By: Brady Lavin
Let’s play a word association game. Ready, GO! Christian rock. What was the first thought to pop into your noggin? Creed? Switchfoot? An opportunity for incredible profits?
Christian music is generally aimed at people who are Christian. Every now and then there’s a Christian rock act that busts through to mainstream pop music success, a la Creed and Switchfoot. These acts success really exemplifies how the mainstream listeners often base their enjoyment of music not on the lyrics, but the musical content. Back when they were popular, the majority of P.O.D.’s fans weren’t devout Christians, but hard rock fans.
Never Say When is an Illinois-based Christian pop-folk-rock band that formed while attending Western Illinois University, and they definitely have the potential to reach the level of success of a Switchfoot or P.O.D. Their self-titled debut album just came out, and despite being an unsigned act, everything about it is as professional as it gets. The sound quality, sophisticated arrangements and the very creative CD and booklet art are what one would expect from a major label release, not from a group of college kids on a shoe-string budget.
Musically, Never Say When is contagiously tasteful. There’s nothing groundbreaking about their folksy style, but rarely have I ever heard such a hard, tight groove accompanying tender folk melodies. Guitarist and singer Nathan Holland never plays anything incredibly technical, but he is perpetually “in the pocket” as jazzers would say. A couple of the grooviest tracks are “Praise You” and “So Close,” which are fun to listen to and happening enough to get a room full of folks up on the dance floor.
What raises this album from the level of good to great is the vocal combination of Nathan and Becky Holland, the band’s two, recently married, main singers. Nathan’s John Mayer-ish voice is sure to make the girls swoon, and Becky sings as sexily as it is possible to when singing lines like “I will praise you”. When the two talented vocalist sing harmony together it’s the perfect mix of timbres, especially on tracks like “So Close” and “Painful Eyes”.
Even with the grooviness and vocal harmony, the listener needs to be grabbed by something fresh with each new track to keep their interest. Many bands fail to do this, sticking to their standard instrumentation and style, but Never Say When does a great job of using other instruments and rhythmic feels to maintain the listener’s attention. A banjo makes a couple appearances, along with a few switches from the customary acoustic guitar to electric, with ear grabbing results.
Even for the music fan that doesn’t typically get down to Christian music, Never Say When has a lot to offer. Definitely in the realm of pop music, they channel the likes of John Mayer and Switchfoot, but create their own unique sound that is full to the brim with optimism.
“Soon you’ll feel better, be on your way again. And the sky will smile and all will be corrected.”
Links
Never Say When Homepage
Never Say When at CD Baby
