I guess
Awakening is not a band in the general sense. After listening for a week, there
is still a lot that I could not say about them.
It started
with one follower, Calvin B. Welshans. He did not immediately register as a
musician, but then it became clear that he was, so I added him to the review
list. His profile links to an album by Awakening on iTunes, but it is not clear
that he plays on it. However, a different search did seem to establish that he
plays guitar, and I like what's he's doing with it:
The website
refers to them as media missionaries, so I suspect what is happening is that
different people participate in different recordings under the single umbrella,
and that is why there is so much variation, where sometimes it will sound like
fairly typical Christian music, sometimes more R & B or Hip Hop, and
sometimes even sound a little New Age, none of which would necessarily be
expected. ("Hands of God" on The Heart of Eternity varies a
lot just within the song.)
It would
probably not be fair to evaluate them quite like a regular band because of the
differences in background and in purpose. I thought about simply not doing a
review, but that didn't feel right either.
It may be representative
of everything that I could never find them easily on Spotify. I would search on
the band name, and find nothing. I would search on various song titles from the
iTunes link, and eventually find them, and then clicking on the band name I would
bring up a fairly extensive catalog, but it was always a struggle to even get
to where I could do the daily listening. It has been one of the most annoying
weeks over.
One problem
is that the music just isn't great. Having recently made the connection that
bands with really original sounds listen to a lot of different music and grow
to know it well, that does not feel like the case here. Everything is pretty
standard and repetitive, and it cloys.
I like a
fair amount of bands that aren't the most skilled or talented, but they love
what they do, and they make it sound right to get across what that song needs
to be. So, if " Awakening
Inc. exists to bring people to a place where they can see an expression of God
in the worship of those who have been born again" is what they are doing
working for that?
It is
probably a great experience for the people who participate; even if they are
not making the greatest music they are expressing themselves and their faith. I
hate to judge that harshly, but it's not working for me. Especially on the most
recent release, Won't Be Shaken, I get irritated. In my ears it sounds
like they are selling Christ like used car salesmen, and turning something that
should be reverent and sacred into a pep rally. And no, praise music with a
similar sound to "Let's Get It On" doesn't work for me either.
It may work
for other people - it probably does - but my overall impression is negative.
On the
other hand, I do feel a certain relief at being done with it, and I never would
have felt that burst of joy at turning it off if I had never listened at all.
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