Welcome to the New

""""Welcome to the New"""" is MercyMe's eighth studio record that follows in the heels of 2012 Billboard Christian no. 1 album """"The Hurt and Healer. """" Earlier indications seem to suggest that """"Welcome to the New' is poised to follow in the footsteps of their four preceding albums by camping again at the penthouse of the chart. Working this time with producers David Garcia and Ben Glover (TobyMac, Mandisa), the album is preceded by its lead single """"Shake. """" Not the same song as Neal McCoy's hit of the same titular,""""Shake"""" is a ball of fun that dispels the myth that Christianity is a party pooper. Rather, imbued with a throwback 70s rock n' roll charm, it's so infectious you can't help but sing along,""""You gotta shake, shake, shakeLike you're changed, changed, changedBrand new looks so good on youSo shake like you've been changed. """" \\r\\n\\r\\nMore celebratory praise of the blessedness of our new life in Christ is found in the album's title cut """"Welcome to the New. """" Joining in this party crowd are Bart Millard's firey vocals, some clappy electric drums and even the twitching sounds of a transistor radio that opens the cut. With an a cappella intro of the boys' layered harmonies on """"Greater,"""" for a moment you might think that MercyMe has gone all Southern Gospel. While the stripped-down pseudo-acoustic """"Flawless"""" rightly teaches us that the Cross of Jesus is more than just a historic event of the past.