Thursday, January 02, 2014

Band Review: Awakening


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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