Genre: Contemporary
Worship Music, CEDM.
Record label: Sparrow/Jesus Culture Music
 |
| Jesus Culture's 2016 album "Let It Echo" cover art |
Introduction
Jesus Culture is a community of worship
leaders and musicians whose heart is to see a generation impacted by encounters
with the presence of God. Originating out of the Jesus Culture movement which
began in 1999, they recorded their first album in 2005 at their youth and young
adult conference in Redding, CA. Since then Jesus Culture has released 9 annual
live albums and over 20 solo artist albums. Jesus Culture leads worship both at
their local church in Sacramento, California and abroad through conference events and
worldwide tours.
Jesus
Culture has sold more than one million albums worldwide since their debut
project in 2005 and have garnered more than 3.8 million followers on social
media and over 34.5 million views on YouTube. Jesus Culture is focused on
equipping a generation to transform society by bringing people into an
encounter with God’s love through worship and discipleship. The songs they
release capture the heart of the movement. (TheChristianBeat)
In summary (all you may need to know
about this album):
- Let
It Echo
is the 9th live album by Jesus Culture and was released in
January this year.
- It is the first album recorded live
at Jesus Culture’s church in Sacramento, California, USA.
- It debuted on four Billboard charts
including the Top Albums (Top 20), Digital Albums (Top 12), Christian
Albums (No. 2) and the Top 200 charts (Top 40).
- The group will be heading out on
the "Let It Echo" tour beginning on June 22.
- This week, the group announced the release of “Let It Echo Unplugged”, which will
release on June 17 (right before their tour) featuring new, acoustic
recordings from the January project.
Track listing
The album features 12 tracks and
it is 73 minutes 1 second long. Here is the song listing in the album with the lead singer:
- Never Gonna Stop Singing (Kim Walker-Smith)
- Fierce (Chris Quilala)
- Alive In You (Kim Walker-Smith)
- In the River (Kim Walker-Smith)
- Let It Echo (Heaven Fall) (Chris Quilala)
- God With Us (Bryan Torwalt)
- Miracles (Chris Quilala)
- Set Me Ablaze (Katie Torwalt)
- Everything and Nothing Else (Chris McClarney)
- In Your Presence (Kim Walker-Smith)
- I Stand in Awe (Chris Quilala)
- Power in the Cross (Derek Johnson)
Album art, album title, song titles
and lyrical content
I love
something about the album cover art: simple, intuitive and “echoing” the
message from the lowlands, to the city and into the valleys and mountaintops. The
effect of the echo seems to cover more ground as the sound moves further.
Considering
that this project includes other members of the Jesus Culture team who have not
been on board for several previous projects since 2012’s Emerging Voices, I think much thought was put in getting the album
and song titles. They are precise and not misleading, and this makes it excellent.
Also, it is good to note that
there is something prophetic about this newly crafted set of songs in Let It Echo. They are not your average
forgettable ditties that come and go. Rather, they are the products of
hearts that have lean in to what the Holy Spirit has to say to the
church. They articulate truths God has been wanting to speak to churches
in ways that can stir the currents of revival. "Let It Echo"
was not an easy album to make for this worshipping community. Rather, the
album was birthed out of an arduous labor of pain, struggles, and
uncertainties.
Take for
instance the bittersweet moment that is felt when at the end of the song 'God With Us' Bryan Torwalt explains how the
song came
about: Bryan and his
wife had lost their baby. This song story is also shared by Chris Quilala and his wife who lost their baby boy in 2014 and it inspired the writing of the song 'Miracles' as sung by Chris Quilala. Both Bryan and Chris so poignantly
point out that these songs are victories for them. They speak about
believing that God is still the God of miracles. They reaffirm our belief that
God is still on the throne and is still able to do all things, regardless of
what our situations look like.
Music style and acceptability
Let It
Echo is
definitely the most polished set of live albums released by Jesus Culture yet.
The twelve new songs sound straight of a studio with a tight modern/rock sound,
led by both Kim Walker-Smith and McClarney, along with familiar voices like Chris Quilala and Bryan & Katie Torwalt.
It
represents a solid contemporary worship sound with songs that resound the urge
of “echoing” the goodness and faithfulness of God in all situations.
It features
both a contemporary worship sound together with an EDM undercurrent of
elongated electronic beats, buoyant rhythms, and a brisk tempos.
As
mentioned in the summary above, “Let It
Echo” has received positive response from across the worship music lovers, performed well on top music charts and reviews upon reviews reiterate that it is one of the best albums done by
Jesus Culture from since Come Away (2010).
Audibility, fluidity, quality and
flow of music
The album flows well from song to
song and the production is well managed. This is because (I think) several
artists are featured on the album and that unlike their other worship recordings, these
songs were recorded individually, during their various worship services, on
different Sundays at their 1year old Jesus Culture Church in Sacramento,
California.
The
process really helped to remove the layers of expectation that a congregation
might put on, when attending a worship concert, and instead brings us a
recording that shows a more mature Jesus Culture ministering in a more intimate
setting. The Jesus Culture team describes this offering to be one
that captures the heart of a community seeking after Jesus with a desire
to know Him more and to see this passion spread from cities to nations.
Kim
Walker-Smith, as expected, gets to be the featured lead vocalist on the lion's
share of the record. She leads 4 out of the 12 cuts. And unlike
other worship teams that often delegate the softer ballads to their female
leads, Walker-Smith takes on 3 power-chargers.
Per-song Reviews
We
welcome back Kim Walker-Smith’s powerful and emotive vocal with a happy dance
as she opens up the album with the catchy ‘Never Gonna Stop Singing’.
The song confirms that the collective has grown and no longer only caters
for the younger listener. The track reminded me how much I appreciate
Walker-Smith’s husky voice and effortless ability to sweep you up and take you
along as she praises the King.
Chris
Quilala is welcomed back with the powerful ‘Fierce’ – a mid-tempo, giant of a
song that declares “Your love is fierce!” My favorite moment
on the track is its bridge that takes the song down to a
chant saying: “You chase me down/You seek me out/How could I be
lost if you have called me found.” This is one of the many tracks on
the album that are congregation friendly and will probably make its way onto
many set lists. The same can be said for the catchy ‘Im alive’, which has an appealing
chorus that will have you repeating it over and over.
Popular
praise track, ‘In the River’, has fast become a favorite worldwide, with
many churches already adding it to their Sunday set lists. The energetic, drum
driven, freedom song has an easy to learn melody that simply declares “We
come alive in the river!”
Other
notable cuts include ‘Power In The Cross’ led by Derek
Johnson (a single from his album of last year), ‘God With Us’ by Bryan Torwalt – a worship ballad complemented
by Torwalt’s rich vocals; and title track ‘Let It Echo,’ which is led by Quilala. All the
three songs have the type of likable melodies and simple but moving lyrics
that Jesus Culture has become known for.
The
highlight on this album is a stunner of a song by vocal powerhouse, Katie
Torwalt, called ‘Set Me Ablaze’. Torwalt croons and bellows with passion as she
sings about having a desire for more of God. “Set me ablaze/with a
single obsession!” This is one to listen to!
All in
all, this shows that this is probably is one of the Jesus Culture albums
yet!
Conclusion
“Let It Echo” may just be my favorite worship
album of the year if Casting Crowns, Hillsong and the rest who
have announced to be releasing new music soon won’t hit me with more greater
stuff by the end of the year.
Keep singing.
Bonface Morris.
