Champion

It's easy to brush this album aside as yet another Jesus Culture record. Sure enough Bryan and Katie Torwalt's latest release """"Champion"""" doesn't break the template that have moulded the releases coming out of Jesus Culture and their ensuing worship acts. In fact, the songs here are what you would expect from Jesus Culture. Bearing the same imprints of keyboard-driven stately worship numbers, many of the songs start off slowly before exploding into some soul stirring moments. On their own, they sound wonderful but bunch them altogether the songs are blunted into an endless flow of worship pandering. This is not Bryan and Katie Torwalt's problem but it seems to be the prevailing trend across many worship acts these days. This is not to say that """"Champion"""" has no redeeming value. Rather, if you are patient enough to actually give this record a few careful listens, a few gems emerged. """"Let There be Light,"""" the album's lead single, is a co-write between the couple and Mia Fields and Hank Bentley. A gorgeous conflagration of Biblical thought (namely Genesis 1 and John 1), the lyrics speaks of how God can speak light into our darkest circumstances.

Beckah Shae really impressed me with this album. Her songs are all based on Bible passages which is a great idea. Also, her songs are SO CATCHY! It's been a week since I listened to it last, and I'm still singing her songs. It's a good thing, though. The songs are amazing, so I still haven't grown sick of them. I personally hope that Koorong start supplying her earlier albums because Beckah Shae is awesome!