Coming off the critical and commercial success of 2015\u2019s Saints And Sinners<\/i>, Matt Maher had two choices: stake out bold new ground in the notoriously risk-free waters of Christian Contemporary Music or stick to the formula. With Echoes<\/i>, Maher clearly chose the latter, resulting in an album that lives up to its name \u2013 it is a synonymous but diminished version of its forerunner.<\/p>\n
Christian radio listeners will have already heard a couple of the tracks, \u201cYour Love Defends Me\u201d and \u201cWhat a Friend.\u201d Both are bouncy rockers light on theological substance, the kind of pop worship that keeps Christian DJs and guitar-carrying youth ministers afloat. In both songs, Maher dwells on the imminence of Christ, melodically preaching a message that God is for you in a hostile world, an encouraging if shallow word to listeners.<\/p>\n
Having addressed God\u2019s imminence, Maher also addresses his eminence with \u201cHoly\u201d and \u201cAwake My Soul (A Thousand Tongues),\u201d two more tunes made to be played in contemporary worship settings. Neither song breaks new ground lyrically or musically, but the hooks are there, and worship leaders have surely added these to their repertoires since the album\u2019s release. \u201cClean Heart\u201d and the slower \u201cThe Cross Forever Speaks\u201d will be equally at home in the sanctuaries of most contemporary churches.<\/p>\n
The intended highlight of the album is \u201cJust As I Am,\u201d which updates a beloved 1835 hymn for a modern audience. The trouble with this song is not in its execution \u2013 which, to be clear, is excellent \u2013 but its lack of originality. When placed side by side with 2015\u2019s \u201cBecause He Lives,\u201d arguably Maher\u2019s biggest hit, one cannot help but notice that he has followed exactly the same formula, hoping to strike lightning twice. Updated hymn? Check. Piano as lead instrument? Check. Bridge which quotes the original hymn verbatim? Check. Even the musical structure is virtually identical. On its own, \u201cJust As I Am\u201d is a fine song, but this perhaps-too-cynical reviewer has trouble hearing anything but an echo of a better one.<\/p>\n
Instead, my favorite song by a mile is \u201cThe Least Of These,\u201d which borrows imagery from Jesus\u2019s words in Matthew 25 to show how on the cross Jesus was the ultimate fulfillment of his command to not only love but even become \u201cthe least of these.\u201d In a time when intolerance is on the rise, Maher refuses to let Jesus be co-opted: \u201cWhen love became a refugee \/ he became my refuge \/ when love became a prisoner \/ he set me free\u2026when he stole my heart between two thieves \/ that\u2019s when love became the least of these.\u201d<\/p>\n
An album full of bold, poetic messages like this one might have alienated some of Maher\u2019s radio audience, but it unquestionably would have been more interesting than Echoes<\/i>. There\u2019s potential here, to be sure, and no bad music. But one can\u2019t help fear that the name of the final track is indicative of Maher\u2019s musical direction: \u201cAs Good As It Gets.\u201d If you want to hear some new worship music that\u2019ll fit comfortably in a playlist with Hillsong, PASSION, and the rest, Echoes<\/i> delivers. But if you\u2019re looking for a bright light of originality in the all-too-vanilla world of CCM, you\u2019re better off digging into Maher\u2019s back catalogue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":33584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[10239],"rating":[5614],"class_list":["post-45405","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-matt-maher","rating-rating-c-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45405","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\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=45405"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=45405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}