Can you say “sophomore slump”?<\/p>\n
Sure, you can. I knew you could.<\/p>\n
But you had better NOT say it about the Smalltown Poets’
\nsophomore disc,
\nListen Closely<\/i>. There wouldn’t be a word of truth about it.
\nThis disc is better than their 1997 debut in every way – and that
\ndebut was one pretty darn good disc.<\/p>\n
\nListen Closely<\/i> far exceeds their self-titled debut both
\nmusically and lyrically — and that bodes well for their future and
\nwhat they will be able to do. The songs here are better defined.
\nThe lyrics deeper and yet more accessible. Musically, this is one
\ntalented group of guys.<\/p>\n
Buoyed by the relentlessly upbeat first single “Gloria,” this
\ndisc will be playing all over Christian radio stations (and some
\nsecular ones if they have any taste at all) all summer.<\/p>\n
Exuberant praise drips from this song’s lyrics, while it also
\ninstructs listeners that the best thing they can do is live what
\nthey believe:<\/p>\n
“Glory to God\/I want to make what I’ve been feeling show\/And
\nI’ve been living with specific boundary lines\/Been given warning
\nsigns\/It comes down to me\/ Singing Gloria\/Living Gloria\/And the
\nlight so shines that everyone will see…”<\/p>\n
The temptation for popular CCM bands is to water down their
\nmessage in hopes of attracting general market acceptance. The Poets
\ncannot be charged on that account. The lyrics here unapologetically
\nspeak to their Christian faith. Whether in the disc opener, “Call
\nMe Christian,” or the call to peaceful living “The Gospel Is
\nPeace,” or the closing “One of These Days” the Poets sing about
\nfaith in general and their own faith in particular.<\/p>\n
The Poets are: Michael Johnston, lead vocals, guitar; Miguel
\nDeJesus, bass, vocals; Kevin Breuner, lead guitar; Danny Stephens,
\nkeyboards, vocals; and Byron Goggin, drums.<\/p>\n
Johnston, Stephens and Goggin had all played together in various
\nbands since high school – the other two were added in 1996. All the
\nband members contribute to songs that appear on the album.<\/p>\n
The writing on this disc is honest – sometimes painfully so.
\nAfter the release of their debut, the Poets rocketed to instant
\nsuccess. With that success – as with any success – came the
\nflatterers — and possible distractions. In “New Man” Johnston and
\nDeJesus write about that phenomenon:<\/p>\n
“Flatterers can fill a room as readily as this\/The devil goes to
\ndinner ‘midst their bliss\/Following the need will lead me farther
\nfrom truth’s well\/Then only to be filled with what I miss\/I was
\nfull of everything my eyes put on this plate\/Full of joy I’m
\nneeding less of late”<\/p>\n
The song is about redemption as well – understanding that
\nmankind really has nothing of value to present to God. But, by
\naccepting His forgiveness, the Poets write, all can become new
\ncreations.<\/p>\n
The Poets titled their new disc
\nListen Closely<\/i> for many good reasons. Sometimes their lyrics
\ncan be a bit symbolic, poetic (hence the name), but they also
\ndidn’t want their fans just enjoying the disc. They want them to
\nlisten closely and probe the words of the songs, focusing on what
\nGod may be saying to them.<\/p>\n
And here is where the second disc exceeds the first: the lyrics
\nare not as obtuse. There’s less symbolic poetry and more lyricism.
\nTo be sure, some of this works on many different levels, but that’s
\na good thing. Fortunately, most of the songs work well on the basic
\nfirst listen approach, as well.<\/p>\n
One song on the disc, “Hold It Up To The Light,” encourages
\nlisteners to take the opportunities that come into their lives and
\nhold them up to “the Light” of Christ and let Him guide them:<\/p>\n
“I said ‘God will you bless this decision\/I’m scared, is my life
\nat stake?’\/But I know, if You gave me a vision\/Would I never have
\nreason to use my faith?\/Now as soon as I’m moving – my choice is
\ngood\/This way comes through right where I prayed that it
\nwould.”<\/p>\n
From the quality and message of this disc, it seems clear that
\nthe Poets did just that with
\nListen Closely<\/i> – and God did bless their decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":27325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7261],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-38690","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-smalltown-poets","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38690"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}