LABEL: KINGSWAY
RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 23, 2011

“Shake the sterotypes” – Brian Johnson of Bethel Music.

hange is definitely in the air. Something genuinely exciting is taking place with worship. Conventions are being challenged; values are being reassessed. Worship music is coming alive. Worship is alive. The music is alive.  And Bethel Music is becoming a part of it.

Their last project “Be Lifted High” was decent. It had the required elements right down to the appropriate number of anthems. With excellent artists who sang solid songs, the album did little to displease its typical audience. So, the audacity of The Loft Sessions took me by surprise. It was not what I was expecting. It wasn’t the spin-off of some Hillsong-esque formulation that most worship groups tend to aspire to. This is not stadium-filling rock album. This was recorded in a loft.

Please note: the sound of banjos will be heard throughout the course of this record. In their shift away from the technical and move towards transparent, Bethel Music has embraced a much softer tone. Throughout “The Loft Sessions”, gentler sounds –violins, piano – are employed, vocals are left unadulterated and songs are allowed to gracefully fade away before another starts. Yet, the same talent that was evident in previous projects is manifest here. The simplicity of the album does not detract from its greatness. In fact, it enhances it.

The greatest asset of Bethel Music has always been the extraordinary wealth of brilliant artists they have. Jeremy Riddle and Brian Johnson bless us with some of their best songs written with some tight collaborations. The female vocals from Jenn Johnson’s vocals are faultless; Steffany Frizzle is similarly perfect.  In “My Dear” Hunter Thompson literally sent shivers up my back. The collective of old favourites and emerging talents was perfectly balanced for both artistic flair and theological soundness.

Although the whole album is a delight, “Come To Me” particularly stood out to me because of its message. Written in acknowledgment of the difficulties we constantly face, the song is God simply saying “Come”.  “Angels” is another treat, and the acoustic take included the extended version should be mandatory listening. The opener “One Thing Remains” has been heard on a few albums prior to “The Loft Sessions” but that line “Your love never fails / never gives up / it never runs out on me” has not lost its power.

There is no pumping bass on The Loft Sessions, no racy guitar work features despite its running length of almost an hour. It’s intimate in a way previous projects were not. “Fall Afresh” has become a personal prayer. And that’s the beauty of the album, you engage and worship as you listen. There is nothing on the album that cannot be replicated in your loft or living room … or church.

Bethel Music has reminded me of something that I’d forgotten. I can reclaim my ability to be surprised by a worship group. Predictable is no more the default setting. That’s not to say the album is flawless, the inclusion of one or two more upbeat hits wouldn’t have gone amiss. I also would have loved to have heard more of the Jesus Culture crew. But those things will come. Brian Johnson said “We wanted to create a new sound, something that shakes the stereotypes”.  Well, mission accomplished.