice to listen to though it can get old. I listened to it 5 times in a row to really get the lyrics and the meaning of the song and then couldn't listen to it anymore, I had to put all their music on shuffle (and am currently listening to “Topsy Turvy” J). Honestly I would say that this song doesn't contain any positive or encouraging lyrics but that doesn't mean it’s a bad song. It just another one of those songs that was made for fun or maybe even for another one of their crazy music videos.